trouble downshifting

05-22-2008, 10:07 PM

well, i have a problem that popped up suddenly and seems to be getting worse. when I downshift, sometimes the shifter locks and wont move and the gear indicator is dark. if i let the clutch out a bit to engage the gear I can then pull back in and will be able to downshift as normal from then on.

this has happened a couple of times.

ALSO

a couple of times the bikes popped out of gear during a hard acceleration.

any ideas???????

theENIGMATIC · 05-22-2008, 10:13 PM

Yeah mine does that sometimes too, I thought it was my driving???
I m gonna go kick my bike right now! :twisted:

katoranger · 05-22-2008, 10:16 PM

My old yamaha would get tough to shift when the oil needed changing.

Also check the clutch adjustment.

Allen

05-22-2008, 10:49 PM

thanks Kato. will do.

liverchip · 05-23-2008, 12:05 AM

Yep, check the clutch.

red2003 · 05-23-2008, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zapkin

well, i have a problem that popped up suddenly and seems to be getting worse. when I downshift, sometimes the shifter locks and wont move and the gear indicator is dark. if i let the clutch out a bit to engage the gear I can then pull back in and will be able to downshift as normal from then on.

this has happened a couple of times.

ALSO

a couple of times the bikes popped out of gear during a hard acceleration.

any ideas???????

My Roketa has been fussy about downshifting if I try to grab more then one gear in a single clutch pull. Done it since day one. Your bike popping out of gear under hard acceleration is NOT good news, though. Does it do it in every gear, or one specific gear? That condition is usually caused by worn out gear teeth which are no longer meshing correctly. If it only does it in a specific gear, be gentle on that gear from now on or it WILL fail. If it does it in every gear, you gotta tranny about to crap the bed. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news :? ..........

05-23-2008, 09:17 AM

its done it a couple times in third gear. I will be careful in third. also, im not 100% sure that I clicked it into gear firmly enough. would be funny if the tranny kicked the bucket right before my 6 month warranty was up wouldnt it??? oh well AL need not worry, i'd sooner buy a new engine out of pocket than deal with them.

05-31-2008, 11:05 AM

Well, I adjusted the clutch and changed the oil. No more trouble downshifting. I think i ran that last batch of oil about 1200km..probably too far. Amazing what some new oil can do. Thanks for the tip Kato.

BigBlockThumper · 05-31-2008, 01:23 PM

What I am finding is that new oil in our motors work wounders. I find that I need to change my oil after about 6-10 hours of hard riding especially offroad when the bike heats up alot. The oil will tend to blacken up when it gets overworked. On road cooler riding will extend oil life far beond offroad use.

I also have shifting problems similar to what you have. When I am going fast in 5th and slow down fast with the clutch in to a crawl and go to downshift it sorta locks in 3rd or 4th. This is common in other bikes as well. To unlock I have to let the clutch out a little to free it up. I noticed that it is more likely to lock on older oil. I also find that the engine starts to loose power on older oil because there is more friction. I notice a power loss when the engine heats up in the slow woods riding on a hot day. It's just a small change, the untrained rider may not realize. I want to put an oil cooler in to extend life and performance but I don't see anywhere one could hook up. This would benifit your situation as well. In the meantime make sure you wash the engine cooling fins from caked in mud. Cooling is very important to the life of the oil and engine.

IronFist · 05-31-2008, 02:54 PM

I change my oil far more than I have to. What else am I gonna do on rain days.

Synth seams to last longer, but I change it out and keep it topped up religiously as well. Ya I guess I'm wasting a little bit of money every time, but I never had a problem shifting. I'm knoking on wood as I type, so I don't start having problems tomorrow.

pacman · 05-31-2008, 05:24 PM

I've had trouble up shifting twice. Both times it was solved by a simple oil change. It's a bit surprising how dark the oil will get after just a few thousand kilometers. Have'nt had that problem on any of my Jap bikes....

katoranger · 05-31-2008, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zapkin

Well, I adjusted the clutch and changed the oil. No more trouble downshifting. I think i ran that last batch of oil about 1200km..probably too far. Amazing what some new oil can do. Thanks for the tip Kato.

My yamaha would get hard to shift if I went to long.

Allen

katoranger · 05-31-2008, 07:52 PM

Someone had mentioned that they were working on an oil cooler. I haven't seen any more from them.

Allen

yurkia · 05-31-2008, 08:47 PM

saw an oil cooler on a parts website recently...somewhere....

05-22-2008, 10:07 PM	#1
Guest Posts: n/a	trouble downshifting well, i have a problem that popped up suddenly and seems to be getting worse. when I downshift, sometimes the shifter locks and wont move and the gear indicator is dark. if i let the clutch out a bit to engage the gear I can then pull back in and will be able to downshift as normal from then on. this has happened a couple of times. ALSO a couple of times the bikes popped out of gear during a hard acceleration. any ideas???????
	0

05-22-2008, 10:16 PM	#3
katoranger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Altamont, Kansas Posts: 15,103	My old yamaha would get tough to shift when the oil needed changing. Also check the clutch adjustment. Allen __________________ You meet the nicest people on a Honda Clone.
	0

05-23-2008, 12:05 AM	#5
liverchip Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mystery Spot Posts: 1,223	Yep, check the clutch. __________________ 2009 XR650L Big Red Pig Tusk bar risers 2007 X-Moto(Jetmoto) GY250 --mods--- 15/40 sprockets UNI Pod Filter 2007 Shineray TMS 200XYi--Betsy Betsy Mods:______________________ Acerbis DHH headlight FMF Powercore pipe Uni Pod Filter
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05-31-2008, 02:54 PM	#10
IronFist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Ontario Canada Posts: 2,585	I change my oil far more than I have to. What else am I gonna do on rain days. Synth seams to last longer, but I change it out and keep it topped up religiously as well. Ya I guess I'm wasting a little bit of money every time, but I never had a problem shifting. I'm knoking on wood as I type, so I don't start having problems tomorrow. __________________ IronFist ___________________________________ The "chain" of command is used for beating spammers. ___________________________________
	0

05-31-2008, 07:52 PM	#13
katoranger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Altamont, Kansas Posts: 15,103	Someone had mentioned that they were working on an oil cooler. I haven't seen any more from them. Allen __________________ You meet the nicest people on a Honda Clone.
	0

05-22-2008, 10:13 PM	#2
theENIGMATIC Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 392	Yeah mine does that sometimes too, I thought it was my driving??? I m gonna go kick my bike right now! :twisted:
	0

05-22-2008, 10:49 PM	#4
Guest Posts: n/a	thanks Kato. will do.
	0

05-23-2008, 09:17 AM	#7
Guest Posts: n/a	its done it a couple times in third gear. I will be careful in third. also, im not 100% sure that I clicked it into gear firmly enough. would be funny if the tranny kicked the bucket right before my 6 month warranty was up wouldnt it??? oh well AL need not worry, i'd sooner buy a new engine out of pocket than deal with them.
	0

05-31-2008, 11:05 AM	#8
Guest Posts: n/a	Well, I adjusted the clutch and changed the oil. No more trouble downshifting. I think i ran that last batch of oil about 1200km..probably too far. Amazing what some new oil can do. Thanks for the tip Kato.
	0

05-31-2008, 01:23 PM	#9
BigBlockThumper Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 9	What I am finding is that new oil in our motors work wounders. I find that I need to change my oil after about 6-10 hours of hard riding especially offroad when the bike heats up alot. The oil will tend to blacken up when it gets overworked. On road cooler riding will extend oil life far beond offroad use. I also have shifting problems similar to what you have. When I am going fast in 5th and slow down fast with the clutch in to a crawl and go to downshift it sorta locks in 3rd or 4th. This is common in other bikes as well. To unlock I have to let the clutch out a little to free it up. I noticed that it is more likely to lock on older oil. I also find that the engine starts to loose power on older oil because there is more friction. I notice a power loss when the engine heats up in the slow woods riding on a hot day. It's just a small change, the untrained rider may not realize. I want to put an oil cooler in to extend life and performance but I don't see anywhere one could hook up. This would benifit your situation as well. In the meantime make sure you wash the engine cooling fins from caked in mud. Cooling is very important to the life of the oil and engine.
	0

05-31-2008, 05:24 PM	#11
pacman Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 36	I've had trouble up shifting twice. Both times it was solved by a simple oil change. It's a bit surprising how dark the oil will get after just a few thousand kilometers. Have'nt had that problem on any of my Jap bikes....
	0

05-31-2008, 08:47 PM	#14
yurkia Join Date: May 2008 Location: New Franklin, Missouri Posts: 243	saw an oil cooler on a parts website recently...somewhere.... __________________ '09 Kawasaki KLR 650 '07 Zongshen 200cc Dirt Bike K&N cone filter, FMF Powercore Exhaust, Moose Barkbusters & lotta threadlock.
	0