09-23-2015, 02:47 AM
(09-23-2015, 12:12 AM)ClassicVW_imp Wrote: Having come back to Honda after 15 or so years with BMWs, I can attest that BMWs are very clunky too. Very clunky in downshifts too. Some new buyers are quite surprised at this after spending $27,000 on a motorcycle and ask if something is wrong with their bike.
I knew the clunks; but given the driveline layout, I never felt them jump the way the CB does. Part of it, of course, is that the power is not yanking on a chain, but on a shaft, through a reduction final drive, and then to the axle. And part of it is that the clutch is an automotive-style single-plate dry clutch, and not a wet clutch-pack.
FWIW, BMW has some serious issues with the shifter mechanism that I haven't heard of with the Japanese brands. Someone even has a tool that's supposed to be used to get the BMW into gear WHEN (not if) the inner shift linkage breaks. His recommendation is to use it to slide it into 2nd and run on that, into town or the repair shop.
Things have changed for BMW since the days of Pirsig's tale.