dkoh Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 So I'm riding home yesterday: Single lane highway, 55-60 MPH, in 5th or 6th gear, stuck in a line of cars. A young yellow lab runs out into the street and the 3 cars in front of me hit the brakes and do that "split into a Y" thing (dog got lightly bumped in the butt by the truck in front of me). I had the clutch pulled in and on both brakes hard, I don't think I downshifted. Traffic starts to move again so I try to get back into 1st but it won't shift. The lever has a long throw and it won't click, either up or down, and the indicator has completely disappeared from the dash. I have to pedal it off to the shoulder, the clutch still in and engine still running, I'm trying to shift many more times (10-20) and it doesn't do anything until all of a sudden the dash shows [4] and now I can shift down. I don't know if the [4] displayed and THEN I could shift or if I could shift and THEN the [4] displayed, or both happened at the same time. I didn't kill/stall the bike, no lights on the dash, and everything seems fine since then. My bike was pulled from the crate in 6/15, well after the recall. Anyone else experience this? Any ideas? I'd like to find a diagram to see what could have happened. Can anyone point me to a service manual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member wessie Posted October 16, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted October 16, 2015 It has happened to me, similar symptoms where the gear indicator went blank and took a bit of prodding to get it sorted. I think there is a possibility to hit a false neutral if you are not firm with gear changing. I have not had it recently but there was one comedy incident with no gear selected half way around a roundabout. I put it down to me needing to get accustomed to the bike as I have had others with frequent false neutrals. This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogri Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 So I'm riding home yesterday: Single lane highway, 55-60 MPH, in 5th or 6th gear, stuck in a line of cars. A young yellow lab runs out into the street and the 3 cars in front of me hit the brakes and do that "split into a Y" thing (dog got lightly bumped in the butt by the truck in front of me). I had the clutch pulled in and on both brakes hard, I don't think I downshifted. Traffic starts to move again so I try to get back into 1st but it won't shift. The lever has a long throw and it won't click, either up or down, and the indicator has completely disappeared from the dash. I have to pedal it off to the shoulder, the clutch still in and engine still running, I'm trying to shift many more times (10-20) and it doesn't do anything until all of a sudden the dash shows [4] and now I can shift down. I don't know if the [4] displayed and THEN I could shift or if I could shift and THEN the [4] displayed, or both happened at the same time. I didn't kill/stall the bike, no lights on the dash, and everything seems fine since then. My bike was pulled from the crate in 6/15, well after the recall. Anyone else experience this? Any ideas? I'd like to find a diagram to see what could have happened. Can anyone point me to a service manual? This issue has been reported previously. There may be an older thread related to your question, if you perform a search. I have encountered the same problem when stopping at an intersection. I now make sure to down shift early. It may also be less likely to happen once the transmission is broken-in, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part. STUFF EVERYTHING - I'VE ALWAYS GOT MY BIKE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkoh Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 I have not had it recently but there was one comedy incident with no gear selected half way around a roundabout.Haha, that sounds hilarious and terrible. I guess it's possible that I may have bumped it during the commotion. There were a lot of things to dodge and look out for. I'm glad to hear that it just happens sometimes and not that something broke. Thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkoh Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 <snip>This issue has been reported previously. There may be an older thread related to your question, if you perform a search. I have encountered the same problem when stopping at an intersection. I now make sure to down shift early. It may also be less likely to happen once the transmission is broken-in, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part. Apologies. I searched, but I guess not for the right thing. Thanks for reaffirming. I'll keep an eye on the indicator at stops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ogri Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 This issue has been reported previously. There may be an older thread related to your question, if you perform a search. I have encountered the same problem when stopping at an intersection. I now make sure to down shift early. It may also be less likely to happen once the transmission is broken-in, but that may just be wishful thinking on my part. Apologies. I searched, but I guess not for the right thing. Thanks for reaffirming. I'll keep an eye on the indicator at stops. We have so much good stuff on this site now that its hard to recollect where you last saw a related discussion. STUFF EVERYTHING - I'VE ALWAYS GOT MY BIKE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
root Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 I've had this happen on this and other bikes. I think it's a symptom of a constant mesh transmission. They can get stuck between gears especially if you shift while stopped. Rotational movement in the transmission tends to get things lined up for some reason. The trick I've used is to feather the clutch just enough to move the gears a tiny bit while pressing on the shift pedal but not enough to fully engage. Once I can get it shifting again, I'm usually good to shift all the way through the gears. It certainly sucks when you are in traffic trying to get it to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
android Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I have had the same problem @ 2100 miles. Happens a lot as the motor heats up in stop and go traffic then highway speed with a quick stop. It is definitely not inspiring to see a blank gear shift indicator. Remove foot from shifter, feather the clutch a bit, then resume. This will get you downshifted and back in action. The shift shaft has been replaced on mine and it seems as though this started after the recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member alejandro Posted October 27, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted October 27, 2015 When I've been stuck between gears or in limbo like that, I've found like @root that letting out the clutch just until it engages a bit will generally solve the problem. (You didn't say whether you had tried this, but it sounded like perhaps you hadn't?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkoh Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 Thanks guys. @alejandro I don't think I did, but can't be sure. It was quite a panic moment. I've had bikes that would shift between two gears, by not "clicking" all the way to the next one, but I've never had one blank all the way out like this. Between the near-wreck braking, monitoring traffic up front, monitoring traffic behind, and then not having a tranny, all within a few seconds, I was caught in one of those moments where I thought I was forgetting to do something. I won't admit to having the same feeling when I forget to push "start" on my push-button start car on Monday morning I didn't find a diagram and, while I've worked on many car transmissions but never a bike's, I found some pictures and I think I understand the issue. The forks operate by being "pushed" by the cylindrical actuator. I'm guessing there's a escape-type mechanism that allows it to click into the next gear and stop. If you bump this partially, the cylinder doesn't travel far enough to engage the next, uh, tooth. Similar to a come-along when you don't ratchet it back far enough and you just swing you arm around like a dork. And yeah, letting out the clutch should allow the synchro to pull the fork over far enough to complete the shift. But what do I know? I'm just a drafter. /babble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member jeff400650 Posted November 2, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted November 2, 2015 Yeah. Every bike that I have ever owned won't shift reliably if it is not moving. Pistons or pedals, 2 wheels are where it's at... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericm Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Typical japanese motorcycle transmission gears engage via "dogs" on the side of the gear. Lets see if this comes out: When you shift, a shift fork moves a gear sideways so its dogs engage with the dogs of the gear next to it (which is pinned to the shaft), thus driving the output shaft. The dogs on the two gears can meet face to face. If one gear is turning then they'll slide past each other until they align. Then the gear will slide the rest of the way over and the dogs will fully engage. But if neither gear is turning because the bike's not moving, the dog faces can stick and not slip past each other and into mesh. The way to get out of this is to let the clutch out just a little, then pull it in and shift quickly. Back in the 70s many manufacturers increased the dog clearance to reduce the stuck shifting problem. But that adds lash to the driveline, which many testers complained about. So they have reduced the clearance to cut gear lash, at the cost of the occaisional stuck between gears problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freebooter Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 It happens to me too. Very irritating if at a red light that turns green and you are still in a higher gear. When my screen goes blank and if won't downshift I have to ease mh clutch lever out unti it sort if clicks, a gear number appears, then I can downshift. Sometimes I have to do this each time to downshift to the next gear. Everyone behind you are pissed too. Lol! "What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing. Rush in and die, dogs — I was a man before I was a king!" -- from t poem "The Road of Kings" by Robt. E. Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkgt Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 I've noticed that I need to shift this bike a lot more deliberately than my previous Hondas or Suzukis, seems to get better with more miles, or maybe the bike is just training me. 2015 FJ-09 2009 WR250R 1989 HawkGT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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