Weird Gear issue

[novaks47]

I had a strange shifting issue today on the way home from work. This was the first 100 degree weather I've ridden this bike in, not sure if the heat was a contributer or not. I was cruising in traffic in 5th gear, and the lane finally cleared up. I briskly accelerated(not hard, but not taking it too easy either), and shifted into 6th at around 6K RPM's. I was greeted with a strange clunking, as if the chain had slipped or something, and it did this for a second or two before finally "clunking" into 6th. I thought either the chain slipped, or I botched the shift. I took it easy afterwards, and all seemed fine. I even did a heavy throttle run through the gears, shifting at 7K each time, and no problems. I really gassed it in second coming out of first, to see if the chain would slip, but all was fine. A few miles later, I jumped around a car and got on it pretty hard, and again, 6th wasn't happening! It clunked around really bad, the revs jumped around, and the bike just kind of coasted, as if in neutral, before it finally "chose" 6th gear. It sounded as if it was bouncing back and forth between 5th and 6th really fast! A bit later, it felt like it just barely engaged 5th(it did a slight, double "click"), and I was taking it easy. A few miles later, and many shifts, and no issues. Could my clutch need adjustment? Could my chain be just loose enough to make 5th and 6th a pain? Did my oil thin out too much? The oil BTW, is Mobil 1 Racing 4T, I *think* it was 10W40. I can't remember, and I can't seem to locate where I wrote it done. Doh! It's been about 900 miles since the change.

 

[Ridgeback]

I had the same sort of thing on my Husky and it turned out to be the gear selector forks on their way out

Hopefully not that,as these lumps seem pretty tough.What's your mileage?

 

[novaks47]

I got it used with 4200miles, it's a little over 5K now.

 

[Ridgeback]

I would be amazed if it's a selector fork then.
Hopefully it's something easy to fix.Sure someone will come along who can help :thumbup:

 

[marke14]

Hey Novaks47, welcome to the forum! I'll take a whack ...

First of all, it's DEFINITELY your oil. It's Amsoil or it's nothing, baby.


Just kidding, of course.

I think others here will ask you for a little more info, such as:

* how many miles are you your fine 2006 machine?

* are you the original owner? How many miles have you put on it?

* how many miles on the chain?

* how hard do you ride the thing typically?

* are you a "good shifter"? You said that you haven't had this issue before so probably you have good shifting technique.

* have you considered the fact that it could be due to the blue color of your bike? :Flash: Painting it RED might help!


I've had some random clunkiness with my bike's transmission too - I've had one or two cases of a false neutral, and I've definitely "double tapped" the shifter. I have NEVER heard of a chain slipping but I know it must be possible if your countershaft sprocket was really worn down.

See if it continues to happen and try to spot a pattern. Good luck and report back!

 

[novaks47]

Hey Novaks47, welcome to the forum! I'll take a whack ...

First of all, it's DEFINITELY your oil. It's Amsoil or it's nothing, baby.


Just kidding, of course.

I think others here will ask you for a little more info, such as:

* how many miles are you your fine 2006 machine?

* are you the original owner? How many miles have you put on it?

* how many miles on the chain?

* how hard do you ride the thing typically?

* are you a "good shifter"? You said that you haven't had this issue before so probably you have good shifting technique.

* have you considered the fact that it could be due to the blue color of your bike? :Flash: Painting it RED might help!


I've had some random clunkiness with my bike's transmission too - I've had one or two cases of a false neutral, and I've definitely "double tapped" the shifter. I have NEVER heard of a chain slipping but I know it must be possible if your countershaft sprocket was really worn down.

See if it continues to happen and try to spot a pattern. Good luck and report back!

*About 5100 miles

*Nope, bought it used with 4200 miles

*Chain is original, so 5100 miles

*I'm still learning the bike's power, so I'm not terribly hard on the bike. It's seen 8K RPM's ONCE. Usually I shift at 7K at the latest. More than fast enough for around here. I'll jam on the throttle hard fairly often, despite my wussy early shifting. lol

*My shifting is pretty good, I usually only have an issue with missing 2nd, if I'm really tired and moving slow(like behind slow moving cars). lol

*I might paint it red, should the funds become available in the future. I really do love red, but I would paint it a loud, bright, solid red, like you see on the new Audi's and 'Vettes.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I'd pull the left side sprocket cover off and check the sprocket. If its worn that bad, it'll slip in the lower gears before it'll slip in the higher gears. Check your chain tension/lube as well.

From what your describing, it sounds like your transmission shifter forks/gear cogs are going south.

 

[Ridgeback]

If it is the fork ears wearing,the previous owner must have changed without ever using the clutch

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

If shifted correctly, you can shift without the clutch without hurting anything (correct RPM with the appropriate speed).

If the transmission is abused, shifter fork, gear cogs bend/wear. Its usually the lower gears that get abused/damaged. The PO apparently did something wrong...

As a side note, I had an 1985 Honda Shadow 1100 (first year out). It began jumping out of 5th gear on its own, no load. The bike was bought new by myself and was not abused. I attibute the failure to being a first year new model bike.

The FZ6 has a pretty solid gear box and has been around awhile.

 

[novaks47]

I really hope that's not the case! I'd hate to drop cash on fixing a bike that's so low in miles. I know my chain is on the loose side, and maybe it loosened up more in the heat? I need to re-evaluate my chain tensioning method. I set it in the middle of the range, but it still looks too loose.

I did tighten up the clutch cable a bit las night, but I really don't see how that could have affected only the top gears. However, on my TW, it liked to pop into neutral rather than second when it was newish, but tightening up the clutch cable and drive chain seemed to take care of that.

I rode to work this morning, and no shifting issues. I even gave it a few good thrashings, and it shifted nice as can be. I even paced a brief drag race between two Infiniti's. There I am behind them, shifting at no more than 7K, giving it 40% throttle, and keeping up with ease. I backed out by 50mph(40 zone), and they just kept on draggin'. What's funny, one was a G35(re-bodied Z), and the other was that monstrous QX-something SUV, and they were dead even! So mister SUV had some mods. Would've been cooler though if mister SUV hadn't tail-gaited me a bit before that(less than a foot away)! I hope he upgraded his brakes too, the way he was driving. Anyways, back on topic, the real test will be on the way home in the heat. Then I can truly duplicate the original conditions in which it started to fail.

 

[novaks47]

OK, so here's the update.

I checked the front sprocket, and it looked fine. Hardly any wear at all, which was surprising, given the rear looks a little chewed up. It did give me chance to clean that area out though, which it needed. Nasty! I also oiled the shifter linkage while I was there.

It wasn't as hot yesterday on my return trip, but close(95F). I beat the heck out of it, and it worked flawlessly! Today, the same! I ran it through all the gears multiple times, and at different revs, all without issue. So, either it decided to be a pain for no reason, or maybe I just buggered the shifts. I probably was trying to shift it too fast, not giving it time to reset between gears. Either way, the bike is happy, and so am I.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

You may have not released the shifter fully thus not allowing the shifting mechanism to get back to its centered position. Once its centered up (released) you can resume to shift.

You don't want to bugger up and gears/shifter forks.

 

[novaks47]

You may have not released the shifter fully thus not allowing the shifting mechanism to get back to its centered position. Once its centered up (released) you can resume to shift.

You don't want to bugger up and gears/shifter forks.

That could very well be the case. I never fully rule out rider error, especially if it's on the way home from work when I'm tired. lol This is my first sport-ish bike, and I've still got lots to learn!

 

[cap'n]

Hey you know you can (and maybe should) adjust the angle of the shift lever down by your foot right? That helped me with missing shifts my first year on this bike. I put mine one notch lower, and it falls in a MUCH better place in relation to my foot angle. You just take out the retainer nut on the end of the shift linkage (You'll see it, right above the foot peg), then slide the linkage off the knurled shaft, tilt, and slide back on. Try and few positions til you find the best one.

 

[SirIsaac]

Hey you know you can (and maybe should) adjust the angle of the shift lever down by your foot right? That helped me with missing shifts my first year on this bike. I put mine one notch lower, and it falls in a MUCH better place in relation to my foot angle. You just take out the retainer nut on the end of the shift linkage (You'll see it, right above the foot peg), then slide the linkage off the knurled shaft, tilt, and slide back on. Try and few positions til you find the best one.

You can do a fine adjustment of the lever position by loosening the nuts on each end of the linkage rod and screwing the rod in or out. The threads on one end of the rod (I think the end by the lever) are reverse threaded, so watch out for that when loosening the lock nut.

If you lower the lever too much it will bang into the sidestand mounting bolt, which will also interfere proper shifting.

 

[novaks47]

Hey you know you can (and maybe should) adjust the angle of the shift lever down by your foot right? That helped me with missing shifts my first year on this bike. I put mine one notch lower, and it falls in a MUCH better place in relation to my foot angle. You just take out the retainer nut on the end of the shift linkage (You'll see it, right above the foot peg), then slide the linkage off the knurled shaft, tilt, and slide back on. Try and few positions til you find the best one.

Didn't even think of that! Doh! I did adjust the rear brake already, and I never even thought to mess with the shifter. I'll take a stab at it today, and see if moving it around will be any better. Thanks!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

You can do a fine adjustment of the lever position by loosening the nuts on each end of the linkage rod and screwing the rod in or out. The threads on one end of the rod (I think the end by the lever) are reverse threaded, so watch out for that when loosening the lock nut.

If you lower the lever too much it will bang into the sidestand mounting bolt, which will also interfere proper shifting.

+1 on the above. This is correct and one end IS REVERSE THREADED for fine adjustment. Just crack the locknuts loose on each end and turn the main shifter shaft watching the lever go up or down. Re-lock the lock nuts. Its helped some by lubing the ends as well..

Prior to me purchasing my 07 we had to adjust the shifter some (using the above method) for the 1st owner. The adjustment did help the first owner with his shifts...

 

[PhotoAl]

Have had similar problems in the past. Seems like it was due to poor shifting technique. Try preloading and if you use the clutch make sure it is fully disengaged and and you make the complete move from one gear to the next. Can be very disturbing when it happens. My bike is a 2004 with 14,000 miles on it. It had 2,800 on it when I got it 1.5 years ago. I've ridden a lot in the heat this year and have not had a problem.

 

[JAZZ-n-FZ6]

I adjusted my shifter lever and it did help with making the lever be in a more comfortable place...BUT I adjusted it a little too far and it made it pop out of gear sometimes because it was not fully able to get into gear.