Last Friday my 1994 R100RT suddenly would not shift up or down from 2nd gear. Had no abnormal shifting or noise before it happened & fluid was changed 200 miles ago (no grit/shavings on drain plug & fluid was clean). The external linkage is ok & bolts tight. Shifter moves smoothly and easily but does not feel like it is moving anything inside the transmission. I figure the shift pawl spring failed. I've had the bike for 4 years now & it has 78k miles on it. I've changed the drive line fluids every winter (ride year round) here in Georgia. With this mileage I figure it would be best to have it gone through and also check if the circlip is installed, having that done if is not there. I'm confident in being able to pull & reinstall the transmission but am not about to open it up, so I need someone I can trust to do the rebuild for me. Guess I should check the clutch, possible rear main too.
I live in the Atlanta/Kennesaw/north Georgia area. Does anyone know of a good, trustworthy shop/person within 100 miles or so of me?
I have a good friend in Toccoa that is knowledgeable, trustworthy, has been working on Airheads for several decades, And he's a Club member, although he doesn't visit this on-line Forum. Dan at 599-4938. That's his cell, but he does not text and hardly ever listens to messages. Just call until you get a real person. Tell him, "Wobbly sent me."
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
Thanks. I'll try to reach him.
Never reached Dan. Yesterday I dropped it off with Nathan at Boxerworks in Watkinsville, Ga. He has a good reputation. Carried the bike so he can test ride it after the rebuild.
Thanks for the input!
Nathan / Boxerworks is very good. Didn't know what his current situation was. He's apparently cutback quiet a bit on the size of his shop and staff, but that won't affect the work quality.
Did you know he's the GA Air Marshall ?
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
I didn't know that. He obviously knows what he's talking about-enjoyed talking with him and seeing some of the bikes he has there. I'll report in when I know more.
Thanks again.
Picked it up from Nathan. It was a busted shifter spring. Had delayed the rebuild too long-bearings were very worn. Replaced output shaft and 5th gear. Circlip mod hadn't been done, so he did that. New clutch and spring. New rear main seal. Rebuilt the oil pump' Have ridden about 500 miles on it since then. Did a little over 200 miles last Sunday after church doing the 6 gap run in the north Georgia mountains. Good fun passing Harleys. Shifting well and getting smoother as it breaks in. In a few more hundred miles I'll drain it and probably put synthetic fluid in-any particular one suggested?
My thanks to Nathan and to those who gave me input.
Have now ordered a windshield from Clearshields. Got to figure how to deal with those front clamping plate bolts for it-hard access, it looks like.
I like the Valvoline selection of gear oils. Apparently there are 4 to choose from, 2 synthetic and 2 non-synthetic. None of them make BMW seals suddenly start leaking.
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
Thanks-that's interesting. As I remember, earlier this year one of the parts guys at my local dealer said that BMW was switching to Valvoline as their source for oils. The not making seals start to leak is important, having seen that happen to car when they were switched to synthetic oil, especially if they were older with a good miles on them. Maybe I could safely make the move to Valvoline synthetic in my engines if they have the proper additives.
Maybe I could safely make the move to Valvoline synthetic in my engines if they have the proper additives.
• Your Airhead needs the ZDDP "zinc package" to protect the camshaft. I am not aware of a synthetic engine oil that has as much ZDDP as Valvoline VR-1 20W50 (non-synthetic) "racing oil". Don't believe the hype, pull the MSDS sheet on the oils and compare for yourself.
• Maybe you saw my prior post about my brother's Oilhead R1100S. The previous owner had converted the final drive to Mobil-1 synthetic, which started to puke all over the rear wheel within 100 miles. On an Oilhead the output spline oil seal is expensive to replace. So on a hunch, I swapped him over to Valvoline non-synthetic and the leak stopped. He has since tried Valvoline full synthetic with the same good results.
Bottom Line: "Brand" might be more important that "oil type".
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
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