Trouble down shifting on the Gen3

So I thought lubing up the linkage on the shifter might have been the issue. Seems as though it isn't going to be the cure. I have just over 1K miles on my Gen3 that I bought last fall. I mostly still ride my Gen2 bike. I am still farkling the Gen3 so I don't take it out that much.

I did a ride to NH on Saturday. Still had some issues downshifting mostly. I end up tapping the shifter twice to get it to shift down. If you apply more pressure it still a no go. So today after work I was taking the bike for a inspection sticker. I notice when I pull the clutch in it doesn't disengage right away. It will break lose 1 or two seconds after pulling the clutch lever in. Most notable under engine breaking. I figured out that it shifts fine once the clutch breaks loose. So what next?

1) Do I do a clutch soak myself ? (Eliminating any dealer horror story's)

2) Its under warrantee and bring it in to the dealer which will be in Rhode Island that I have no clue about.

Anyone else have this issue? Going out to the garage and I will be back later. You guys can pontificate.

Dave

A clutch soak certainly wouldn't hurt and doesn't take a huge amount of time. Make sure you have a spare clutch cover gasket around to ensure that you won't need it - worked for me on the timing cover at least three times.

I would bleed the clutch hydraulics. Maybe not related but a bubble might make the clutch slower to disengage.

Regarding lubing the shift pivot. Make sure you don't tighten too far and over-compress the wave washer. Someone mentioned that all the way down was right because of the design but I found that I couldn't go very tight with mine. Semi-snug with blue Loctite on the bolt threads.

That's it for me. I wouldn't take to a dealer (even under warranty) unless

1) You REALLY trust their mechanics or

2) it needs expensive parts.

Good luck!

Using unknown dealers is always iffy. You obviously have mechanical skills based upon your products... Try the clutch soak/hydraulic bleed. Be clean in your work.

If that doesn't work, don't tell the dealer you've been in there...

..and or, find a tech you can trust. I'm lucky in that regard.

Good luck...

-d

Thanks for the reply's.

I thought about bleeding the line and will try that also. It seems to upshift fine. I had a great local dealer who has been around forever and has very good mechanics. Only thing is they were a Honda & Yamaha dealer. Yami pulled the plug on them last year. So they can no longer do warrantee work for Yamaha. Didn't do enough sales from what I was told. So now they just sell Honda's. We had another dealer but he moved further north 4 years ago and is 45 minutes away now. So from I have been told the closest warrantee dealership is in Rhode Island and I have never been there but I guess it's time to take ride. As you said the Stealership will be the last resort. I will give it my best attempt to do it myself first. I know I have lots of help and advise I can fall back on if need be.

Good night folks,

Dave

Note on upshift...

It is always easier. With a bit of throttle manipulation to reduce the load on the gears, it is easy to upshift without using the clutch at all (without damaging the transmission).

At the risk of getting flamed, what oil are you using? There were some early complaints that oils (Specifically Rotella) that worked just fine in Gen1 and Gen2 bikes caused difficult/sticky shifting in the Gen3.

Where are your levers set? OEM or aftermarket? If my Pazzo clutch lever is set on the first one or two notches, it won't disengage the clutch all the way and shifting gets wonky. I'd swear I remember someone saying the same thing about the OEM levers. If yours is all the way in, try moving it out two spaces.

If that doesn't work, THEN try the clutch soak and bleed.

Also make sure your shiftter peg is adjusted in the middle of it's range not to the lower extreme.

My shifting is "klunky". Not sure if it's related, but there is a definite klunk, even when fully clutched. Good thought on the clutch lever pull. Mine are the whole way in. I also note that sometimes I cannot get into first gear from neutral at a stop without double clutching.

I guess I should check the clutch pull and bleed the clutch line as a first step?

2015A 4000 miles in three months.

Hmmm, mine has always shifted like butter. But I do keep the levers set pretty far out, and "upgraded" them to some Pazzo knock-offs. Also, when I took my clutch all apart to upgrade that to the slipper assist, I noticed that all the old plates were oiled nicely, and of course I oiled the new ones overnight before installing them. Maybe the fact that yours was a leftover that sat a while before you bought it, and mine was fresh off the container when I bought it, is significant?

I'm confident that with the advice you've received already you'll get it working fine without resorting to the dealership hacks.

Clutch levers are are adjusted fine. It doesn't engage until almost all the way out. Unlike my 08 which grabs much closer to the handlebars. Getting worn at 91K. At the 600 mile service I put Delo 400 in for the oil change. I did notice an improvement when I used Mobil1 when I just changed the 08 last month. I am sure that might help also but I will change it out as a last resort since there is only 470 miles since it was changed. It's definately in the clutch mechanism. I can feel the slack release abruptly a second or two after the clutch is pulled in. Something is sticking. I will do the simple stuff first before pulling the clutch plates. Tonight will be new sneakers for the 08 so I will be busy with that first. Having two bikes is a shitload more maintenance. That's the downside.

Dave

So based on the engagement being way out there , the hydraulics are not the problem. It has to be sticking plates. I'd ditch the cheap diesel oil and try the Mobil1 15w50. Consider it a second break-in oil change. Leave the filter. If you do end up having to soak the plates there is no need to drain the oil then anyway.

08FJR4ME said:

Tonight will be new sneakers for the 08 so I will be busy with that first. Having two bikes is a shitload more maintenance. That's the downside.

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Not much. Once you get your 3rd Gen all farkled up, by splitting mileage on the two you'll also be extending the intervals between services on each of them. I never winterize the FJR anyway, so all service is mileage based except brake fluid.

Years ago I had sticking plates and noticed that there were some significant notches in the fingers of the clutch basket. Some very careful filing eliminated the problem. Your machinist skills should really help with analyzing the basket. I estimate the notches were at least 10 thousandths deep on that bike. A fingernail caught the edges easily. Not sure if that helps, but thought I'd post up.

Gary

Dave - assume you are referring to Razee in RI. They're as good as it gets. I've seen other forum member's bikes there.

My unused 2010 (900 miles) when I found it last summer shifted somewhat clunky until I took the clutch apart and cleaned the parts in kerosene and soaked overnight in motor oil. I recently took FredW's suggestion and now pull in the clutch and blip the throttle before a shift from neutral to first which results in absolutely no clunk. After clutch disc soak all shifting is now like butter. I bet this will solve your problem. I cleaned the parts in kerosene because there was a gummy substance adhering to the friction disks and many of the discs were pretty dry as well.

Thanks for that suggestion Fred it works every time.

What about the bushing is that clutch lever. I remember people having shifting issues and that bushing was toast. Also, make sure the mechanism that moves inside the housing isn't FUBAR.

Good suggestions, but remember, this is essentially a brand new bike. I doubt the clutch basket or lever bushing is worn yet.

Redfish Hunter said:

At the risk of getting flamed, what oil are you using? There were some early complaints that oils (Specifically Rotella) that worked just fine in Gen1 and Gen2 bikes caused difficult/sticky shifting in the Gen3.

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I've used Rotella T6 since my second oil change and have not had any issues 45k miles later. Just wanted to let others know that this oil is not likely an issue.

Allen_C said:

Redfish Hunter said:

At the risk of getting flamed, what oil are you using? There were some early complaints that oils (Specifically Rotella) that worked just fine in Gen1 and Gen2 bikes caused difficult/sticky shifting in the Gen3.

Click to expand...

I've used Rotella T6 since my second oil change and have not had any issues 45k miles later. Just wanted to let others know that this oil is not likely an issue.

Click to expand...

It absolutely was an issue in some of the '13s. What Yamaha has or has not done to the clutch material since then I cannot say. And I am certainly not against using Rotella, I just remember that there was an issue so I threw it out there.

Also, I think the T6 is the full synthetic Rotella? My Duramax currently has 2 and a half gallons of that inside it.

SouthernCruizer was one of those affected if I recall correctly.