First Test Ride on FJR - Tranny question...

Thanks in advance for perusing and offering any input - all is appreciated.

As background I've ridden dirt and street for 25+ years - latest street bikes have been a ZX9R, Busa, and a VTX1800 Cruiser. Had each of them a couple of years, in sequence.

Yesterday I test rode an '05 FJR with 37K miles (no ticky, thankfully) and have a question about the tranny... The intitial shift from a stop into first gear was a pretty significant clunk and jerk on the drivetrain. Also the tranny seemed loud during the ride... not like an RT1100, but still more gear noise/whine than I'm used to. Of course this is my first ride on a bike with 'real' windshield (well besides the RT a couple of years ago), so perhaps the sounds are amplified in the dead air zone I'm sitting in. The clunk was disconcerting. The owner seems to be a meticulous guy, regular maintenance and bought the bike new - he said it's done that from day one and that his friends with 03's had the same experience.

Is this pretty normal or should I be concerned ?

And here I thought someone had figgered out TDubs secret.............

Yes, clunk normal, whine normal, and yes, lack of wind noise amplifies geartrain sound.

Adding to what radman said, wearing high heels won't help the clunk go away, either.

And he would know.

Yep, what the girls above said.

Where you at AZ Greg? Though I have no doubt the FJR you rode is normal, I would be happy to come take a look at it for you.

AZ Greg said:

Thanks in advance for perusing and offering any input - all is appreciated.
As background I've ridden dirt and street for 25+ years - latest street bikes have been a ZX9R, Busa, and a VTX1800 Cruiser. Had each of them a couple of years, in sequence.

Yesterday I test rode an '05 FJR with 37K miles (no ticky, thankfully) and have a question about the tranny... The intitial shift from a stop into first gear was a pretty significant clunk and jerk on the drivetrain. Also the tranny seemed loud during the ride... not like an RT1100, but still more gear noise/whine than I'm used to. Of course this is my first ride on a bike with 'real' windshield (well besides the RT a couple of years ago), so perhaps the sounds are amplified in the dead air zone I'm sitting in. The clunk was disconcerting. The owner seems to be a meticulous guy, regular maintenance and bought the bike new - he said it's done that from day one and that his friends with 03's had the same experience.

Is this pretty normal or should I be concerned ?

Click to expand...

My '05 FJR clunks into 1st gear, just as my '80 XS1100 does...It is normal for the FJR. I don't notice any unusual tranny noises at all.

Most times, when shifting into first gear from neutral, I blip the throttle, engage/release the clutch lever, reengage the clutch and shift into first.

Still clunks but seems softer than not doing the above.

What was the idle set at? I run the idle on mine at at about 1050rpm. anything higher than 1100rpm may cause the tranny to clunk and jump as you described.

cadman

My 05 will do the same.....but, if I hold in the clutch for a short time before shifting into 1st = there is no clunk @ all (found this info somewhere here in the past)

I've only heard about tranny noises. No personal experience with them.



Is it Friday yet?

When I'm on the long highway rides I hear all kinds of noises. Whine ,hum tick? prrrrr, So what I did was add satillite radio. Now just music Also clunk into first. No high heels.

SkooterG said:

Yep, what the girls above said.
Where you at AZ Greg? Though I have no doubt the FJR you rode is normal, I would be happy to come take a look at it for you.

Click to expand...

Am in Mesa - the bike was in Mesa as well. I've found one in San Diego that I will probably pick up on Saturday on the drive through to the coast for vacation. Thanks for the offer - and to all for the replies. Are you in the Phoenix area ?

SkooterG said:

Yep, what the girls above said.
Where you at AZ Greg? Though I have no doubt the FJR you rode is normal, I would be happy to come take a look at it for you.

Click to expand...

SkooterG - On the subject of where in AZ... you may like this video as you can see some local mountain scenery in the background, including the Superstitions. As a bonus it comes with old guy music to match the rider. Taken on the ZX9r about 3 bikes ago, and evidence of the reason for transitioning to a less tempting touring bike. As Clint Eastwood notes "A man's got to know his limitations"...

https://www.porter-az.com/files/addicted1.wmv

yeah, the first gear clunk is really the only thing I would change on my '05 FJR.

You'd get used to it.