Transmission slack

[strandedwolf54]

Been noticing some slack in the transmission particularly in 1st gear.
During a recent ride in the Alps, this became more evident in tight corners but adjusting my riding technique helped reduce the impact. The driveshaft and final drive are recently serviced and seem fine.
Does anyone have tips for smoothing out this transmission slack or is it just part and parcel of the R1200 experience?

 

[lomography54]

a little slack is just how R1200s are. just maintain it well to help smoothen the ride.

 

[strandedwolf54]

a little slack is just how R1200s are. just maintain it well to help smoothen the ride.

Thanks. Regular maintenance will be done to keep it running like a dream.

 

[ww_mike_d]

hope i'm not so late with my two cents.. it's true that bikes like the r1200s have some level of driveline lash or slack, but you shouldn't ignore it if it's becoming more noticeable and impacting your riding experience.. especially to the point where you need to adjust your technique! there can be many culprits leading to this problem like wear in the transmission, particularly the gear engagement dogs or shift forks. also check the conditions of the u-joints in the drive shaft even if they were recently serviced! the paralever and telelever pivots and bearings are also worth looking into!

 

[strandedwolf54]

No worries about the late two cents @ww_mike_d . Already took the bike to the dealer for a diagnostic and they found the issue was worn clutch plates combined with some grime gumming up the linkage. Got it all sorted now and she's shifting better than ever. Still, your points about driveline lash and checking the Paralever/Telelever pivots are super helpful advice for anyone else dealing with something similar.

 

[BMWanderer]

Been noticing some slack in the transmission particularly in 1st gear.
During a recent ride in the Alps, this became more evident in tight corners but adjusting my riding technique helped reduce the impact. The driveshaft and final drive are recently serviced and seem fine.
Does anyone have tips for smoothing out this transmission slack or is it just part and parcel of the R1200 experience?

Yes, it is fairly typical for the R1200 boxers to have a little slack in first. It really helps to preload the shifter before applying the clutch.It's also worthwhile to adjust your clutch lever and, if you haven't already,try using a little bit more oil. You can smooth it out with a few adjustments,but it's part of the boxer charm

 

[strandedwolf54]

@BMWanderer

Got the issue sorted already. It turned out to be worn clutch plates and grime in the linkage, just as I mentioned in my update above. Preloading the shifter and adjusting the clutch lever helped, too, but the real fix was cleaning things up and swapping the plates. Always good to keep those boxer traits in mind.