shift lever position...what the heck?

[blankenship]

As far as I can tell, there's only one thing wrong with my new R65LS —
The position of the gear shift lever is waaaaaaaay to low.  It takes a ton of effort to get my toe under it.

I've looked for a way to adjust, but it appears impossible on my bike.  How is this possible?  Has the shift lever ALWAYS been this way?  Anybody else have this problem or know what the heck's going on with this?

From photos of other BMW's, it appears there WAS an "adjustable rod" that allowed for changing the lever position...as shown as #12 on the  diagram attached (BMW part # 23412301391 )


However, (under the rubber boot) mine looks basically like a coathanger bent into the shape of this keyboard character:    ]

What's the deal?
Should the adjustable one be on my bike? Why isn't it?  Will that part fit my bike?
Anybody got another fix that doesn't require me to spend $40 and wait a couple weeks?

[Bob_Roller]

You can adjust the footrest its by loosening the allen head bolt to get it to separate from the serrations on the frame, from the photo you provided, it looks like a previous owner(s) have moved it from it's original position .

[blankenship]

hey bob-
guess i should've mentioned i monkeyed with that yesterday...to no avail.
when i lower the footrest, the shift lever bottoms out on the kickstand / bolt and won't downshift.
when i raise the footrest, the relative 'lowness' of the shift lever gets even worse.
the position shown in the photo is as good as it gets, as far as i can tell...

[DgM]

No need to move the footpeg, it has little or nothing to do with gearshift lever angle.  Beneath the corrugated rubber cover betwixt the lever and the gearbox is a double threaded rod, a sort of turnbuckle.  Loosen the locking nuts and turn the threaded rod.  See how when the threaded rod backs out of the shift lever attachment and the gearshift attachment the angle of the shift lever changes.  The 'longer' - more threads showing - on the threaded rod the more horizontal the shift lever is.  Simple.

[nhmaf]

Can't you change the orientation of the lever on the shaft which goes into the transmission?  On my bike, one can loosen the bolt and reposition the lever and reinstall it/retighten bolt.   It does appear to be oriented such that the shift lever is much too low.  

Or also, if you were to ask very nicely, we might be able to get the parts list or assembled unit form Justin Bowser (moderator) who built a wonderfully superior, and fully adjustable shift linkage with Heim joints. It basically replaces the black rubber boot thingie and all inside of it, and is adjustable in length and much stronger/more positive shifting.   you could also probably assembly your own from parts from a hardware store and a little bit of drilling/thread tapping (Admittedly better with a drill press)

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Drop unibober a PM and see how his "conversion" went.
It appears your shift lever is from a '78-'80 model.
I just sent unibober a spare lever from an early model that I had, and he used it on a '82 model.  He surely must have run into a similar situation. But perhaps he still had the "turnbuckle" type linkage.  Your "coathanger" linkage is also from the early models.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

No need to move the footpeg, it has little or nothing to do with gearshift lever angle.  Beneath the corrugated rubber cover betwixt the lever and the gearbox is a double threaded rod, a sort of turnbuckle.  Loosen the locking nuts and turn the threaded rod.  See how when the threaded rod backs out of the shift lever attachment and the gearshift attachment the angle of the shift lever changes.  The 'longer' - more threads showing - on the threaded rod the more horizontal the shift lever is.  Simple.

DgM: read the OP carefully!

However, (under the rubber boot) mine looks basically like a coathanger bent into the shape of this keyboard character:    ]

[blankenship]

Can't you change the orientation of the lever on the shaft which goes into the transmission?.

No can do, unless I'm missing something.  Tried that on Sunday, and unfortunately that shaft (more specifically, part #3 in the above diagram) only seems to tighten down into one specific orientation.

Or also, if you were to ask very nicely, we might be able to get the parts list or assembled unit form Justin Bowser (moderator) who built a wonderfully superior, and fully adjustable shift linkage with Heim joints.

NOW you're talkin'!  I'm officially asking nicely

Drop unibober a PM and see how his "conversion" went.
It appears your shift lever is from a '78-'80 model.
I just sent unibober a spare lever from an early model that I had, and he used it on a '82 model.  He surely must have run into a similar situation. But perhaps he still had the "turnbuckle" type linkage.  Your "coathanger" linkage is also from the early models.

Just sent Unibober a message, asking him to input on this thread.  Thanky.

[bjamesw]

When I put "stainless shift linkage" into google image about half of the results linked to Harley parts.  If you want something more "chromey/blingy you could just go to your local dealer but that would likely exceed the "40 dollar" point considerably.  Otherwise,  just about any motorcycle parts desk can sell you a very nice inexpensive ball/socket shift linkage... it's a very common part.  That is if you're lucky enough to find anyone working the parts counter with the extra ounce of initiative/brains it requires to find something on the shelf without a part number to go by.  GOD that drives me nuts.

My "coathanger" rod broke at 12,000 mi.   When I discovered the flimsy little rod under the boot I felt a mild rage well up at the back of my head.  I've been wrenching various bikes for many years and that's by far the flimsiest linkage I'd ever seen.  And this, on a BMW!!

If no luck at the cycle dealership (any brand will do) ust go to any "bearing supply" vendor and get a pair of stainless steel ball/socket ends with female threads and a short length of stainless threaded rod.  Sure to be less expensive than the OEM.  Should fit right under the rubber boot.  I just left my boot off entirely.

 

Next thing I did was redrill the connecting hole on the transmission side shift lever so that it was closer to the shaft axis.  I went a little more than 1/2 way the distance between the original hole and the shaft axis.  I never understood why the original was set up to require so much damn travel from your toe.   Maybe my transmission is a lot smoother (easier to shift) than most out there.  But I never missed the lost leverage one bit.  Now shifts are much more 'snic, snic'.



The fuel line covering it is just cosmetic.  The SS threaded rod inside just looked a little flimsy.

[Bob_Roller]

With the transmission in neutral, where does the end of the shift lever that comes out of the transmission, line up .

There's an 'N' cast into the transmission housing, the lever should be in approximate alignment to this letter .

I was out in the garage this morning and checked the gear shift linkage on all three of my R65's, all of the bikes when the transmission is in neutral, the 'ear' that the linkage goes through on the shift lever itself, is vertical, not forward as yours is .

Also, the arm that comes out of the transmission, is in direct alignment with the 'N' cast into the transmission case .

I'm going to go out on a limb, and say that there is a possibility that the wire link, is not the correct length .

I'll see if I can find the original one off of my '81, as I have replaced all of the links on my bikes, with Justin's Heim joint linkage .

I just noticed something in your picture, at least it has the appearance, the the 'ear' that the linkage goes through on the shift lever itself, may be longer than it needs to be .

I took some measurements on my '82 LS .

The distance between the bolt centers on the link are 3.125 inches .

The distance from the edge of the footrest casting just above where the pivot bolt for the shift lever is, is 1.5 inches to the top of the 'ear' on the shift lever istelf .

Possibly, you may not have the original lever, I don't know if you are the original owner of the bike or not .

[DgM]

Sorry I didn't read original post as carefully as required.  A cheap and dirty fix would be to create a replacement 'coathanger' rod of a longer length to allow for the shift lever to be more level.  Then ride bike to dealer and get either OEM linkage or let your fingers do the walking and order one of those beautiful units from Justin.

[unibober]

That is strange.  I did just replace mine and it is low, but not that low.  I too have the coathanger piece that connects the two, but I am working on a replacement that is less flimsy. Tomorrow I will snap some photos and post them. Jeremy

[Justin B.]

PM me if you want one of these...

[Ed Miller]

Justin, do you check your pms?  I tried to send one  the other day.

[blankenship]

Me too!