Can't shift while stopped?

[MooseJuice71]

I am having trouble shifting while stopped. An easy solution would be to shift down to 1st before I come to a stop, but it still bothers me that it is happening. Any ideas what is causing this? I am running Amsoil 10W-40.

 

[Motogiro]

My first thought is it might be the clutch is not fully disengaged when you pull in the lever. Try turning off the motor and see if it will shift.

Edit: I'll assume the oil is motorcycle specific?

 

[agf]

I am having trouble shifting while stopped. An easy solution would be to shift down to 1st before I come to a stop, but it still bothers me that it is happening. Any ideas what is causing this? I am running Amsoil 10W-40.

g'day, I had this too and I read in a post that as the gears are supposed to engage/ disengage while the bike is in motion, it can be a litle "stiff" getting back to neutral or first. Best advice was to change down as you pull up, I have been getting into the habit and it makes life much easier when the light turns green and you want to gun it, you know youre ready
The only other thing to do when caught in 4th or 5th seems to be let the clutch out a little ti l it grabs pull it back in then shift down.
It still happens from time to time but reading that others have the same issue is reassuring
btw I am not sure what oil Yam. put in on the first service

 

[Esra]

I've always gone up and down the gears when stopped (when I needed to)

 

[Motogiro]

g'day, I had this too and I read in a post that as the gears are supposed to engage/ disengage while the bike is in motion, it can be a litle "stiff" getting back to neutral or first. Best advice was to change down as you pull up, I have been getting into the habit and it makes life much easier when the light turns green and you want to gun it, you know youre ready
The only other thing to do when caught in 4th or 5th seems to be let the clutch out a little ti l it grabs pull it back in then shift down.
It still happens from time to time but reading that others have the same issue is reassuring
btw I am not sure what oil Yam. put in on the first service

This true ^^^ The gears are tougher to shift if you're not rolling and will sometimes hang. A slight/soft engagement of the clutch will usually always step it to one or the other gears if it's stuck between.

If you're in neutral you should be able to put it in first.

 

[Shamus McFeeley]

Don't forget to check your shift linkage / return spring. Dirt gets in there over time and can cause problems too.

Like the others said though, it's usually harder to shift gears when the bike isn't moving.

 

[MooseJuice71]

Ok, so it sounds like this isn't something to be really worried about. I will look over the linkage to make sure its clean. The oil I am running is indeed motorcycle specific. Ill just make it a habit to downshift while still moving. Thanks for the tips!

 

[BamBam77]

When I hit about 4000 miles my bike started shifting better.:cheer:
Also by this time I had learned the way the bike wants to be shifted
Synthetic oil at 2000 miles made a big difference in my shifting:thumbup:
One last thing Loading the gear when down shifting, how this works for me is shifting the gear while the clutch is in and hitting the shifter again a second time while the clutch is still held in. I do this mainly in 3-1

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

g'day, I had this too and I read in a post that as the gears are supposed to engage/ disengage while the bike is in motion, it can be a litle "stiff" getting back to neutral or first. Best advice was to change down as you pull up, I have been getting into the habit and it makes life much easier when the light turns green and you want to gun it, you know youre ready
The only other thing to do when caught in 4th or 5th seems to be let the clutch out a little ti l it grabs pull it back in then shift down.
It still happens from time to time but reading that others have the same issue is reassuring
btw I am not sure what oil Yam. put in on the first service

+1 on the above as well.

Downshift as the bike slows, NOT ALL AT ONCE AT HIGH SPEED. If stopped, as stated above let the clutch out a little and down shift. You have transmission shafts rotating at different speeds inside the gear box.

My FJR will do the same thing, just the nature of the machine...

 

[g8anos]

In order to understand what is going on with your gears, try following experiment:

With your bike 'off', and in 1st gear, try to push it forward and when the chain is at full tension with you still pushing, try to get your bike into neutral. It's very stiff, almost impossible.

Now try to relax your chain and pull your bike lightly towards you and try to shift again, you will see that your gear slips just in, very easy!

It's about the same thing when you are stopped and you try to shift gears.

Hope this helps ....

 

[rino60]

In order to understand what is going on with your gears, try following experiment:

With your bike 'off', and in 1st gear, try to push it forward and when the chain is at full tension with you still pushing, try to get your bike into neutral. It's very stiff, almost impossible.

Now try to relax your chain and pull your bike lightly towards you and try to shift again, you will see that your gear slips just in, very easy!

It's about the same thing when you are stopped and you try to shift gears.

Hope this helps ....

Exactly as above.

Wiggle back and forth a little so that your gears aren't loaded - then just change like normal

 

[Yamma~Tiger]

yep adjust your clutch cable. I had the same problem. you have to turn it counter clock wise so the clutch engages when the lever is further out.

or u could just try as above.

 

[skyworm]

Many times i can't load 1st from neutral.Moving forward or back a little bit helps.Gets very funny when this happens on the uphill...

 

[g8anos]

A little resistance is normal.

But if it's that difficult to shift, it could be that your clutch is not properly disengaged.

When your bike is working, lift it on the double stand, put the 1st gear in (with your clutch lever pulled) and watch your rear wheel.
It shouldn't move.

If it starts to spin, you have a problem, maybe with the tension on the clutch cable. In that case try to align it, as stated above.

(ATTENTION: Lifting your bike on the double stand while it's working, and putting in a gear is very very dangerous. Proceed with extreme caution. Watch that chain and your fingers! If you are not confident enough, don't do it!)

 

[FinalImpact]

A little resistance is normal.

But if it's that difficult to shift, it could be that your clutch is not properly disengaged.

When your bike is working, lift it on the double stand, put the 1st gear in (with your clutch lever pulled) and watch your rear wheel.
It shouldn't move.

If it starts to spin, you have a problem, maybe with the tension on the clutch cable. In that case try to align it, as stated above.

(ATTENTION: Lifting your bike on the double stand while it's working, and putting in a gear is very very dangerous. Proceed with extreme caution. Watch that chain and your fingers! If you are not confident enough, don't do it!)

This is NOT a conclusive test and I would not be concerned if it failed this! The oil in the gear box has a low shear especially when cold and reciprocating parts can easily drag the output shaft up to speed. Oil types, oil weight, engine temperature, clutch wear, clutch adjustment can all be a factor here.

Think about this: the engine at idle is spinning is at 12 to 1400 RPM. The steel and friction plates internal to the clutch basket are still linked by a thin film of oil when the clutch is disengaged. So its going to induce drag as the transmissions input shaft tries to match the engines output shaft speed even with the clutch disengaged. This is why it doesn't just pop out of gear when stopped as there is still a small load on the transmission input shaft trying to spin it.

In short, as the clutch plates wear, the drag can become less (assuming clutch is adjusted properly), but there can still be need to rock the bike for and aft to get it into neutral easily.


Slightly off topic but related:
Pretty much all bikes emit a solid "thunk" when going from N to 1st because the transmission does not have a synchronizer ring on the clutch dogs of any gears. They are a go/no go, clutch dog linking each gear to the shaft output. Its why light lazy shifts get missed while quick firm shifts engage and work.


Take a look here, there are no syncro's in these trannies so in and out of gear is rough compared to autos with syncro's but it keeps them strong and light. https://picasaweb.google.com/sofushansen/R6EngineRebuild#5174567146722243890
You should find about 15 gear box pictures from an R6.

 

[texcollect]

A slight/soft engagement of the clutch will usually always step it to one or the other gears if it's stuck between.

+1 on this. Also if changing down approaching a stop I pull in the clutch, change 6-5-4-3, let the clutch out, pull it back in and change 3-2-1 and then stop.