Reverse Gear

R

R18Squid

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Hi folks, whilst on my recent weekend outing with my R18B (headed to a near1000 yo pub in the UK), I experienced something amiss whilst using the reverse gear.

This pub is located down some single track roads which really you don’t want to encounter another vehicle. Alas, however I did and was forced to try and back up all 400kg of the big girl up this medium incline I found myself on.

No problem, just engage the reverse gear! Had on my GoldWing which was impressive so I expected all to be good - sadly not. The reverse gear engaged and it moved me all of a metre before refusing to take me further. The R symbol was flashing and it simply refused to do anything. I was therefore forced to slowly haul my bike backwards 20 metres before the car could pass.

I was pretty surprised to have had to do this, but brute force and adrenaline saved the day.

Question is whether I used the reverse gear incorrectly? I have used it multiple times before on the flat, and whilst not very refined it got the job done. Anyone else experienced similar?
 
No not been in that position. Can’t think why you’ve done it wrong though. I had a GW and didn’t like the reverse assist on that tbh, it seemed to slip a lot and struggle over anything remotely inclined. I much prefer the direct link feel of the BMW system even though it is very agricultural. The flashing ’R’ symbol probably means something, it will no doubt do that for a reason. Overload? 🤷‍♂️ Next time have the car do the reversing, 99% of motorists will have no idea any motorcycles can.
 
Trust me I didn't haul it backwards willingly, but the car in front of me chose to yield and reverse. Anyway, based on my experience the GW system is superior, but that is subjective clearly. I took the GW to the Alps and it never struggled once.

I'm thinking the flashing symbol is overload, but really it wasn't severe enough of an incline I would have thought for that and have to question how useful the reverse gear on the R18B is in that case.
 
Brake or clutch pressed.... ie.... even a finger on the front brake lever.... sidestand etc....

Issue with the reverse gear

Hi guys, I received my R18 first edition the last week. Took it out for a drive a couple of times. Absolutely love it. On my latest ride, I thought I’d try to reverse the bike using the reverse assist. So, turned on the bike, engaged the reverse gear and the display confirmed so by showing ‘R’...
www.r18forums.com
 
Thanks for the thread link, basically:

1) Even though it says R--any time it blinks, something else is stopping it from working
2) Can't have the kick stand down
3) After the R goes steady, you cannot press clutch or brake or it will start blinking
4) any type of noticeable incline or decline will stop it from working, slight gradient changes seem to be okay, however....
5) If you reverse and happen to have the back wheel go into even a very small ditch, you won't be able to get it out of the R setting easily. You're basically stuck and it won't go into N. You have to rock the bike for a bit, maybe even turn it off, then you can get it back into N and push it out.
6) Even though you have to start the engine first, Reverse works directly off the battery so yes, connector looseness can be a factor.
7) even though you have done all the proper steps and the display is a steady R, it will sometimes still not kick into reverse immediately when you press the button. You may have to play with the Reverse/N gear a bit and then try it a few times for the actual gear to kick in.
 
The Reverse will stop working or start flashing is you apply the break, or have the kickstand down; I think it will also start working if the electric motor overheats. The another thread concerning the Reverse topic that points out the different conditions that will inhibit the R function.

I use it every time I ride due to my parking situation at my home; I like it as it works well for me.
 
Scott Semone said:
The Reverse will stop working or start flashing is you apply the break, or have the kickstand down; I think it will also start working if the electric motor overheats. The another thread concerning the Reverse topic that points out the different conditions that will inhibit the R function.

I use it every time I ride due to my parking situation at my home; I like it as it works well for me.
Click to expand...
In my situation the brake was needed to be applied to hold the bike in place to stop it rolling down the incline. But released when I was trying to use reverse, pretty precarious to be honest. I've learnt perhaps that it will not best be relied upon for anything other than flat manoeuvring.
 
My driveway into my garage is on a slight incline; once it starts backing up, I try to keep it moving without stopping - I don't want the weight of the bike to break the electric motor or sheer any of the associated gears..
 
I would expect that it's ability to ,malfunction would be related to how embarassing a situation one is in....

Anyway... like most things go somewhere and have a play.....

Fwiw.... my left foot would touch the side stand end at times when I moved my foot (foot boards).... I think this killed my bike motor when I rode it home the first time....
 
R18Squid said:
In my situation the brake was needed to be applied to hold the bike in place to stop it rolling down the incline. But released when I was trying to use reverse, pretty precarious to be honest. I've learnt perhaps that it will not best be relied upon for anything other than flat manoeuvring.
Click to expand...
Just a thought, trying to visualize your predicament…..if you had the brakes held on, then released to try and reverse would that invoke the hill hold function? That would be even more resistance for the starter motor to overcome 🤷‍♂️. I’ve actually disabled my hill hold, I’ve managed all these years without it and a sticky caliper ‘feeling‘ does not float my boat.
 
Rufus said:
Just a thought, trying to visualize your predicament…..if you had the brakes held on, then released to try and reverse would that invoke the hill hold function? That would be even more resistance for the starter motor to overcome 🤷‍♂️. I’ve actually disabled my hill hold, I’ve managed all these years without it and a sticky caliper ‘feeling‘ does not float my boat.
Click to expand...
I’m not a fan of hill hold on the R18 so far, was deployed better on the GW. You are right it feels like sticky calipers.
 
Rufus said:
No not been in that position. Can’t think why you’ve done it wrong though. I had a GW and didn’t like the reverse assist on that tbh, it seemed to slip a lot and struggle over anything remotely inclined. I much prefer the direct link feel of the BMW system even though it is very agricultural. The flashing ’R’ symbol probably means something, it will no doubt do that for a reason. Overload? 🤷‍♂️ Next time have the car do the reversing, 99% of motorists will have no idea any motorcycles can.
Click to expand...
Mine did that once switched off restarted never did it again
 
Amigos, I took my R18 FE to the BMW Motorrad dealer I bought it from yesterday. I bought the bike ≈2 years ago. It was manufactured July 2020. Model: K34 R 18
Reverse gear has never worked consistently from the day I picked it up. The bike has been ridden a little more than 5,000 km. Not thrashed, just regular krrruising about South Eastern Queensland (Australia) sealed roads and curvy hilly roads. Seldom in the rain.

SYMPTOMS
  • Push the lever down to engage reverse gear and it won’t stay down completely. Typically the R on the dash will then flash. No reverse movement when the start button is depressed.
  • Periodically, if one holds the lever down firmly, and depress the start button, reverse will engage.
  • On the driveway of my home which has a downwards sloping driveway to the road, the bike refuses to engage reverse, to enable me to back up to the garage. A tad annoying… all things considered.

In any case, a few weeks back one forum i read suggested taking das Bavarian Krrrruiser back to the dealer. Finally did that yesterday.

Guess what ?
Turns out there’s a service bulletin / advice from the BMW Motorrad factory.
The local dealer was very good about it. They took the bike for a few hours and performed the recommended tests to validate the wiring harnesses, sensors & switches were not at fault. These all checked out as functioning correctly.
Advice from the dealer’s service manager: Replace Transmission. Say what ? Yes, you read right the first time.... REPLACE TRANSMISSION
He further explained this is major surgery for the bike. Not entirely surprising, but surprising nevertheless as I thought maybe it might be a replacement cam, or spring … but Transmission ? No I didn’t expect that.
So, those of you struggling to get reverse gear may be suffering the same condition as my bike. Reading between the lines, if riders have more recent versions of the bike, maybe the engineers have made design changes to address this functional design defect.
The local dealer stated there were no transmissions in Australia at present, and therefore expect a delay while they source one.
Those suffering similar symptoms with the reverse gear having a mind of its own may benefit from having a chat with your dealer while it’s still in the warranty period.
Will report once the transmission is replaced.
 
Grumps said:
Amigos, I took my R18 FE to the BMW Motorrad dealer I bought it from yesterday. I bought the bike ≈2 years ago. It was manufactured July 2020. Model: K34 R 18
Reverse gear has never worked consistently from the day I picked it up. The bike has been ridden a little more than 5,000 km. Not thrashed, just regular krrruising about South Eastern Queensland (Australia) sealed roads and curvy hilly roads. Seldom in the rain.

SYMPTOMS
  • Push the lever down to engage reverse gear and it won’t stay down completely. Typically the R on the dash will then flash. No reverse movement when the start button is depressed.
  • Periodically, if one holds the lever down firmly, and depress the start button, reverse will engage.
  • On the driveway of my home which has a downwards sloping driveway to the road, the bike refuses to engage reverse, to enable me to back up to the garage. A tad annoying… all things considered.

In any case, a few weeks back one forum i read suggested taking das Bavarian Krrrruiser back to the dealer. Finally did that yesterday.

Guess what ?
Turns out there’s a service bulletin / advice from the BMW Motorrad factory.
The local dealer was very good about it. They took the bike for a few hours and performed the recommended tests to validate the wiring harnesses, sensors & switches were not at fault. These all checked out as functioning correctly.
Advice from the dealer’s service manager: Replace Transmission. Say what ? Yes, you read right the first time.... REPLACE TRANSMISSION
He further explained this is major surgery for the bike. Not entirely surprising, but surprising nevertheless as I thought maybe it might be a replacement cam, or spring … but Transmission ? No I didn’t expect that.
So, those of you struggling to get reverse gear may be suffering the same condition as my bike. Reading between the lines, if riders have more recent versions of the bike, maybe the engineers have made design changes to address this functional design defect.
The local dealer stated there were no transmissions in Australia at present, and therefore expect a delay while they source one.
Those suffering similar symptoms with the reverse gear having a mind of its own may benefit from having a chat with your dealer while it’s still in the warranty period.
Will report once the transmission is replaced.
Click to expand...
Wow that's worrying 😟
 
Grumps said:
Amigos, I took my R18 FE to the BMW Motorrad dealer I bought it from yesterday. I bought the bike ≈2 years ago. It was manufactured July 2020. Model: K34 R 18
Reverse gear has never worked consistently from the day I picked it up. The bike has been ridden a little more than 5,000 km. Not thrashed, just regular krrruising about South Eastern Queensland (Australia) sealed roads and curvy hilly roads. Seldom in the rain.

SYMPTOMS
  • Push the lever down to engage reverse gear and it won’t stay down completely. Typically the R on the dash will then flash. No reverse movement when the start button is depressed.
  • Periodically, if one holds the lever down firmly, and depress the start button, reverse will engage.
  • On the driveway of my home which has a downwards sloping driveway to the road, the bike refuses to engage reverse, to enable me to back up to the garage. A tad annoying… all things considered.

In any case, a few weeks back one forum i read suggested taking das Bavarian Krrrruiser back to the dealer. Finally did that yesterday.

Guess what ?
Turns out there’s a service bulletin / advice from the BMW Motorrad factory.
The local dealer was very good about it. They took the bike for a few hours and performed the recommended tests to validate the wiring harnesses, sensors & switches were not at fault. These all checked out as functioning correctly.
Advice from the dealer’s service manager: Replace Transmission. Say what ? Yes, you read right the first time.... REPLACE TRANSMISSION
He further explained this is major surgery for the bike. Not entirely surprising, but surprising nevertheless as I thought maybe it might be a replacement cam, or spring … but Transmission ? No I didn’t expect that.
So, those of you struggling to get reverse gear may be suffering the same condition as my bike. Reading between the lines, if riders have more recent versions of the bike, maybe the engineers have made design changes to address this functional design defect.
The local dealer stated there were no transmissions in Australia at present, and therefore expect a delay while they source one.
Those suffering similar symptoms with the reverse gear having a mind of its own may benefit from having a chat with your dealer while it’s still in the warranty period.
Will report once the transmission is replaced.
Click to expand...
Holly molly and weapons of mass destruction!! That is a big surgery and I would have never guessed in a million years that the only way forward was to replace the transmission if all other checks revealed no faults. I hope you get a replacement soon. To be honest I don’t tend to use my RG very often but then again I am usually on flat grounds.
 
Grumps said:
Amigos, I took my R18 FE to the BMW Motorrad dealer I bought it from yesterday. I bought the bike ≈2 years ago. It was manufactured July 2020. Model: K34 R 18
Reverse gear has never worked consistently from the day I picked it up. The bike has been ridden a little more than 5,000 km. Not thrashed, just regular krrruising about South Eastern Queensland (Australia) sealed roads and curvy hilly roads. Seldom in the rain.

SYMPTOMS
  • Push the lever down to engage reverse gear and it won’t stay down completely. Typically the R on the dash will then flash. No reverse movement when the start button is depressed.
  • Periodically, if one holds the lever down firmly, and depress the start button, reverse will engage.
  • On the driveway of my home which has a downwards sloping driveway to the road, the bike refuses to engage reverse, to enable me to back up to the garage. A tad annoying… all things considered.

In any case, a few weeks back one forum i read suggested taking das Bavarian Krrrruiser back to the dealer. Finally did that yesterday.

Guess what ?
Turns out there’s a service bulletin / advice from the BMW Motorrad factory.
The local dealer was very good about it. They took the bike for a few hours and performed the recommended tests to validate the wiring harnesses, sensors & switches were not at fault. These all checked out as functioning correctly.
Advice from the dealer’s service manager: Replace Transmission. Say what ? Yes, you read right the first time.... REPLACE TRANSMISSION
He further explained this is major surgery for the bike. Not entirely surprising, but surprising nevertheless as I thought maybe it might be a replacement cam, or spring … but Transmission ? No I didn’t expect that.
So, those of you struggling to get reverse gear may be suffering the same condition as my bike. Reading between the lines, if riders have more recent versions of the bike, maybe the engineers have made design changes to address this functional design defect.
The local dealer stated there were no transmissions in Australia at present, and therefore expect a delay while they source one.
Those suffering similar symptoms with the reverse gear having a mind of its own may benefit from having a chat with your dealer while it’s still in the warranty period.
Will report once the transmission is replaced.
Click to expand...
Echo wow, however as unexpected and dramatic as that sounds let’s be positive about the BMW dealer for going at it without quibble or gaslighting. This is one reason I bought into the brand. I suppose it also shows the benefit of getting bikes serviced by them too, they have access to service bulletins and warranty work we would otherwise never hear about.
 
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