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Recall? On all models with Reverse

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Chris N said:
The recall is now in the UK... Had a message from my dealership last night advising the 18 needs to come in for a factory recall. Just spoke to them and they have confirmed the reverse gear needs disconnecting and that a likely fix won't be available until the latter part off next year!!!
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My dealership were a bit muddled as to what the issue was, and how long it might take to fix. For me, I use the reverse a reasonable amount of time and it will prove very inconvenient without. I wish I had faith in the fact BMW would see me right on this issue.
 
The reverse for the R18 and K1600 has no workings with the transmission. The reverse uses the starter motor to push the bike backwards. Lots of references here about the transmission but it has not play in the operation other than ensuring it is not engaged. Honestly I use the reverse nearly every time I ride my bike and have never had any issues with it.
 
Slotheadslim said:
So Saturday September 28th, I stopped in and spoke to my BMW service department to ask about a separate issue and about this recall. I’m located in Massachusetts. They said they found out about the recall that day and they had the sheets describing it in front of me, though I didn’t read it. They said I’d be the first one scheduled to get reverse disabled on my Transcontinental. Their availability was limited with the end of the riding season coming up so I’m getting it done in a little over a week. On the sheets they had it said BMW would offer $1,000 of R18 accessories in compensation. They are going to ask if the offer would include other BMW accessories that aren’t specific to the R18 like clothes, helmets etc. I also asked if like the post above if they’d offer a service package or warranty extension instead of accessories. They’re going to research it and get back to me.
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I spoke with my dealer today and their rep said BMW would not substitute the offer of $1,000 of R18 specific parts for non-R18 BMW items like coats, helmets, warranty extension etc. I have a factory blacked out R18 Transcontinental, so I'm not sure what else I could get for it that's worth $1,000.00.? Looking at their website there is literally nothing for accessories for it https://www.shopbmwmotorcycles.com/accessories/design/2023-r18transcontinental?page=1 .
 
Slotheadslim said:
I spoke with my dealer today and their rep said BMW would not substitute the offer of $1,000 of R18 specific parts for non-R18 BMW items like coats, helmets, warranty extension etc. I have a factory blacked out R18 Transcontinental, so I'm not sure what else I could get for it that's worth $1,000.00.? Looking at their website there is literally nothing for accessories for it https://www.shopbmwmotorcycles.com/accessories/design/2023-r18transcontinental?page=1 .
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I think you can get one Roland Sands mirror. 😂

Yeah, kind of a dismal offering if it’s not even BMW bucks in general, but has to be specific to the R18. Maybe an option 719 seat? The case liners (which have been pretty useful!)? But if you’ve already got what you want, that compensation is pretty useless. Hopefully there’s something more substantial or helpful coming in the official notice.
 
harrisrc740 said:
The reverse for the R18 and K1600 has no workings with the transmission. The reverse uses the starter motor to push the bike backwards. Lots of references here about the transmission but it has not play in the operation other than ensuring it is not engaged. Honestly I use the reverse nearly every time I ride my bike and have never had any issues with it.
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I'm not sure I'm buying that regarding the R18 considering you can physically feel it engage when you turn the lever. Also, what other reason would you need the lever if the button were just going to spin the starter motor in reverse?
 
Just a little background on me, I have a 2016 K1600 GTL which was the year before the reverse for that model. I did research in attempts to get reverse added and was told how it works, yes that was back in 2017, but I still remember the important parts of the discussion:ROFLMAO:
 
harrisrc740 said:
Just a little background on me, I have a 2016 K1600 GTL which was the year before the reverse for that model. I did research in attempts to get reverse added and was told how it works, yes that was back in 2017, but I still remember the important parts of the discussion:ROFLMAO:
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https://www.r18forums.com/threads/issue-with-the-reverse-gear.323/#:~:text=On my latest ride, I thought I’d try to reverse

Reading through this thread, are a lot of comments about moving or rocking the bike to get the reverse lever out of the reverse position. If you have to move or rock the motorcycle, then the lever is not just operating a switch. That would work irrespective of any position of the drive train.

It is possible that BMW could have placed an interlock on the switch corresponding to the levelness of the bike. That could be accomplished by a variety of sensors but the most obvious choice would be a hall effect device. Even with an interlock on the lever, moving the bike wouldn't defeat the interlock unless the longitudinal angle of the chassis were significantly changed. All that said, the comments in the referenced thread seem to indicate that taking tension off the drivetrain allows the lever to move freely. I can't see any scenario where that would happen absent an actual reverse gear.

The other option for reverse would be to spin the starter motor backwards. This could be done with a brushed DC motor, but it's unlikely due to the excessive current draw required. The other options would be a DC servo motor or stepper motor, but both would involve extensive control circuits and in the case of a servo motor, some positional feedback such as a resolver.
 
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R 1800 San Diego said:
I live in Southern California and haven't heard a peep about the reverse issue from either of our local BMW Motorcycle dealers??
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A San Diego BMW dealer's R18 initial pull from inventory/floor (and their refusal to sell it to me) was the very reason I started this post. See this link where it says under features "Reverse assist disabled?"

www.sdbmwmc.com

2021 BMW R 18 D92115 R18 | San Diego BMW Motorcycles

San Diego BMW Motorcycles is a BMW Motorcycle Dealer in San Diego, CA, near the communities of Los Angeles, Coachella, Long Beach and Irvine. We are proud to feature new and pre-owned motorcycles from BMW, as well as financing, consignment, parts, accessories, service, and apparel.
www.sdbmwmc.com www.sdbmwmc.com

1000025430.webp
 
Just had my call from BMW in UK. They say they are going to disable the reverse gear until they receive the correct part from BMW for replacement, apparently back-end of this year? I use reverse to get it out of the garage and past the gravel. So this is a real inconvenience.
 
BigJimSlim said:
Also, came across a comment on the R18 Bagger group on Facebook that stated something about the reverse issue being related to possible liquid entry into the module leading to corrosion and possible shorting or failure. This is similar to what I was told by my selling dealer’s shop manager, so perhaps there’s something there.
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Exactly what I was told by my BMW dealer in UK 10 minutes ago.
 
MN246 said:
So clearly, if this drawing is accurate, there is a reverse gear.
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Interpret how you wish but read your manual. If your transmission had a reverse gear the rules of operation would not be.... -Ensure Transmission is in Neutral, -Clutch is not pulled, -Side Stand is folded in, - Engine is running.... Etc... Bottom line is transmission would be in Reverse not Neutral if there was a reverse gear... Sorry to everyone else for getting off the topic but the pic itself shows how complicated the whole system is. At least I did learn that Reversing should be done without a passenger and cannot be used on gradients above 20%
 
harrisrc740 said:
Interpret how you wish but read your manual. If your transmission had a reverse gear the rules of operation would not be.... -Ensure Transmission is in Neutral, -Clutch is not pulled, -Side Stand is folded in, - Engine is running.... Etc... Bottom line is transmission would be in Reverse not Neutral if there was a reverse gear... Sorry to everyone else for getting off the topic but the pic itself shows how complicated the whole system is. At least I did learn that Reversing should be done without a passenger and cannot be used on gradients above 20%
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Hopefully I didn't come across as argumentative, I don't have a dog in the fight one way or the other. My point was only to actually understand what is going on with the system. From what I see in the drawing, the bike must be in neutral, as neutral regarding the connection of the main drive of the transmission relative to the input shaft from the engine.

Once the transmission is disengaged from the engine(neutral), then the reverse gear can couple the main drive of the transmission to the starter. That connection reverses the output of the transmission and turns the drive shaft in the opposite direction causing the rear tire to rotate backwards.

Again, not trying to argue. I just like to try to understand things when the operation is in question.
 
Take another look at the picture, both parts are the same transmission housing just highlighted the parts used for reverse assist and actual transmission parts.


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I don't see how this is unclear. The input shaft and the counter shaft have to be disconnected mechanically from the output shaft during reverse operation. BMW does not want the engine to be turned backwards, cracking a compression or oil ring. That is why the bike must be in neutral.

The reverse gear is engaged by the reverse lever turning the shaft with the reverse shifter fork and allows power to be applied by the starter to turn the output shaft backwards. There is a chain drive to the reversing gear structure which is meshed to an even number of gears, creating reverse rotation in the output gear compared to the input gear. That also tells us that the starter never turns backwards and operates as a standard DC motor. The diagram is clear as day how this works.
 

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