Friggin' bike won't downshift

[Capo79]

I know, I did my search on the forum, and my bike has the exact same symptoms as others have reported previously. It seems that others with the same problem say this is common and somewhat normal for our bikes, but I can't see how that can be. My bike started doing this crap today, and not just a little bit, but a whole lot of it.

I first noticed it on my way home from work, trying to downshift two gears through a tunnel, from sixth to fourth gear. The bike wouldn't do that, the gear lever stayed put and wouldn't move. This has never been a problem before. When I got home, it just got worse. At an intersection coming to a stop, the bike refused shifting from second to first as the lever once again stayed put and wouldn't move. WTF is that all about??

I have now tried adjusting the clutch lever, removed the gear rod and greased whatever that could be greased, but it doesn't help. I inspeced everything, and the stuff surrounding the gear rod seems to be in place and intact just like the pictures in my Haynes manual. It kind of freaks me out that this can happen just like that in one day...

Anyway, I did what a lot of you have recommended in the other threads, namely nudging the gear lever a bit upwards before pushing ut down. That works. I have also done the revving between downshifts, but that won't help.

If any of you guys have a solution for this, I'd appreciate it enormously!

 

[Shamus McFeeley]

Have you looked at this? A bend or bad spring might be the cause if all else fails.

 

[Cali rider]

After reading the steps you have taken I'm not sure what you have actually inspected. What is the "gear rod"?

Therefore, I'll just submit the attached document and ask: Did you remove the shift shaft cover and verify that the shift shaft spring is not damaged or bound up with some debris?

 

[Capo79]

With "gear rod" I meant the shift shaft thingy. I opened up the cover and looked for debris. I also had a look at the spring to see if that was damaged, but everything seemed fine.

After thinking about it, I guess this has to be the issue anyway. I will take an even closer look tomorrow or something and try to figure out what this is all about. Can't have a rev-happy bike without being able to downshift two or three gears at once....

Thanks for the replies, both of you:thumbup:

 

[Capo79]

If anything, wouldn't it be the stopper lever spring that could cause this? It's this spring that force the gear lever going back up a nudge, after shifting down, right?

 

[RJ2112]

If anything, wouldn't it be the stopper lever spring that could cause this? It's this spring that force the gear lever going back up a nudge, after shifting down, right?

This is almost always caused by grime building up on the shafts, causing some binding.... the spring can'[t return to it's correct position, so you can't get the second shift done.

Take either some WD-40, or some Lithium spray on grease, and lubricate every single pivoting point in the shifter linkage. The lever pivot, the ball joints at either end of the shifter rod, and especially the input shaft to the transmission.

Should clear right up.

 

[Capo79]

The solution was more simple than I thought! I dismantled everything, including the gear lever. I cleaned the bolt holding the lever in place, and greased it. That did the trick. So, for everyone having similar experience, I can only recommend you to do the same:thumbup: In other words, my problem had nothing to do with the shift shaft mechanism, springs etc.

 

[Rogue Booger]

I know that this is a very old post but I'm a new guy to the forum and my FZ6 (2002). My bike was driving me nuts trying to downshift after coming off of interstate runs.This thread fixed it! I like to start repairs and diagnosing things with "what's the least expensive thing to do first?" Often basics win the day. In my case there was an excess of dried crud in the shifter lever bearing surface. Once I removed the shift lever and thoroughly cleaned it and re-lubricated both ends of the shiftt rod the bike shifts better than it ever has! I was thinking bad clutch, bad transmission, sell the bike, and other non issues. All it was - was dirt!
MANY THANKS FOR THE HELP AND EXPERTISE! THIS SITE IS AWESOME!