Terrible Shifting!

[Guest pv85royale]

Well,I finally got some of the other bugs worked out,the only major one left is the terrible shifting.

It upshifts most of the time if you give it a HARD upshift.Sometimes you need to give it a tap down before it will go up.Downshifting is worse,you almost always have to move the lever up between shifts down.2nd and 1st are the worst.Sometimes it skips 2nd and goes straight to neutral.The bike has 140,000 km(~88000 miles).It almost acts like the spring on the ratchet mechanism is weak.It used to shift better cold than hot but now it seems to be the same all the time.So far I have;

--Bled clutch twice so completely new fluid there.

 

--Made sure the master cylinder was only half full in case the vent was

blocked.

(incidentally it doesnt shift worth a darn even without the clutch...every other bike I've had would)

 

--shimmed up the sloppy linkage at the shift lever and down at the engine case

--Changed the oil (tried seafoam for a few miles in the oil before it was changed

--made sure all the pins were present behind their tabs in the starwheel (behind clutch basket)and made sure all the tabs were bent over tight.

 

I guess I should pull the clutch basket and start looking for stuff to replace?Maybe order a new shift drum assembly?

I'm kinda getting sick of spending money on it though,I've put about 500km on it and spent about $1400 on it since I got it...Would have been more without DonB's help (Thanks!)

It runs great now though (new carb diaphragms,valve adjust,carb sync)

Still not as much power as I was expecting but maybe my GS1100gk spoiled me:confused24:.

 

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Steve

[Marcarl]

It should upshift just fine without the clutch, so if it don't do that right I would suggest it's not the clutch. To think that the trans would be at fault would not seem right either, so that leaves the linkage. My shifter linkage isn't too tight either, but it shifts perfect, maybe you played with the linkage too much and got it too perfect.

Just my thoughts

Carl

[Squeeze]

Hi,

the shimming of the Lever-Linkage isn't the best Idea. It would be far better to give the Lever a bigger Bore and make a fitting Collar on a Lathe. The Collar could be made of Brass or a T6 Aluminium.

 

I assume you setted all the Levers of the Linkage in a 90 Degree Angle when you worked on the Linkage, if the Levers aren't in such a Position, it is quite common that shifting is hard in one Direction. Either Push or Pull.

 

Next Question, what Oil do you use ? There are some People which have had a Hassle on shifting, after they changed their Oil-Type, there was nothing left of the Hassle.

[Guest pv85royale]

Thanks for the replies guys,

I just shimmed them as a temporary fix to see if it helped.I run a lathe for a living so I can make them up at work.I'm running Castrol motorcycle oil 20w50.

I'll check the alignment of the linkage tonight.Where the shaft enters the cases on the shifter side,is there another linkage outside (underneath) the engine that you cant see?Or does that shaft go straight thru the cases to the other side?

Thanks guys!

Steve

[Squeeze]

Hi Steve,

i personally don't feel good about Castrol Oils. I know several People which have had to get rid of it early after they put it in. It may be just my baised Mind.

 

As for the second Linkage, yes, there is a second Linkage under/behind the Engine Cover

 

Refer to Yamaha Parts Catalog

[Guest pv85royale]

Hi,well I built new bushings for the shafts,and it shifts better,but still isnt right. The upshift is better but the downshift still sucks big time.I'll try the oil next weekend but I have my doubts its gonna fix it.I guess then its pull the clutch basket and start replacing parts...any suggestions?

I'm thinking springs for sure....

TIA!

Steve

[Gearhead]

The clutch basket, boss, plates, etc are not suspect in my mind as Marcarl said. The only way it could be the clutch is if it is not disengaging right. With the engine idling, clutch in and in 1st gear, does it feel like the bike wants to take off if you release the brake but hold the clutch? Does it engage barely off the hand grip? If these are "no" then I really don't think it's the clutch.

 

Behind the case cover on the LH side is the shifter ratchet mechanism, which connects to the shift drum. I hope you find something in the ratchet, although I don't have any suggestions as to what to look for. Maybe it will be obvious - a ball or spring out of place. It could be a problem with the shift drum or forks, which would not be good - hope not for your sake!

 

Jeremy

[Gearhead]

"I got the bike pretty cheap, not running, and stuck in first gear. Let me tell you somehting - it's not easy loading it in the back of a pickup while holding the clutch in. $16.00 worth of shift pins later, and it shifts fine. "

 

 

 

Just found this on another thread...not sure what the shift pins are, but may be your problem too.

 

Jeremy

[Squeeze]

....

--made sure all the pins were present behind their tabs in the starwheel (behind clutch basket)and made sure all the tabs were bent over tight.

...

 

"I got the bike pretty cheap, not running, and stuck in first gear. Let me tell you somehting - it's not easy loading it in the back of a pickup while holding the clutch in. $16.00 worth of shift pins later, and it shifts fine. "

 

 

 

Just found this on another thread...not sure what the shift pins are, but may be your problem too.

 

Jeremy

 

Steve did check the Pins already .... :(

[muffinman]

I really hate to be the one to have to post this but if it is not the linkage I would suspect the shifter forks they may be bent. Out of the 4 that I have done 2nd gear in only 1 fork had been bent. It is possible that forcing the transmmission to shift caused one or both forks to get bent.

I hope for your sake that it is in the linkage otherwise the motor will have to come out to fix this problem. With a properly shifting transmission I can upshift and downshift without the clutch.

Jeff

[Guest pv85royale]

Actually I meant replacing the shift ratchet mechanism parts BEHIND the clutch basket.If it is shift forks,I think I'll probably just replace the engine.I'm getting really sick of wrenchin instead of riding!Or possibly just part it out,dunno if I can break even on it that way though.Glad I bought my DR 350 so I had something to ride all this year........