Shifting problem - stuck in second

2012 with 40k km, about 25k miles. No previous issues shifting. The bike sits in storage for 5 months. Clutch fluid changed this year and hit the road the first week of April and found the lever would stick when shifting from 2nd to 3rd, and rarely from 3rd to 4th. Clutch in, lever will not move at all. Sometimes letting clutch out halfway and then back in again and shift is successful. Sometimes shifting down to 1st, then up to second, and then I can get to third. (All done with clutch in) Sometimes clutch back out, move higher up the rev range and trying again results in a successful shift. All other shifts, up and down, are smooth as always. Searched the forum and found two similar posts. The concensus on the first was do a clutch plate soak and adjust/ lube shifter. The second post appeared to be solved by replacement of a spring on the shifter shaft. The symptoms described in the second post are not quite what I am experiencing.

I have tied the clutch lever in and left it overnight (cheap 'clutch soak') Some days, the problem will occur once in an hour of riding. Today 80% of the 2-3 shifts were problematic. This is starting to lessen my riding enjoyment!

Thoughts? Theories?

Thx

-Steve

The shift lever needs to get back to it's normal position before you can select another gear. This can be caused by your boot resting on the lever or the shift lever sticking because the linkage needs to be lubricated.

You'll need to remove the whole footrest assembly to get access to everything that needs cleaned and greased. It's been a while since I've done mine, but I seem to remember that you need to pay attention to washer positioning and/or not over tightening to make sure you don't cause the linkage to bind when your done.

Oh yeah, tying your clutch lever to the bars can help get any remaining air out of the line but it's not a clutch soak. A clutch soak can only be done by pulling the clutch plates and coating them in oil, but I don't think that's the cause of your shift problem. It's entirely possible to shift without using the clutch at all.

once moving, you should be able to shift into any gear. The clutch is probably not your problem.

Lubing the shifter,s pivot point will most likely be the solution.

Yup. What Harald said. 10 to 1 that shifter is sticking.

Oh...And supertankerm60a3. Lol...He just said it second.

Agreed that the shifter is not returning to center after the shift. It's got a sploogy pivot. You'll be AMAZED at how much better it works after cleaning it. And yes, the shifter pivot is harder to get to than the brake pedal pivot. Which also needs to be cleaned, by the way.....

Thx for the consensus, ok, lube the shifter pivot. Got it.

At the risk of annoying the NEPRT fairy, what is the best anti-sploog lube? (Perverts & forum mold, do as you do)

Thx

-Steve

https://www.fjrtech.net/getdbitem.cfm?item=15

Hope this helps?

sapest said:

Thx for the consensus, ok, lube the shifter pivot. Got it. At the risk of annoying the NEPRT fairy, what is the best anti-sploog lube? (Perverts & forum mold, do as you do) Thx -Steve

Click to expand...

FSM calls for lithium soap grease, but any good waterproof stuff will work, as will a small dab of moly paste.

My thx to all 6 responders.

I am the king of sploog



Only 20km's since lubing the pivot. Hopefully thats the solution.

-Steve

Holy crap Batman. That bad boy is dirty.

^^^^ He is baaaack, been a while since a 'Howie post.

Be careful when reassembling, there is a torque spec for the hex head screw that holds the shift lever to the housing, but it may be too much. In the stack of parts that go onto the pivot there is a wave washer that is supposed to limit side to side motion of the shifter, if you put too much torque on the components it will flatten the washer and the shift lever will act as if it is still spooged up. The torque spec in the FSM is very small and easy to over do even when a torque wrench (the mother of most FUBARS, unless the wrench is in the correct torque range for the job and the user is experienced in both the feel and art of use) is used. When you tighten the screw (note the lack of use of the term 'torque') just be sure that the shift arm moves freely, and a very small amount of side to side play isn't really a bad thing.

Thx for the reassembly hints. 200 km's and all is well. Lever is s-m-o-o-t-h.

-Steve

While lever is nice and smooth, problem remains, and is getting worse. Comment here and from others that I should be able to shift without clutch. Cant do it on upshifts, never have been able to. Maybe thats a clue? Dealer thinks maybe a burr or something else on/related to shifter shaft. Maybe he has the FZ/J-09 recall on the brain.

Did the clutch soak last week, the feel of the clutch changed, the friction point moved in, both positive, but didnt help my original issue.

Dealer gets the bike next Wed unless I can figure this out. Any thoughts welcome.

Thx

- Steve

A clutchless upshift has to be quick and firm, no lolli-gagging around. Pull hard in first, just breathe the throttle and pop the lever up. If you close the throttle, or get neutral instead of 2nd, you'll never get all the way to second.

Same with other gears. Clutchless shift is quick, and best when you have some way on. No point even trying it at 4000 RPM.....

When you say the problem remains, are you saying you can't get to the next gear up after a shift? i.e. 1st to 2nd is OK, but you can't go to third?

Even after the cleaning, make SURE that the lever pops back to center after a shift. After getting 2nd, tap it just a bit and see if it was stuck at the top. Don't kick it hard enough to downshift, just tap it and see if it moves. If it did move, the next upshift will work because you just centered the shifter.

If the lever doesn't center, then clutch less or clutched, you can't shift again until the lever does get back to its center position.

And take heed of ionbeam's warning about overtightening the piivot bolt.

Clutchless shifting - I am doing two things wrong, closing the throttle, (or almost closing it) and too few rpm's.

Yes, when the problem happens, its most often; 1-2 is fine, 2-3 stuck, then sometimes 3-4 stuck also.

Rarely only 3-4 is stuck. (Sticks?)

I have been trying the tap to the shifter, to see if in fact it is sticking. I dont feel it move much, if at all.

The oddest part of this whole issue is how inconsistent it is. Never a problem when the bike is cold. One day, maybe it happens two or three times, the next day, its half the shifts.

Can ride tomorrow, will see what I can learn/add to the description.

-Steve

Although I have done it on the fjr, and on previous bikes just to try it out*, I'm not a fan of clutchless shifting. IMO, there's just too much chance of doing Very Bad Things to the shift mechanism.

I do like to shift very quickly, with little or no between gear lag, rpm increase, or clunk

What I've found makes shifting quicker, smoother, and more positive is to slightly pre-load the shift lever for up-shifts, and of course blipping the throttle slightly for down-shifts

*The FJR, like most modern bikes, is perfectly capable of clutch-less shifts if the gearbox is mechanically sound

Lots of shifting in traffic today, no sticking. No matter what rpm, no tapping shifter, no preloading. I would call the shift's notchy today, not as smooth as in the past.

New clue, its almost impossible to find neutral with motor running. Dont know how long this has gone on, as I normally stay in gear at lights and when parking.

Scratching my head . . . .

-Steve

sapest said:

Lots of shifting in traffic today, no sticking. No matter what rpm, no tapping shifter, no preloading. I would call the shift's notchy today, not as smooth as in the past. New clue, its almost impossible to find neutral with motor running. Dont know how long this has gone on, as I normally stay in gear at lights and when parking. Scratching my head . . . . -Steve

Click to expand...

Usually, if you let the clutch out a hair for a second, and then back in, you can shift to neutral.

If that doesn't work, it sounds like your clutch system may have air in it, not releasing fully..

With all you have going on, I'd bleed the clutch just to rule it out. A clutch not

disengauging fully will cause notchy, hard shifts..