I don't know if it's me, or the gears. Sometimes when I try and shift into second, it pops into neutral instead. So I clutch in and shift up. Sometimes it grinds, sometimes it doesn't; I've never seen this before. Is this usual to occur? I will admit going into Neutral is MUCH easier than my 96 Katana. It makes me wonder if I need to rev to a certain RPM before upshifting so it wont cause grinding.
Secondly, what are the RPM shift points for the 5th generation? I usualy go about 5K in 1st, 6K in second and everything else about 7 or 8 K.
yes that is typical of these bikes. the way to avoid it is simply preload the shift lever prior to pulling in the clutch. should eliminate the issues all together. your rpm shift points sound typical, but dont be afraid to wind it out when in pursuit of spirited riding.
I have a 6th gen but assume there isnt much difference. I tooo get the same nuetral sometimes. but only when im just puttering around.
I found that the higher you wind her up the better she shifts, It aint gonna hurt her ( i hope)
[image: View Post]hougy, on Jan 15 2008, 01:15 AM, said:
I don't know if it's me, or the gears. Sometimes when I try and shift into second, it pops into neutral instead. So I clutch in and shift up. Sometimes it grinds, sometimes it doesn't; I've never seen this before. Is this usual to occur? I will admit going into Neutral is MUCH easier than my 96 Katana. It makes me wonder if I need to rev to a certain RPM before upshifting so it wont cause grinding.
Secondly, what are the RPM shift points for the 5th generation? I usualy go about 5K in 1st, 6K in second and everything else about 7 or 8 K.
Neither my 6th and 5th gen. have this problem. The fifth gen. is the smoothest shifting bike I ever rode. The 6th gen shifts a tiny bit "notchy" for lack of a better way to put it.
maridtoapterbilt is right. Shifting at high rpm's doesn't hurt the bike and, IMHO, is better for the tranny than shifting at low rpm's. I've only heard of one VFR engine and tranny grenading, so run the thing.
I don't usually miss second and hit neutral unless I get lazy with my left foot. Have you tried adjusting the lever a bit?
[image: View Post]hougy, on Jan 15 2008, 01:15 AM, said:
I don't know if it's me, or the gears. Sometimes when I try and shift into second, it pops into neutral instead. So I clutch in and shift up. Sometimes it grinds, sometimes it doesn't; I've never seen this before. Is this usual to occur? I will admit going into Neutral is MUCH easier than my 96 Katana. It makes me wonder if I need to rev to a certain RPM before upshifting so it wont cause grinding.
Secondly, what are the RPM shift points for the 5th generation? I usualy go about 5K in 1st, 6K in second and everything else about 7 or 8 K.
Ive missed one shift in 32,000 plus miles , and it was my fault . My tranny engages and well and stays in gear, not sure about these normal VFRs
The economy shift points in the manual are pretty worthless as with any bike, if ya ask me, but whether ya shift at low rpm or high, it should shift like normal ,not abnormal, to where ya have to run rpm to keep from grinding, thats crazy.
[image: View Post]hougy, on Jan 15 2008, 01:15 AM, said:
I don't know if it's me, or the gears. Sometimes when I try and shift into second, it pops into neutral instead. So I clutch in and shift up. Sometimes it grinds, sometimes it doesn't; I've never seen this before. Is this usual to occur? I will admit going into Neutral is MUCH easier than my 96 Katana. It makes me wonder if I need to rev to a certain RPM before upshifting so it wont cause grinding.
Secondly, what are the RPM shift points for the 5th generation? I usualy go about 5K in 1st, 6K in second and everything else about 7 or 8 K.
The shifter adjustment Seamus mentioned is one place to look. I occasionally miss a shift with the missus on the back because I'm sitting farther foward and my 36" inseam and 14 feet and the shifter don't get their respective acts together.
As to shift points, it depends. Most of the time I don't look at the tach. Around town I guess I'm shifting up at around 5k and tend to keep the engine at 5k or better (no less than 4.5 - I think). Riding briskly the shift points tend to float upward. 8k in fourth gear is getting into "moving-on-down-the-road" velocities - I don't have much of a chance to do that in town very often.
[image: View Post]spud786, on Jan 15 2008, 11:08 PM, said:
Ive missed one shift in 32,000 plus miles , and it was my fault .
I missed 32,000 shifts in one mile. I blame the bike.
Okay not that many times but I do have the occasional issue. I think it is because I'm not too flexible that way and I have to be more deliberate with the shift. Getting the revs up helps as it is much easier to shift smoothly at a higher rpm. You don't even need the clutch to shift smoothly if you are at the right rev.
[image: View Post]RE-Agent, on Jan 16 2008, 12:25 PM, said:
[image: View Post]spud786, on Jan 15 2008, 11:08 PM, said:
Ive missed one shift in 32,000 plus miles , and it was my fault .
I missed 32,000 shifts in one mile. I blame the bike.
Okay not that many times but I do have the occasional issue. I think it is because I'm not too flexible that way and I have to be more deliberate with the shift. Getting the revs up helps as it is much easier to shift smoothly at a higher rpm. You don't even need the clutch to shift smoothly if you are at the right rev.
I heard about the clutchless shifting, that it's bbaaaddd for the transmission. How are VFRs different?
[image: View Post]hougy, on Jan 21 2008, 02:48 PM, said:
[image: View Post]RE-Agent, on Jan 16 2008, 12:25 PM, said:
[image: View Post]spud786, on Jan 15 2008, 11:08 PM, said:
Ive missed one shift in 32,000 plus miles , and it was my fault .
I missed 32,000 shifts in one mile. I blame the bike.
Okay not that many times but I do have the occasional issue. I think it is because I'm not too flexible that way and I have to be more deliberate with the shift. Getting the revs up helps as it is much easier to shift smoothly at a higher rpm. You don't even need the clutch to shift smoothly if you are at the right rev.
I heard about the clutchless shifting, that it's bbaaaddd for the transmission. How are VFRs different?
It's not bad if done correctly. If you are having trouble shifting right now, I wouldn't try it though. But, you should preload the lever as someone else mentioned. Just apply some pressure up on the lever, then as you pull the clutch in it will be like it sucks it right into the next gear. You wont even need to pull the clutch all the way in, just enough to get it to go into gear.
If you can throw a Factory Pro shift kit into the thing, you will not have the issues again, unless you are magic and use magic to hit neutral instead of second with the kit in.
Thanks for coming out,
Dirtydizzogg
[image: View Post]hougy, on Jan 15 2008, 06:15 PM, said:
I don't know if it's me, or the gears. Sometimes when I try and shift into second, it pops into neutral instead. So I clutch in and shift up. Sometimes it grinds, sometimes it doesn't; I've never seen this before. Is this usual to occur? I will admit going into Neutral is MUCH easier than my 96 Katana. It makes me wonder if I need to rev to a certain RPM before upshifting so it wont cause grinding.
Secondly, what are the RPM shift points for the 5th generation? I usualy go about 5K in 1st, 6K in second and everything else about 7 or 8 K.
Happens to me all the time. It's usually a combination of your gear lever location, the thickness of your boot, etc. The grinding is just caused by going from neutral to 2nd gear at revs that are too high. A *clean* shift from 1st to 2nd you can do at, say, 11,000 rpm no worries! It's only when you get that neutral that you need to back off the revs before clicking into second.
Anyway, there is a good after market shifter kit available for the VFR which makes the gear changes much more positive. I'm thinking of getting one myself, but they're not cheap:
http://www.factorypr..._Pro_shift.html
http://www.factorypr...es/prodh91.html
+1 on adjusting the shift lever down one notch... this will result in it being a more positive shift for the same location of your boot.
Just watch out you don't get the reverse problem - not downshifting positively.