K bike shifting has a tendency to be a little clunky or "agricultural" as some people put it. Adding a moly additive to the transmission gear oil improves this.

Adding about half of a 50g tube of Liqui-Moly 2019 gear oil additive to the transmission gear oil smoothes out shifting on Ks. There's nothing magic about the Liqui-Moly additive. Any moly gear oil additive should produce similar results. I use the Liqui-Moly product because it's readily  available and has worked well for me.

You don't need to change the gear oil. Just add it to your gear oil and within a few hundred miles it will work its way in to make a noticeable improvement in shifting.

Long time BMW tech guru Paul Glaves recommends using 75W/140 synthetic gear oil in the transmission. (But use 75W/90 in the final drive.)

Adjusting the clutch also optimizes shifting. Click here.

K Bike Shifting Technique

When riding a K bike, half-hearted or timid shifting can leave the transmission in a "false" neutral in between gears. Therefore a K rider should always shift "assertively" when the clutch is pulled in. You don't need to stomp on the shift lever, just shift with authority.

Dry Clutch Splines

If you experience false neutrals downshifting, for example when entering a turn and shifting 4->3 or 3->2, then this is typically a symptom of dry clutch splines. If you're experiencing this then you should lubricate the clutch splines as soon as is convenient. The sooner, the better. It doesn't need to be done ASAP but if you let this go for thousands of miles then eventually it will strip the clutch splines and your K will be immobilized.

 

© 2023 Drake Smith - Please do not use or reproduce this elsewhere.  Feel free to link to it though.