I've started to get faulty up shifting with my 2000 VFR with only about 12,000 km. The symptom is the bike not shifting up into a higher gear, it stays in the current gear. It does this only occasionally, say five times during a four hour run. When it does happen, it can occur multiple time for the same gear and in multiple gears during the same up shifting period. Then it goes away and works fine. It does this even with all the up force I can manage on the shifter, i.e. it stays in the same gear for multiple attempts. When going from first to second, I think I see the neutral light blink, guessing its the transmission going from second back to first.
I'm a new rider and have had the bike about 2 months and have ridden about 3000 km before this started to happen.
more details....if you are a new rider, i will assume that maybe technique is a problem.
three quick thoughts:
1st, when you say 'all the force you can muster' are the gears grinding at this point or are you simply clutching in, toeing up and nothing at all is happening? 2nd, do you preload the shifter prior to shifting? 3rd, if you miss the shift, do you try and rev the engine rpm up and then try to reshift?
i think an answer to #1 may help us understand alot.
turtlecreek, Oct 21 2007, 06:37 PMmore details....if you are a new rider, i will assume that maybe technique is a problem.
three quick thoughts:
1st, when you say 'all the force you can muster' are the gears grinding at this point or are you simply clutching in, toeing up and nothing at all is happening? 2nd, do you preload the shifter prior to shifting? 3rd, if you miss the shift, do you try and rev the engine rpm up and then try to reshift?
i think an answer to #1 may help us understand alot.
if yes to both of these
1) There is no gear grinding. I clutch in, engine rpm drops, toe up, the lever moves, release clutch, and rpms are as before the attempted shift. I notice the missed shift when the rpms do not decline as expected. 2) I'm not preloading. 3) When the shift doesn't happen, I try another normal shift, eventually it changes gears, the second, third or no more than fourth attempt. What will reving the engine do? The clutch is disengaged when performing the shift.
it does sound odd to me, but try the 2 suggestions:
1st, always preload the shift lever prior to clutching....ie, on the gas....preload lever....off the gas and clutch....should jump into gear...release clutch and on gas 2nd, if i miss a shift, sometimes i cant get the gear to shift into the intended gear....mine grinds though. all i do is release the clutch, blip the throttle and then preload, clutch and it pops right in. by blipping the throttle, you are getting engine and tranny rpms closer so dogs can mesh easier.
it does sound odd to me, but try the 2 suggestions:
1st, always preload the shift lever prior to clutching....ie, on the gas....preload lever....off the gas and clutch....should jump into gear...release clutch and on gas 2nd, if i miss a shift, sometimes i cant get the gear to shift into the intended gear....mine grinds though. all i do is release the clutch, blip the throttle and then preload, clutch and it pops right in. by blipping the throttle, you are getting engine and tranny rpms closer so dogs can mesh easier.
I also thought - Perhaps I'm not letting the shift lever fall down into it's intermediate position. If I don't let the lever fall by keeping my foot under the lever, it's pawl clutch will not be able to reset to drive the cassette shifting mechanism to the next gear. Riding days are few and far between, so it may be a while before I can try to verify this.
hmmm....that sounds reasonable. it definitly doesn't shift again until allowed to drop back down..
as far as testing....some probably wont like this, but....put it up on the center stand and test away.....obviously you need to insure you dont rock the bike off or rev to high or. you'll end up riding your bike through the garage wall of course, but you could atleast perform a 'nonloaded' test...just a thought.
Well I'm not sure what's going on. Shortly after the last reply, it did not shift when I definitely did not have my toe under the lever. I even tried pressing down the lever a little, and it did a nice clutch-less downshift with no grinding as I was just maintaining speed.
In the garage with the engine not running, I went through the gears using my hand to determine if I could feel anything strange with the shifter. Everything seemed fine. Then when on two other rides there was no incident.
The oil's now changed for the winter and I'll have to wait for spring before I can determine if the new oil has any effect, or if it just goes away.