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Downshifting PITA BMW F800GS


Jaybewan

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No not a pitta, though now I do fancy one.

Noticed the BMW has been getting progressively more annoying on downshifts lately. To the point where I recently had to stamp 3 times to try and get from 3rd to 2nd on the entry to a corner and nearly missed the entire corner in the process.

Seems to be fairly intermittent, not every downshift refuses to work, but happens on every ride at least once. Upshifts seem ok and the clutch is disengaging plenty as it seems to have no problem a lot of the time.
I do sometimes find that it just either clicks through as if it has shifted but hasn't (usually 6th to 5th or 5th to 4th) or has a horrifyingly clunky/hard to press lever and still won't shift, usually 3rd to 2nd.

Looking it up and after adjusting the clutch, it does seem to suggest that it's the gear selector shaft. Apparently they are prone to bending on these, though I'm not ruling anything else out at this point, though possibly not a worn clutch not disengaging.

What I'm really after is someone who can properly delve into it and work out what's going on and fix it, though I'm finding a lot of people don't want to touch gearbox issues, which, honestly I get it.
I don't have the time, patience, confidence or tools to do it on a bike that I need to be daily ride reliable.

Anyone got any suggestions for good workshops, preferably in the East Mids (Leics/Notts) area?
I could do with getting this fixed before the gearbox lunches itself entirely.

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At this rate, it may have to be. Ringing around the workshops and so far everyone is stuffed up to the eyeballs in people getting their bikes MOT'd and serviced for the summer.

One place, earliest is June, next place "it wouldn't be until Autumn/Winter"

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Fortunately I have found a very very helpful post on one of the GS forums from a brilliant Japanese person who had almost exactly the same issue and has shown what needs to be done and what needs to be ordered. I even have a part number.
https://www.f800riders.org/threads/down-shifting-problem-solved.316495/
Now, do I dare book time off and do this myself? (for reference, I am not shit at spannering, just rusty, ADHD'd up to the eyeballs and have next to zero time)
I may talk to Pidcocks BMW tomorrow and see if they can at least order the part quicker than I can find one on the internet, I'd rather have a genuine BMW part than a pattern one at this point.
 

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4 minutes ago, Jaybewan said:

Fortunately I have found a very very helpful post on one of the GS forums from a brilliant Japanese person who had almost exactly the same issue and has shown what needs to be done and what needs to be ordered. I even have a part number.
https://www.f800riders.org/threads/down-shifting-problem-solved.316495/
Now, do I dare book time off and do this myself? (for reference, I am not shit at spannering, just rusty, ADHD'd up to the eyeballs and have next to zero time)
I may talk to Pidcocks BMW tomorrow and see if they can at least order the part quicker than I can find one on the internet, I'd rather have a genuine BMW part than a pattern one at this point.
 

That looks to be a fairly simple resolution - get on it :)  

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7 minutes ago, Jaybewan said:

Fortunately I have found a very very helpful post on one of the GS forums from a brilliant Japanese person who had almost exactly the same issue and has shown what needs to be done and what needs to be ordered. I even have a part number.
https://www.f800riders.org/threads/down-shifting-problem-solved.316495/
Now, do I dare book time off and do this myself? (for reference, I am not shit at spannering, just rusty, ADHD'd up to the eyeballs and have next to zero time)
I may talk to Pidcocks BMW tomorrow and see if they can at least order the part quicker than I can find one on the internet, I'd rather have a genuine BMW part than a pattern one at this point.
 

Get the BMW garage to fit it for you. Yes you will pay through the nose but they should know what they are doing.

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Just now, marvin said:

Get the BMW garage to fit it for you. Yes you will pay through the nose but they should know what they are doing.

Aye, that's the other thing I'll be asking Pidcocks tomorrow. I don't mind paying through the nose, even for something seemingly simple like this. They have access to the parts catalogue and have likely done this 100s of times already.

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Posted (edited)
7 minutes ago, Gobert said:

It's great that the engine doesn't need splitting.:thumbsup:

My thoughts exactly. Just the clutch cover coming off. Lets just hope it is only that 🤞

Edited by Jaybewan
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Booked in at Pidcocks Notts for the 9th May. Not exactly instant response but way better than most places and at least I know they'll have a direct line for any parts it needs. I do wish they'd do a courtesy bike too but maybe I'll just ask about this 1300GS competition they have on at the moment (test ride one, win one) :eusa_think:

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On 4/16/2024 at 5:23 PM, Jaybewan said:

Fortunately I have found a very very helpful post on one of the GS forums from a brilliant Japanese person who had almost exactly the same issue and has shown what needs to be done and what needs to be ordered. I even have a part number.
https://www.f800riders.org/threads/down-shifting-problem-solved.316495/
Now, do I dare book time off and do this myself? (for reference, I am not shit at spannering, just rusty, ADHD'd up to the eyeballs and have next to zero time)
I may talk to Pidcocks BMW tomorrow and see if they can at least order the part quicker than I can find one on the internet, I'd rather have a genuine BMW part than a pattern one at this point.
 

The video on that link is very good.  Even in americanese.

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On 4/19/2024 at 9:16 AM, Jaybewan said:

Booked in at Pidcocks Notts for the 9th May. Not exactly instant response but way better than most places and at least I know they'll have a direct line for any parts it needs. I do wish they'd do a courtesy bike too but maybe I'll just ask about this 1300GS competition they have on at the moment (test ride one, win one) :eusa_think:

Did they quote you for the job?

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5 minutes ago, Tomfoolery said:

Did they quote you for the job?

The receptionist didn't give me a quote as they didn't quite know what I was talking about it seemed.
I do feel a bit daft for not pressing them on it but I guess they need to confirm what it is that is to be fixed specifically as they're not necessarily going to go on what I give them without a visual inspection.

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2 minutes ago, Jaybewan said:

The receptionist didn't give me a quote as they didn't quite know what I was talking about it seemed.
I do feel a bit daft for not pressing them on it but I guess they need to confirm what it is that is to be fixed specifically as they're not necessarily going to go on what I give them without a visual inspection.

No fair enough, but this is the problem with the dealerships following the car model of front of house staff having no insight and technical knowledge. This job will be logged somewhere in the BMW system with a corresponding technician time which they can modify with experience and quote to the customer. Untrained receptionists can't do this :(

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  • 1 month later...

Following up from this. Of course it went in on the 9th but they "could not replicate the fault". They adjusted the clutch and that was that.

As I went in to pick it up I went through a few things with the parts dept and the receptionist and got it booked in again for June to have it looked at as I was sure it wasn't going to be a fixed thing.

Arranged the part to be put on order and booked in with a courtesy bike this time. All good I thought.

Then as I'm getting kitted up outside to set off, the receptionist comes out with the head tech, he seems miffed but is doing his best to restrain his annoyance at me booking in and ordering the part. He says they couldn't replicate the fault and that it could be a number of things, he thinks the adjusted clutch will have solved it and reminds me that it's not just that one part that would need replacing if it is at fault as it would need new gaskets etc. I said, calmly "that is precisely why I booked it in here as you'll know what parts it does need if it is indeed that part that is at fault in terms of replacing it and refitting all the necessary covers/bolts". He seemed more pissed that I was happy to pay for any further parts. He re-iterated that it may not be that at fault which I agreed, "it may not be that, but without opening up the side and checking we can't be sure, and if you do find that is the case when you do open it up then I'm sure we can discuss that further". He then went on to say that he knows the fault I am referring to and it is "very rare" and highly unlikely to be the case, it could well be a multitude of other things that is causing it. Again, I calmly said "this is why I'm bringing it to you guys, I want to be sure the right people are looking at it with the right access to parts and knowledge of potential issues". He still didn't seem keen but backed off and seemed to accept that, yes, they will need to take the clutch cover off to have a look at what is going on.

He was right that the adjusted clutch did help the situation. Temporarily it was working beautifully. Then after a longer ride, it went back to being an absolute dick, especially between 3rd and 2nd. It has now reverted to, intermittently, refusing to shift at all after 3 attempts. So at least I knew I wasn't wrong to book it in again. Even if it is something else, I am happy to be proven wrong if only just to get to the bottom of the real issue and get the thing working properly.

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This is because it’s a hard issue to pin down and solve, not a quick fix. To him, this could rumble on for months. 
 

Particularly with such an awkward customer :D

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3 minutes ago, Tomfoolery said:

This is because it’s a hard issue to pin down and solve, not a quick fix. To him, this could rumble on for months. 
 

Particularly with such an awkward customer :D

Damn right I'm awkward :pb2:

Yeah, I figure that's where the reluctance is coming from, that and the "internet forum diagnosis" that techs do (rightly) hate.

At the moment it seems that I have multiple vehicles with faults that are more than just a simple fix and so many places are trying to swerve the work as they prefer the simpler and more straightforward jobs. I totally understand, especially from a business perspective, but it is seriously annoying to have to try and force my money into someone's hand to do the work I need.

To add a small bit of insult to injury, since it was in, there seems to have been a bolt come loose from the main stand, so loose that it fell out somewhere whilst riding as it is completely missing. I guess the "healthcheck" they happily did for me whilst it was in did not include checking for loose bolts. Ah well. At least I can get them to fix that too :D

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Nobody really wants to fix anything anymore including dealer technicians....

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Hope it works out for you.

(from experience) not having a 'positive'/ assured gear engagement is a potential 'safety' issue.

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14 hours ago, MATSTAR said:

Hope it works out for you.

(from experience) not having a 'positive'/ assured gear engagement is a potential 'safety' issue.

Thanks, me too 😅

 

It is a point I'll be trying to fully drive home to them, I got lucky when it first happened riding spiritedly. I only used that verge as a berm to look cool, I certainly didn't audibly swear and pinch the seat with my arse cheeks.

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On 5/24/2024 at 1:45 PM, marvin said:

Nobody really wants to fix anything anymore including dealer technicians....

If it was outside of warranty then I'd never take my bike to a main dealer - I'd rather find an engine builder I can trust.(only issue with this is that main dealers will know about the common issues / fixes on their particular bikes)

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30 minutes ago, Gobert said:

If it was outside of warranty then I'd never take my bike to a main dealer - I'd rather find an engine builder I can trust.(only issue with this is that main dealers will know about the common issues / fixes on their particular bikes)

Sadly, after ringing round as many independents for weeks I found precisely zero people who were willing to take it on other than the main stealer.

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1 minute ago, Jaybewan said:

Sadly, after ringing round as many independents for weeks I found precisely zero people who were willing to take it on other than the main stealer.

Nobody wants to do a job that can't easily be diagnosed?

What I can't understand with the main dealer is that you asked them to do a task and they didn't want to do it even though you knew about a certain issue - you'd have thought they'd advise you it might not work and then crack on especially after you found out it wasn't that difficult of a job.

 

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9 minutes ago, Gobert said:

Nobody wants to do a job that can't easily be diagnosed?

What I can't understand with the main dealer is that you asked them to do a task and they didn't want to do it even though you knew about a certain issue - you'd have thought they'd advise you it might not work and then crack on especially after you found out it wasn't that difficult of a job.

 

Yeah, seems that way. I started ringing round in March/early April and everyone was just taking on services and MOTs for bikes that had been in the garage all winter. Any sign of taking the clutch cover off and they weren't interested. Some were quoting "it'll be Autumn/Winter before we'll be able to take that on".

Yeah, I don't get it either. I'm really hoping they don't try and fob me off again this time round (it'll be in on the 6th). If they say "sorry we can't replicate it" again I will just threaten to keep the loaner bike* indefinitely until they agree to look into it further.


*it's £15 a day and I wouldn't usually take it, especially as it could be as much as a few weeks if parts issues arise or they have to get into the gearbox itself. I'm just a bit stuffed as I actually am relying on the bike for transport at the moment so there's no real other option, bar buying another vehicle.

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Oil and filter services are fast, easy and lucrative in Spring. Winter comes and they have all the time in the world.

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