Shortening shift travel. Anyones else?

[bjamesw]

I drilled a mounting hole almost exactly half the distance from the original engine side shift lever mounting to its axis.  Left the alum frame-mounted boot shift lever as original.  No problems with clearance.  In fact I mounted the linkage inbound of the engine side lever instead of as it came from the factory outside.  This slightly lessens the radial load on the shaft.

If my R65 is any bit anomalous then sorry if this doesn't apply to most. My transmission shifts very easily but with stupid long travel at the boot.  This little mod made shifting more comfortable and precise for me.

[Luca]

Sounds like a good idea.  Did you use rod end joints (Heim--Sp?) and threaded rod for the linkage?

Pictures are always welcome  

P.S. I find my bike shifts smoothly too.  The lighter flywheels and smaller clutches are probably a big help for this (better throttle response for blipping and faster rev drops for upshifts).  Maybe post 78 Getrag built transmissions might be a little better than the earlier BMW built boxes too?

[bjamesw]

Yes I used ss rod end joints and rod.  I was pretty disappointed when the OEM broke.  Hidden under the accordioned rubber boot was a thin mild steel rod with bent ends and circlips just waiting to break at some inopportune moment.

No camera.  Looking for a new one.  I actually have pics somewhere on this site from some years back.  I'll try to find them.

[bjamesw]

found the original post in another member's thread from some years back.

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.  

"whut's it off from?"

uh...  an old BMW but I'll take any make/model.  Just looking for a shift linkage.

"got a part number?".

Seriously?  

....blank stare.....trying his best to look like I'm keeping him from saving the world, or his appointment with the Pope.



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.  I left the boot off entirely and covered the 1/4" ss threaded rod with fuel line only for cosmetics.
 
 

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 trimmed the excess length from that shift arm after riding and deciding that I was happy with the mod.  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.

Interesting that the next two pages of that old thread go on without any response to shortening the shift travel.  I have a tendency to over-explain things and eyes glass over with fatigue.  It's really a worthwhile and very easily done mod.