[GonzaloL]

Hi all, I am a newbie to this forum. I just completed a 3200 km trip from Amsterdam to Kharkiv, Ukraine, between November 30 and December 11 of 2020.

I was riding my 2006 R 1200 GSA. I bought the bike in June in Holland from a reputable dealer. It had just shy of 70,000 km, and was in tiptop shape. I put a couple of thousand kilometers with no problems whatsoever, and then went on this big trip. But before I did so, I had it checked from end to end, and everything was obviously fine.

On the trip, I started to notice that when I came to my bike in the mornings, it was already in first gear. I started consciously making sure that I was putting the bike to bed in neutral—but then I’d wake up in the morning, and she’d be in first gear.

This matters to me very much. because of the one time on this trip that I dropped the bike: At a gas station, on my second day of riding, I stopped by the pumps. I thought that I had put the bike in neutral; I always check the indicator light out of habit before letting go of the clutch when in neutral. But this time, I let go of the clutch, the bike gave a lurch, stalled, and tipped over.

At the time, I thought it had been me simply being careless. Embarrassing, but no big deal. But as the trip continued, and I started noticing how the gearbox would slip from neutral to first gear in the mornings, I started wondering if my bike drop from the beginning of the trip had really been an incident of this gear slippage.

Any comments, observations, or especially any comment from someone with a similar experience would be greatly appreciated.

 

[enzo5000]

I alway keep my bike in gear when I turn it off. Gravity and/or vibration from an idling motor = BAD!

[Melb] - 0.67 - Outside Rollerdoor_2020_11_18_3PM_41_43.avi

drive.google.com

 

[76GMX]

That is strange.
Check to see if something got bent in the tipover that might be putting pressure on the lever or linkage.
Try re-adjusting the shift lever. Let us know what you find.

 

[GonzaloL]

Gravity and/or vibration from an idling motor = BAD!

[Melb] - 0.67 - Outside Rollerdoor_2020_11_18_3PM_41_43.avi

drive.google.com

Agree that an idling engine might vibrate the bike enough for it to slip into gear.

But what if it’s off? Because that’s been my situation: the motorcycle has been parked, locked, and in neutral, and yet I wake up to find it in first gear in the morning.

That is strange.
Check to see if something got bent in the tipover that might be putting pressure on the lever or linkage.
Try re-adjusting the shift lever. Let us know what you find.

The shift lever is perfectly fine. It was one of the first things I checked.

I’m hoping that this is some sort of stereotypical problem with either the bike generally or the year of the bike specifically.

 

[PerazziMx14]

Do you have a riding companion fooling with you and your bike? If everything is adjusted and working properly an impossibility of the lever depressing itself and putting the bike in gear.

 

[GonzaloL]

Do you have a riding companion fooling with you and your bike? If everything is adjusted and working properly an impossibility of the lever depressing itself and putting the bike in gear.

No, it was a solo ride. Besides, I’d never ride with anyone who’d think that it’s funny to mess with someone’s bike.

You’re right, the gear lever doesn’t move itself. But here we are.

 

[frank brown]

Maybe; after you put it in neutral and shut the bike off, when you put side stand down and get off, your pant leg or boot is hitting the gear shift lever as you dismount. There's no way it's doing it by itself........

 

[GonzaloL]

Maybe; after you put it in neutral and shut the bike off, when you put side stand down and get off, your pant leg or boot is hitting the gear shift lever as you dismount. There's no way it's doing it by itself........

No, I’ve been off the bike when I checked to make sure it was still in neutral—and then returned to discover it was in first gear.

I just want to know if anyone else has had the same experience of their 1200’s gearbox slipping all on its own from neutral to first.

Even now, with the bike in the garage, idle because of the weather, it slips from neutral to first. I just checked.

Frankly I wouldn’t care, except for the fact that I’m 60% certain that when I dropped the bike at the gas station, it was because of this issue. I want to correct the problem so that it doesn’t happen to me in a potentially dangerous situation.

 

[tic105]

This is very strange and I can't offer an explanation, but interested in knowing what may be happening. Ever try leaving it in 2nd gear when you park it?

 

[20-100]

Weird issue for sure, if you don't use your bike daily, could you check the following:

• Stop and park the bike
• Put it in neutral
• If the next morning it got back in first, put it back in neutral without switching it on
• Check if it changed back next day

 

[20-100]

Could you also post a picture of your shifter ?

 

[PCyr]

Weird issue for sure, if you don't use your bike daily, could you check the following:

• Stop and park the bike
• Put it in neutral
• If the next morning it got back in first, put it back in neutral without switching it on
• Check if it changed back next day

Not quite sure what this troubleshooting sequence would do, it still is going from neutral to first at least once...

 

[20-100]

Not quite sure what this troubleshooting sequence would do,

That is a very uncommon issue, my hypothesis if far-fetched but... If it happens only once after using the bike, it might be related to some pressure buildup in the transmission (the oil cooled generation have a separated transmission with it's own oil and i'm not sure if there is a vent).

I have never heard of a pressure buildup changing gear but, that's all I can think of for now. I would also be interesting to remove the transmission oil filling plug after a ride to see it there is some pressure in there.

 

[MiMastah]

I apologize for this set of really really dumb questions... but...

1. When you say you find it in first gear in the morning, did you actually try rolling the bike or are you just going by what the indicator tells you?

2. What is the shortest time you discovered it takes for this to take place? Did you try in a couple of hours? Or only overnight?

3. How many times out of 10 would you estimate this happens?

4. Did you try starting the bike, pulling the clutch for a while, while keeping it in neutral? Will it shift?

Finally as some consolation... you may be one of the very few people that park their bike in neutral... which may narrow your pool of colleagues that could have ever discovered such a thing ever happening. So, if you make it habit to park your bike in first gear - flat ground or not - you'll have the benefit of waking up each morning, putting it in neutral and starting the bike thereby starting your day with a totally normal behaving bike.

 

[Krons]

I agree this is very strange. Only thing I can think of is change the geal oil in ths transmission.

 

[PCyr]

That is a very uncommon issue, my hypothesis if far-fetched but... If it happens only once after using the bike, it might be related to some pressure buildup in the transmission (the oil cooled generation have a separated transmission with it's own oil and i'm not sure if there is a vent).

I have never heard of a pressure buildup changing gear but, that's all I can think of for now. I would also be interesting to remove the transmission oil filling plug after a ride to see it there is some pressure in there.

Ok understood. Thanks.

 

[20-100]

1. When you say you find it in first gear in the morning, did you actually try rolling the bike or are you just going by what the indicator tells you?

Pretty good question, if you can get a GS911, recalibrating the transmission position sensor could help.

 

[Spirit of Oz.]

Pretty good question, if you can get a GS911, recalibrating the transmission position sensor could help.

Hi all, I am a newbie to this forum. I just completed a 3200 km trip from Amsterdam to Kharkiv, Ukraine, between November 30 and December 11 of 2020.

I was riding my 2006 R 1200 GSA. I bought the bike in June in Holland from a reputable dealer. It had just shy of 70,000 km, and was in tiptop shape. I put a couple of thousand kilometers with no problems whatsoever, and then went on this big trip. But before I did so, I had it checked from end to end, and everything was obviously fine.

On the trip, I started to notice that when I came to my bike in the mornings, it was already in first gear. I started consciously making sure that I was putting the bike to bed in neutral—but then I’d wake up in the morning, and she’d be in first gear.

This matters to me very much. because of the one time on this trip that I dropped the bike: At a gas station, on my second day of riding, I stopped by the pumps. I thought that I had put the bike in neutral; I always check the indicator light out of habit before letting go of the clutch when in neutral. But this time, I let go of the clutch, the bike gave a lurch, stalled, and tipped over.

At the time, I thought it had been me simply being careless. Embarrassing, but no big deal. But as the trip continued, and I started noticing how the gearbox would slip from neutral to first gear in the mornings, I started wondering if my bike drop from the beginning of the trip had really been an incident of this gear slippage.

Any comments, observations, or especially any comment from someone with a similar experience would be greatly appreciated.

Ok. My 20 cents worth... Put the bike on the center stand... Select 1st gear by hand but as do that rock the back wheel back & forward to find the sweet spot where 1st gear is engaged without any interference... Engage & dis-engage a couple of times to make sure there is no internal impedance for selecting 1st gear... Then slowly engage 1st gear by hand but when doing so take note as to how much resistance is needed to fully engage 1st gear!!... If there is resistance (think of pressing against a spring) then the internal mechanism is doing it's job... If on the other hand there is little to no resistance then there could be a problem with shift spool detentes (a spring loaded ball that fits into a notch on the shift spool to hold it in place)
In the photo on the very bottom of the case you can see what looks like a plug with a plunger in it, that is a detente button...
There are also various other springs in the shift mechanism that could have lost their tension that may be causing your problem... A transmission tear-down & inspection will be the only way to put this baby to bed... IMO.

Good luck...

 

[GonzaloL]

OK, I’ve done a couple of tests, based on some of the troubleshooting ideas put forth in this thread (and thank you very much for those ideas).

Currently, the bike is in a temperature-controlled garage and not in use because a., it is far too icy and cold to ride here in Kharkiv, and b., I broke my left wrist while walking—and slipping!—on the very icy sidewalk here, so I’m in a cast until the end of January.

I did several tests over the past few nights, based on the suggestions made on this thread. The gear does not slip overnight into first when I put it in neutral, nor does it slip into neutral or first when I put it into second gear. (That was a good suggestion, by the way.) In other words, the issue is not present at this time.

However, for the reasons mentioned, the bike is not in use, and is not stored in the conditions that it was when this issue was occurring.

This gear slippage happened when I was riding from Amsterdam to Kharkiv in early December. On those days, I was riding between 350 and 600 km per day. The temperature was exceptionally cold while I was riding, never more than 3°C, and often below zero. On every night, I stored the bike outdoors, where the temperature dipped below zero every night, sometimes as low as -15°C, as it did on the night I spent in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine.

Someone asked if this issue might have been an indicator problem. Good point. No it was not. I started noticing the issue during the trip when I was in Baden bei Wien, Austria, on the third day of my trip. I tried to start the bike in the morning to warm it up before I got going—and the bike wouldn’t turn. On this occasion, it took me an embarrassingly long time to troubleshoot the issue. When I realized that the engine wasn’t turning because the kickstand was down and the bike in first gear, I assumed that I had simply forgotten that I had left it in gear the night before. But after that, I started noticing that the gears slipping from neutral to first happened consistently. Not every time, but enough times that I can say unequivocally that it was not my imagination. It even happened a couple of times when I stopped for a rest at a gas station—but those times, it was incredibly cold, at least -10°C if not colder. (Someone on the thread asked how long it took for this gear slippage to happen. I don’t know how long it took when it occurred overnight. But I never stopped for more than 30 minutes at a gas station.)

Which makes me wonder: Perhaps this issue has to do somehow with the heated gearbox cooling in exceptionally low temperatures. That’s all I can think of at this time.

Anymore thoughts, suggestions or observations would be greatly appreciated. And I’ll be happy to give any further information on request.

 

[20-100]

That thing (circled in red), right at the bottom is the detent that keeps the shifting gate in position, keeping the bike in the selected gear.

It is a rounded point rod, pushed against the shifter gate by a spring. It sits right at the bottom of the gearbox, could that pusher be locked down (in some conditons) by some ice/jammed oil/sludge, not holding the selected position.

Without that detent, the weight of the shifter tip might be enough to engage a gear.