Bike Wont Go into first!

[06fz6green]

I went on a short ride yesterday and towards the end of the ride my bike never wanted to go into first. No matter what rpm i was at in second it wouldnt go into first. I would have to stop and mess with it gearing up and down to finaly get it to go in. But when it isnt running it will go in and as long as your rolling it. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[stevesnj]

Check the oil first, low oil will cause this, also try slight feather engaging of the clutch while trying to go into first. If your rolling to a stop and try to go into first sometimes it won't. You just may need a linkage adjustment too.

 

[06fz6green]

i checked the oil as soon as i got back it was fine. im running full synthetic amsoil. if it does down gear it does it fine. there is really no in between. I hope it is just the linkage.

 

[RJ2112]

i checked the oil as soon as i got back it was fine. im running full synthetic amsoil. if it does down gear it does it fine. there is really no in between. I hope it is just the linkage.

Depending on how abused the bike was, you may or may not have a serious issue. When you lubricate the linkage, spray all of the pivoting points, and the seal going into the transmission. All of that should move freely.

You may have a chain that is too tight. If it's seriously over tight, that will put sideways tension on the output shaft of the transmission. Ensure you have more than the minimum slack in the chain, and see if that helps.

Does the bike ever pop out of gear unexpectedly? Particularly 1st to 2nd?

 

[06fz6green]

No it never pops out of gear. And when you start off in fist and up shift everything is fine. but it just doesnt want to downgear back into first. Yesterday on my way home i put slight pressure on the shifter lever as if i were going to shift to third and then down geared and it went in. but that was right before my drive way and it was raining today so i didnt get to take it out. Thanks for the help and please keep it coming

 

[jazzpaintball]

So when you down shift from 2nd, it is just popping strait into neutral?
Or is it not even wanting to down shift at all from 2nd. The reason I ask is that maybe there could be a problem with the linkage engagement from the 'other side' of neutral.

 

[06fz6green]

No, it doesnt even go into neutral, the shifter moves but it is like there is nothing there.

 

[nimzotech]

Transmission problem? opcorn:

 

[06fz6green]

I have never abused the bike. I ride hard every once in a while but nothing extreme. 90% of the time im cruising. It had 5400 miles on it when i bought it and now has 8700 and i know the guy whod had it before me wasnt hard on it either.

 

[RJ2112]

I have never abused the bike. I ride hard every once in a while but nothing extreme. 90% of the time im cruising. It had 5400 miles on it when i bought it and now has 8700 and i know the guy whod had it before me wasnt hard on it either.

The FZ6 transmission is pretty 'balky' when you try to force it into lower gears at too low of an engine speed.... or short shift 'up'.

Do you know how to 'double clutch'?

 

[jazzpaintball]

I am not a full-fledged mechanic, but I do have an idea.

Use a rear stand (hopefully you or a buddy has one that has rubber stoppers) to lift the rear tire off the ground.

start the bike and slowly release the clutch. The tire will spin regardless of gear (1st or 2nd)

Once in second, slowly shorten your shift-peg. Between each adjustment try to shift down.

you can do this while riding the bike, but is more cumbersome.

The only thing i can think of with the bike having such low miles and going off of your word that it is not abused is that the shift is shorter from 2nd to 3rd to 4th to 5th to 6th and back down.
To get to neutral and first, a longer 'stroke' from the shift-peg is needed. Even though the peg goes all the way down, the actual gear box may not be going just far enough to hit neutral and first.

Although this is a far stretch for a single stroke usually gets you from 2nd to 1st and visa versa.

I do hope you can figure out what is wrong and that the solution wont make be a great hassle or take a chunk of your wallet.

 

[Kilbane83]

Try putting some upward pressure on the shifter while moving, then release pressure, engage clutch and try to downshift. Mine was doing this after very long fast rides every now and then.

I recently had to tear my transmission apart to replace a bent shift fork after it started slipping out of second gear. Don't know if that is a possible precursor to the issue I had, or if it's just the sloppy tranny of the FZ6.

 

[segue00]

Here are my suggestions:

1) Check oil level. Having too much oil in the crankcase may make shifting harder due to not enough room for the oil to expand when hot.

2) Check chain tension, adjust if necessary. Too loose or too tight chain can make shifting harder due to irregular load when loose or too much drive tension when tight.

3) Check idle. Adjust to spec if necessary.

4) Check shifter linkages and make sure the marks on the shaft and the push rod are lined up and tightly fastened.

5) Down-shift into 1st while going less than 10 mph. Do so quickly, deliberately with a stomping motion on the shifter. I usually do it just before I put a foot down. Stomp on that shifter deliberately and quickly.

Goodluck... I hope you get it sorted out.

 

[06fz6green]

Yes i know how to double clutch but i havent tried that. All of the other gears will go in and out with out using the cluth if at the right rpm. Do you think trying it on the center stand will tell me anything. And now i went out and my rear tire is flat, spring is starting out rough.

 

[06fz6green]

I just checked the oil level but the bike was cold and it is slightly above the maximum do you think this could be a problem? If so do you think i could drain it and just use new oil i just changed it 7800 miles. And i put it on the center stand and it went in and out with it running fine. So i will just have to ride today and see what happens when the bike gets warm.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I just checked the oil level but the bike was cold and it is slightly above the maximum do you think this could be a problem? If so do you think i could drain it and just use new oil i just changed it 7800 miles. And i put it on the center stand and it went in and out with it running fine. So i will just have to ride today and see what happens when the bike gets warm.

The slightly overfill shouldn't cause the problems but you can let some out by loosening the oil filter and let a little drain, re-tighten of course.... Eliminate that potential problem...

Check the excess, removed oil, closely for any shiny metal particles too....

Make sure your clutch lever is also properly adjusted as well..

 

[RJ2112]

Yes i know how to double clutch but i havent tried that. All of the other gears will go in and out with out using the cluth if at the right rpm. Do you think trying it on the center stand will tell me anything. And now i went out and my rear tire is flat, spring is starting out rough.

Trying it on the center stand won't tell you anything....

Matching input shaft speed to output shaft speed is important with this bike to get 'clean' shifts. That throttle blip on the down shift will allow the bike to snick into a lower gear with a lot less force on the shifter. sounds like you know how to do that...... Knowing 1st will get you all the way to 50+ MPH at max RPM, what speed and RPM are you attempting to down shift to first, when this problem occurs?

If the bike has sat around enough to get a flat, you really need to do the lubrication of the shifter linkage. Each point that moves should be as free moving as possible.

Can't remember if it was this thread or another; someone mentioned the shifter 'throw' as being different between 1-2 and 2-3,3-4, etc. Near as I remember, that's not the case. Neutral is a half step, between 1st and 2nd.

The shifter only goes through one motion, and has to reset to a rest at a mid point, between shifts. If the linkage is dirty, and there is any binding it may not come back to that rest position quickly enough.

Proper slack in the chain is important to shift quality..... with the bike on the center stand, you should be able to push the lower run of chain up to almost making contact with the swing arm.

The other possibility is that you have a bent shifter fork, or a bent 'dog' on 1st gear. Either one would require opening up the transmission to repair.... so I'm hoping that this is not the case.

I know this is a low mileage bike, and shouldn't be having that sort of difficulty. Do you know if the previous owner changed the sprockets and chain? Trying to figure out what may be contributing.... I seriously hope it';s nothing more than you needing to master the shift technique required by this bike. Much cheaper that way.... :thumbup:

 

[06fz6green]

The tire actually went flat over night so i guess a picked a nail up, just my luck. And i have put 4000 miles on the bike and have had no trouble with shifting im getting ready to pump up the tire and let some oil out ill let you guys know something later. thanks for the input. And they didnt change the sprocket and chain.

 

[06fz6green]

Well i went for a really short ride maybe 10 miles and the bike did it twice. The first time it was probably my fault because i down geared really late. Then next time it was actually having trouble going back down into 2nd. But i put a lil pressure up and then it shifted down fine. It's almost like the sifter isnt getting back into the right spot.

 

[RJ2112]

Sounds like the linkage needs to be lubricated........