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First Gear Issue

riding@50

riding@50

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I have a '06 FZ-6 with only 1300 miles on it. I have understood from other posts that a clunking shift is normal especially going from first to second. However, I am wondering if anyone has advice on the adjustment to make for me having a difficult time dropping down to neutral and first when I come down from higher gears. I'll come to a stop and need to be in first and it hangs in second, the light turns and I can't get going unless I feather the clutch to start in second. If I have time at the light I can mess with the throttle and let out on the clutch and I can work it down to first or neutral. It just seems that the gears aren't quite meshing. If I do my down shifting as I'm coming to a stop and get it to neutral before a stop I can drop to first all right, it's just those stop and go quickly times that I get in a predicament. Thanks for any help you all could send my way.
 
It can just be tough to get it into 1st when stopped. Most of the time, I shift into 1st before I come to a stop to avoid having to do this.

When I am stopped in neutral or 2nd and have trouble getting it into 1st, I do what you do - put pressure on the shifter and let the clutch out slowly till 1st engages, then pull the clutch back in. You could also try letting the clutch completely out while in neutral, then pull it back in and try to shift into 1st. That also helps me sometimes.
 
CHEMIKER said:
It can just be tough to get it into 1st when stopped. Most of the time, I shift into 1st before I come to a stop to avoid having to do this.

When I am stopped in neutral or 2nd and have trouble getting it into 1st, I do what you do - put pressure on the shifter and let the clutch out slowly till 1st engages, then pull the clutch back in. You could also try letting the clutch completely out while in neutral, then pull it back in and try to shift into 1st. That also helps me sometimes.
Click to expand...

Have had similar challenges at times, with shifting down. It might hang in 2nd or 3rd if I shift down too fast, or not have a full press on the pedal. What i found to work, if I am stopped and cannot get it into first, to slowly release the clutch at friction zone until the gear engages, then pull the clutch in again and shift down to whatever gear i need it.

It doesn't happen as often as I it happened to me on the Ninja I had before, so it makes me thing, it's a problem with my skills that I need to pay attention to and get rid of the habit.

Thanks for the post!
 
Something else to consider is the safety of being in the proper gear as much as possible. If you see someone in your rearview mirror who might not notice that the light is red, it's nice to be in 1st so you can make an escape.
 
CHEMIKER said:
Something else to consider is the safety of being in the proper gear as much as possible. If you see someone in your rearview mirror who might not notice that the light is red, it's nice to be in 1st so you can make an escape.
Click to expand...

Trying to make an escape like this is almost impossible, especially if there is a car in front of you. By the time you figure out what they may or may not see you won't have a chance to get away.
 
You might try a synthetic oil too, I have heard that helps with rough shifting.

Good call on the bike and :welcome::welcome:
 
stevesnj said:
Trying to make an escape like this is almost impossible, especially if there is a car in front of you. By the time you figure out what they may or may not see you won't have a chance to get away.
Click to expand...

So, don't even try? You're toast anyway so you might as well give your clutch hand a little rest? LOL
 
stevesnj said:
Trying to make an escape like this is almost impossible, especially if there is a car in front of you. By the time you figure out what they may or may not see you won't have a chance to get away.
Click to expand...

I have done it !! I must be talented!! :BLAA: lol that is over a 20 plus year riding career though.....at 18 years old jumped to the shoulder because I saw him coming in the Camaro WAY TO FAST (had a car in front of me) was watching my mirrors...wonder if I could do it now pushing 36....i hope so!! :rockon: :D
 
:welcome: to the forum & may I ask....where in Colorado are you? There's a few of us scattered along the front range.....:rockon:
 
This has been talked about a lot. My '08 has 3800 miles and I've noticed that the last 200 or so have really loosened up the trannie. Has anyone else noticed this! I thought I see something here before now but I haven't. Thought I'd share.
 
riding@50 said:
I have a '06 FZ-6 with only 1300 miles on it. I have understood from other posts that a clunking shift is normal especially going from first to second. However, I am wondering if anyone has advice on the adjustment to make for me having a difficult time dropping down to neutral and first when I come down from higher gears. I'll come to a stop and need to be in first and it hangs in second, the light turns and I can't get going unless I feather the clutch to start in second. If I have time at the light I can mess with the throttle and let out on the clutch and I can work it down to first or neutral. It just seems that the gears aren't quite meshing. If I do my down shifting as I'm coming to a stop and get it to neutral before a stop I can drop to first all right, it's just those stop and go quickly times that I get in a predicament. Thanks for any help you all could send my way.
Click to expand...

Another thing you should try is lubricating the shifter linkage. All the pivoting points, and the seal going into the transmission. The shifter forks have to release the previous gear in order to engage the next one.... if they don't, it won't shift.

A second thing to learn on this bike, is that it is very sensitive to shifting at too low of an engine speed. The transmission will become balky if the shaft speeds are not within the appropriate speed range.... trying to shift 3rd into 4th at 30 MPH is a good example. If the engine has 5K on it at the time you want to shift, it's smooth as knife through butter. 8K is even better.

Down shifts are best accomplished with a good blip of the throttle. For this to work most effectively, you want to shift back down to first where your speed would require ~ 5K on the tach if you were already in first.
 
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