[BavarianBullet]

My own 335XI had issues with the shifter on the 1-2 shift as well. there's something not entirely right about it from a design standpoint.

I installed the BMW SSK lever ($70) and noticed that 2nd gear was just as bad as with the stock shifter. 2-3 and 3-4 are trouble-free and smooth, however.

What I did eventually find out was that part of the design defect of the 6MT shift linkage is that which direction you pull the lever to get the car into 2nd makes a difference. Thus unless my forearm is perfectly in line with the centerline of the car, 2nd gear upshifts tend to have a feeling like the synchro just doesn't want to do it's job at anything but slow shift speeds.

In other words, unless I make a conscious decision to kick my elbow out to the right a little more when pulling back on the shifter, I get a lot of resistance. A sort of "clunk-clunk" going into 2nd rather than just single "clunk" going into the other gears.

Aftermarket shifters are supposed to clear this up but at over $300, they're not cheap and many supposedly do not fit the XI.