I have a 97 vfr750. I found out that when trying to shift from 3rd to 2nd while at a stop it will stay in 3rd and the shifter feels firm like im all the way down in 1st, if I rock the bike or slip the clutch a little it will drop into 2nd.
Is this normal? or a sign of damage to the shift star or dogs? any advise
Not entirely normal if it's doing it every time, all the time. When was the last time you changed your clutch fluid? If your clutch is too soft it will make it more difficult to shift.
I changed the fluid a little less then a month ago after I got it and the stuff in it was sludge it looked like someone filled the bowl with brownish axle grease. The clutch engagement feels ok but then this is my first hydraulic clutch.
Sometimes the tranny can get out of sync, if you can rev and slip the clutch alittle and it works, I wouldnt worry about it, course, making sure your not in 3rd gear when you stop would aide too.
I'm with Beck on this. Some bikes are worse than others when it comes to shifting at a standstill. Rock the bike or use the clutch to get things to move. I wouldn't worry about unless it's just started doing it out of the blue.
Ok, thanks guys.
You should be in the proper gear for your road speed at all times. That means downshifting all the way down into 1st as you come to a stop. Getting caught out in too high a gear when you need to accelerate is not a good thing.
Totally normal behaviour. Very common that you need to engage the clutch a little to grab gears other than 1st and 2nd at a standstill.
Nobody has responded to the "I changed the fluid a little less then a month ago after I got it and the stuff in it was sludge it looked like someone filled the bowl with brownish axle grease" statement. Isn't it possible that the clutch line is clogged with "sludge"? Would it be a good idea to flush the clutch line with solvent and replenish again?
Nobody has responded to the "I changed the fluid a little less then a month ago after I got it and the stuff in it was sludge it looked like someone filled the bowl with brownish axle grease" statement. Isn't it possible that the clutch line is clogged with "sludge"? Would it be a good idea to flush the clutch line with solvent and replenish again?
When I think of "solvent" I think of things that are petroleum based. Don't want to use anything like that in a system that uses glycol based fluids.
I'll admit that if my clutch fluid was that bad I'd disassemble both cylinders, and inspect/clean at the very least. It appears that the OP's clutch is functional so that's up to him.
So many people ignore their braking/cooling systems until there is a problem. By then it's usually too late for a simple cleansing.
When I bought my 95, the front brake and clutch reservoirs looked just like that. I thought it looked like mocha pudding. Flushing/bleeding it with copious amounts of DOT4 did the trick.
Paul in SoCal
Nobody has responded to the "I changed the fluid a little less then a month ago after I got it and the stuff in it was sludge it looked like someone filled the bowl with brownish axle grease" statement. Isn't it possible that the clutch line is clogged with "sludge"? Would it be a good idea to flush the clutch line with solvent and replenish again?
When I think of "solvent" I think of things that are petroleum based. Don't want to use anything like that in a system that uses glycol based fluids.
I'll admit that if my clutch fluid was that bad I'd disassemble both cylinders, and inspect/clean at the very least. It appears that the OP's clutch is functional so that's up to him.
So many people ignore their braking/cooling systems until there is a problem. By then it's usually too late for a simple cleansing.
Forgive my ignorance on what is a solvent for gunked up clutch fluid besides new clutch fluid, but in general terms a "solvent" is anything that will dilute whatever you are dealing with. A petroleum based solvent would not be appropriate for a non-petroleum solution. I was just suggesting that the gunk in the reservoir is probably present in the system as well and should be cleaned out...