transmission woes

[berub9a2]

I notice that my 83 R65 seems to have a hard time getting into first gear when the machine is cold.  I hit the shifter down and it won’t engage, I have to roll the bike forward in order for it to shift into first.  Once I ride around a bit there no longer is any trouble to shift into first.  Any ideas??

[airhead]

Actually, it sounds pretty normal. Some Airheads suffer it more than others, in fact other makes of bike also have it. May improve running a synthetic (I do, and rarely have problems engaging 1st), also you could try feathering the clutch whilst engaging 1st. It does the same thing as rolling the bike fore and aft, just moves the gear cluster from the other end. Don't worry about it.

Bill.....................;-)

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Can't rule out a mal-adjusted clutch, either!  

If the clutch is not completely disengaging, it might not want to go into gear (?).

If you have never examined your throwout bearing assembly, this might be a good time to do it.  It is an easy afternoon's worth of tinkering.  The bearing should be examined every couple of years just as PM.

[scottyintex]

BMW’s sometimes don’t go into first with out moving them. My R65 does that on occasions and my R27 does it all the time. The R27 was my first BMW and I was having a hard time getting it into first. A Dutch rider told me it wasn’t going into first unless I rolled it and he was right...........
Only have to roll it a few inches but it has to be moving for it to go into first, the gears must be moving.  Seems this having to roll is the rule rather that the exception when it comes to R27's. I to learn down shift into first before the machine quit completely rolling at a stop sign or stop sign. This habit of down shifting before stopping has just carried over to the R65. When you first start up.......you just have to roll it a bit. The R65 isn’t as bad but seems to have that tendency which is just one of the quirks manyof airheads have.

[Ed Miller]

I used to roll the bike a bit before I could shift into first (sometimes, rarely) but now when that happens, I maintain steady pressure down on the shifter, clutch in, and slowly let the clutch out.  The tranny will go into first before you start rolling forward.  In fact, you can then pull the clutch back in if you are not ready to go yet.

After I worked that out for the R65, I tried it on my Triumph with incredibly noisy ineffectual results.  But it does work on my car when IT doesn't want to go into gear smoothly.  Weird.

I think I got the tip from Duane Ausherman's web site.

[Justin B.]

If you look at the gears (or pictures of the gears) you'll note there are no synchros in our transmission and that the gears engage by engaging dogs on the surface of one gear with the next.  If these dogs don't stop in exactly the right spot you will not be able to just pop it into 1st gear.  If you are able to pop it into gear then it is just the luck of the draw.

On the other hand, if you pull to a complete stop with the clutch in, pop it into neutral, let out the clutch and sit there for a while you should be able to re-engage 1st after pulling in the clutch because the relationship between the "dogs" should not have changed.  If you can't pop it into gear after a stop like this then something is not right, maybe clutch adjustment?  If the clutch doesn't fully disengage then the gear dogs may spin out of alignment after you pop it into neutral...