Ever get stuck between gears ?

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bandit600 · #1 Unread post by **bandit600** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:49 am

Every now and then like when I'm going 60mph and maybe a light turns red and I have a short time to drop the tranny down from 6th to first and I'm shifting rapidly the bike will get stuck between gears. Sometimes letting the clutch out to let the gear move a little and make a better alignment helps. Sometimes upshifting first then downshifting works but that is a pain because by that time you've come to stop and can't really shift gears anymore... You look like a crazy person mashing down on the shifter frantically trying to get it in at least 3rd or 2nd before the light turns green...

Anyway you get the picture. This happened on my bandit and now occassionally on the SV. I usually try to blip the throttle while downshifting but in the situation I described above it's not always that easy or possible. I talked to a friend of mine and he said that's a fairly common Suzuki quirk. Is that true? Does that ever happen to anyone else? More often in Suzukis maybe?

#2 Unread post by **Wrider** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:25 am

It's a quirk for any constant mesh transmission. Yeah just use the clutch to spin the tranny gears a little and they'll pop back into whatever gear they need to go into. My Volusia did the same thing.

jstark47 · #3 Unread post by **jstark47** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:25 am

Heh, heh..... V-strom is notorious for not wanting to shift down from 4th to 3rd. Just stomp on it harder!!

Wrider and Rhadam and I were discussing this in February: viewtopic.php?p=261019#261019

If ya really wanna see a transmission having a snit, forget to shift down to 1st and bring my Bonneville to a stop. Neutral will proceed to run away and hide for about the next 5 minutes..... ya get used to it.

bandit600 · Thu Oct 29, 2009 12:08 pm

Wow, this thread must be like deja vu for you guys. I guess I'll learn to live with it and keep these tricks and tips in mind.

To tell you the truth it didn't really bother me till a couple days ago when it happened next to a car full of cute college age girls.

Stomping on the shift lever like a spaz... Rocking the bike back and forth at the light and I still only managed to get it into 3rd before the light turned green. Then I had to rev it and slip the clutch to get it going (thank god for that torquey twin).

I mean I certainly don't ride to look "cool" but the irony isn't lost on me when my ride makes me look like a fool...

tymanthius · Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:24 pm

bandit600 wrote:Wow, this thread must be like deja vu for you guys. I guess I'll learn to live with it and keep these tricks and tips in mind.

To tell you the truth it didn't really bother me till a couple days ago when it happened next to a car full of cute college age girls.

Stomping on the shift lever like a spaz... Rocking the bike back and forth at the light and I still only managed to get it into 3rd before the light turned green. Then I had to rev it and slip the clutch to get it going (thank god for that torquey twin).

I mean I certainly don't ride to look "cool" but the irony isn't lost on me when my ride makes me look like a fool...

At least you didn't drop it. I just KNOW I'm gonna have that happen one day. Sorta did the other day, 'cept it was my 14 yr old daughter. I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride, and I then proceeded to fail in maneuvering in a duck walk in my gravel drive.

zeligman · #6 Unread post by **zeligman** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:33 pm

my suzi can be a bit finicky shifting too... i need to let the clutch out and back in sometimes... my issues are from 2 to N to 1.. sometimes it locks in between

sometimes i have to roll the bike forward or back a bit re-engage clutch and mash

redwing · #7 Unread post by **redwing** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:29 pm

I thought this stuff only happened to me. A while back I came around a curve and a white pickup was backing out into the road. I hit my brakes so fast I couldn't gear down and there I was stuck in 6th gear. It took perhaps 3 or 4 minutes to get into 1st gear. Sixth to fifth and then inbetween 5th and 4th. And the auto behind me waited ... I didn't turn around to see what thier attitude might be. But no honking. Also I didn't get rear ended.

The first couple of times this happened I lucked out and got it into gear. I called the dealer and the advice I got worked well. Their advice sounds like the techniques I've read in this post.

The dealer said sometimes the trans get stuck between gears. Then with a few revs put mild preasure on the shift and slowly let out on the clutch. At the friction point the trans should pop into gear... or that the plan.
Or
Sometimes stuck in neutral .. slowly let out the clutch because it might pop into gear... then rev the motor and pull in the clutch and try again.
I usually panic

...but never worry about someone waiting on me in traffic... I do worry about women ... every thirty seconds. Please call BR 555 PLEASE

The dealer said reving the motor with the clutch out spun the trans and so the gears allign. ??? It works for me.

Robert

Amdonim · #8 Unread post by **Amdonim** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:15 am

Yep my shadow does that sometimes. All I do is let out the clutch till I hear a click and continue downshifting. It is a pain when it happens though.

Fargo360 · #9 Unread post by **Fargo360** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:30 am

My cb360 does that between 1st and 2nd. Seems like I always get stuck in neutral. Not fun when you're taking off from a stop, go to switch gears and all i get is "vrooooom!"

Gurgus · #10 Unread post by **Gurgus** » Wed Nov 18, 2009 5:30 pm

My 450 does the same thing. First gear, click up to second, let out clutch "VROOM!"

I dig that 360 by the way. Sweet.