question for those who own/owned fz6 and other bikes...

[fazer.rider]

hi folks, i have a question, how do you compare the fz6 shifting/tranny with other bikes you own? like the fz1 or r6 or r1, anything really. sometimes i feel the shifting isn't as smooth. not sure if the cold weather has something to do with it.

sometimes when i start the bike and put it in gear, as i press down the shifter i can hear "clicking" sound before the bike is in gear. what's up with that???

when i clutchless upshift it's pretty smooth but there are times where i can feel a little "resistance". just a feeling though and the bike goes up a gear just fine. i think this has more to do with what speed and rpm im at. not sure.

thanks :rockon:

 

[Wavex]

FZ6 gearbox is notoriously clunky.

My Suzuki is super smooth... the Buell is super clunky too

 

[RJ2112]

This is a balky transmission.....for street use. I suspect it's primarily meant to be a 'racing' use unit.

If you are not in the expected/designed RPM range when you shift, it's common for it to argue about a shift. Romping on it usually leads to better shifts. In fact, this is the easiest transmission I have owned to do clutchless shifts with..... but only if I am using the transmission the way that it's designed.

Shifting too early? Reeee-jected! Romp hard? snik snik snik. Doesn't really seem to shift well when you have less than 5-6K on the tach. Shifts like hot knife through butter at 8+.

 

[fazer.rider]

speaking of clutchless shifts, does anyone know why if i'm at 2nd gear at 10,000 + rpm and i clutchless upshift i feel a sudden jerk? normal? first time it happened i thought i broke something LOL

 

[Wavex]

you probably will if you continue to do it lol

RJ, not sure the clunkiness has anything to do with "race use" design... all the race replica bikes I tried had much smoother trannies.

 

[RJ2112]

<<does anyone know why if i'm at 2nd gear at 10,000 + rpm and i clutchless upshift i feel a sudden jerk? normal? first time it happened i thought i broke something LOL>>

If I misunderstood what you said here, I apologize in advance.

Just because you are not using the clutch lever...... you still need to match the shaft speeds, and loads on the transmission. If you are feeling a hard 'bang' when you pop it into the next gear, I'd have to think you are in the power too hard when you shift ( i.e., you didn't slightly back off the throttle when you shifted, so the motor is still increasing revs when neither gear is engaged.)

When the gear set shifts over on the shafts and engages the next set of gears to give you the 'longer' ratio.... that all happens on the 'dogs' on the back of the gear pair. Little metal stubs that lock the gear pairs together. Pegs on one, slot in the other. Maybe as big in diameter as a pencil..... whack those heard enough, and they will bend, or break.

If you break one, and get lucky, it just falls to the bottom of the transmission. It could also get caught between the teeth of a gear pair, and either lock the transmission or destroy the teeth on that gear set. Any of the above require a transmission rebuild.

 

[RJ2112]

you probably will if you continue to do it lol

RJ, not sure the clunkiness has anything to do with "race use" design... all the race replica bikes I tried had much smoother trannies.

Could be, Wavex.... I just know this one is balky when it comes to short shifting it well below where it wants to be shifted. It shifts better and better with RPM.

 

[fazer.rider]

i see, i think my tranny is fine because it's been awhile since i last did the wide open throttle clutchless upshift.

well, this is what i did.
- 2nd gear wide open at around 10,000 - 11,000 rpm
- while bike still accelerating, off gas, kick up shifter to 3rd gear, on gas

the forward jerk happens the moment i kick up the shifter. no weird noises or anything, just a split second jerk. i wonder what causes it.

 

[Wavex]

Just use your damn clutch! that's what it's there for. And please don't tell me you do it because you need to drop your commute time by 2 tenths of a second

 

[MG-242]

I have, and have had a lot of bikes, a lot of Yamahas, and I'd say it's one of the worse. Jamming (for lack of a better term) is the most frustrating part. But, I'd also say that's my only complaint. And, as someone else said recently, I wouldn't get rid of it for that reason. Once you are aware of its (the transmission) short comings, it's a little easier to manage. I almost find myself counting the number of clicks when I down shift just to be sure I'm in first when I stop.

I haven't owned an H-D, but the air-cooled ones are clunkers as well. I do have a Ducati and it's a clunker too, but not as bad as the air-cooled H-D's. It never "jams", but if you're not firm with it, you'll see false neutrals.

 

[deeptekkie]

Not sure this is what you are hearing but mine "clicks" when I am sitting in neutral with the clutch lever out. When I pull it in it gets quiet. The day I first test rode it I asked about this and they said that was normal. I've never worried about that and it seems fine. As far as the clunky noises go, just enjoy the music!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I find, more so with my FJR, that if you hold in the clutch, for a couple of seconds, before you shift into 1st, its not nearly as clunky.....

The FJR is smoother but I don't think the FZ is bad at all...

Scott

 

[jtarkany]

The only other bikes I have ever had were all dirt bikes from my first, a little Yamaha 80 back in the 70's, to my last, and recently sold YZ 250, they all shifted smoother than the FZ6. I still love it though (the FZ, not so much the gear box)

The biggest area of concern for me seems to be 1st to 2nd.

 

[wlaroche]

I have the clunk when going into first. I have only had it for 500 miles before winter set in, but I can tell that it likes to have some extra R's before you shift. With it being a little colder I have sometimes had it hit neutral when trying to go to second. I am not sure if it is just me, cold tranny, not that many miles on it or sat for to long (2 1/2 years). I am just going to watch it next spring and see if the shifting starts to improve with a little more R's.

 

[bobh]

I get the clunk going into first, except after I've just started the bike up - which is odd because you'd think that's when the clutch would be stickiest. But most bikes I've had have been the same - I think the worst was the Aprilia Mille that I recently got rid of.

Though I've not ridden the latest R6 or R1, in my experience Yamaha gearboxes in general have always been clunky, right from the RD400 I had in 1980-81 (wish I still had it!). The 5-speed ones, e.g. XJ900S and XT660R, have been a bit better.

I'm told the new XJ6, which uses basically the same engine unit as the FZ, is a big improvement. Maybe someone at Yamaha has had a look inside a Suzuki box to find out what makes them so sweet!

 

[Drinky]

The only thing I absolutely hated about the fz6 was the gearbox.
When I rode her hard from 0-60 it had trouble getting into 2nd gear, grinding teeth or going into neutral as a result.
Have absolutely no problems with my fz1's gearbox.