Hard to shift gears

[pincushion79]

Well, I have about 160 miles on my bike, and at first it was a little hard to shift. I attributed it to being a brand new bike, so I just accepted it. I could still get into neutral with a little patience. But after a hundred miles or so, it got to be more difficult to get into neutral and shifting seemed to take more pressure.

Anyway, I still just chalked it up to breaking in. Then the horrible happened...

I dropped my bike! But it was a slow drop and nothing broke, so no harm done.

When I picked it up and took off, shifting was smoother, getting in to neutral was a breeze. And it is still running like a charm.

Anyone think I should be worried? Maybe time for an early oil change since it is working better after being dropped?

 

[Leslie0568]

I don't have any advise but I gotta admit thats kinda funny... I mean it sucks that the bike went down but if easier shifting is the only result thats kinda cool.

 

[pincushion79]

Well, a couple minor scratches and easier shifting. lol

It came down on my leg/foot. But I was wearing my steel toe work boots, so the boot acted as a frame slider and kept it from really touching the ground except for the mirror and blinker up front.

 

[erionalite]

I have dropped mine, twice and it has not been a problem.
Also with me, it has been at slow speeds.

The shifting is characteristic of the fz6r. I think they made it very sensible for comfort. It is nice if you are wearing snickers, but it is not that great if you are wearing boots. :\

I have ridden the kawasaki 650. It is easer to go on neutral but the overall shifting experience is not that great.

fz6r will give you lots of existent once you get a feel for the gears.

 

[arkkornkid]

I wouldn't really worry about anything, your shifter linkage could have been binding for some reason and then a slight bend of the lever when your bike went down could have "fixed" it. You pretty much need to adjust the clutch and brake levers and the shifter to fit you and your riding gear. Tweak each one until it feels right.

And you'll be pleasantly surprised how nicer the shifting will get after your first oil change.

 

[Detrich]

when i switched from sneakers to boots very early on, it did take some adjustment, because i couldn't feel the shifter as well under a think leather boot. <lol>

u'll get used to it though, and the extra protection of a boot is well worth it.

 

[Deanohh]

yer clutch was probably dragging and the little crash did something to the clutch lever to change free play or allow the lever to be pulled farther in. How much slack do you have in the cable? Adjust until the gap at the front of the lever bracket is about the thickness of the edge of a nickel when you wiggle it before the cable tightens up (free play).

 

[Sparkxx1]

I love the shifting on the fz6r and I've only ridden it for 12 miles I tried my friends 250 and it was blegh

 

[See red]

Mine seems to be a bit clunky, mainly going into first. I am not too concerned as I have had other bikes do this.

 

[Deanohh]

Mine seems to be a bit clunky, mainly going into first. I am not too concerned as I have had other bikes do this.

Clunky compared to what? A car?
For bikes, that is normal.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Mine seems to be a bit clunky, mainly going into first. I am not too concerned as I have had other bikes do this.

mine sometimes clunks going from 5-6.

when i kick the shifter up, it isn't sure whether it wants to go to 6 or not so it bounces between 5 and 6 for a little (and has a nasty grinding sound ), then eventually settles. anyone know what causes this?

 

[Deanohh]

mine sometimes clunks going from 5-6.

when i kick the shifter up, it isn't sure whether it wants to go to 6 or not so it bounces between 5 and 6 for a little (and has a nasty grinding sound ), then eventually settles. anyone know what causes this?

That might happen if your were going way too slow to be in 6th, but it doesn't sound like thats the case. If you are at normal driving speed (minimum 40 or 50mph to shift to 6th) and giving the lever a full, firm stroke with your toe and it doesn't shift clean, especially only between 5-6, then I'd figure there is something wrong with the guts of the tranny and it should go into the shop.

 

[Fenixgoon]

That might happen if your were going way too slow to be in 6th, but it doesn't sound like thats the case. If you are at normal driving speed (minimum 40 or 50mph to shift to 6th) and giving the lever a full, firm stroke with your toe and it doesn't shift clean, especially only between 5-6, then I'd figure there is something wrong with the guts of the tranny and it should go into the shop.

bleh. it only happens once in a while, so maybe it was just a poor shift or something.

still got a few months left on the warranty

 

[Chucker]

bleh. it only happens once in a while, so maybe it was just a poor shift or something.

still got a few months left on the warranty

Years ago, I bought a new Yamaha Vision and it would sometimes pop out of gear when accelerating hard. I spoke to the guy at the shop that was a GP racer and he said that it was that the gears were a little too square on the edges. He told me to upshift without the clutch above 2nd for a while and it would smooth out. I did that and it was fixed in about a week. Clutchless upshifting only worked well when shifting at high RPMs.