my god what is that noise?

[Reluctant-but-ready]

last night i was riding my bike and when i was downshifting to decelerate it was making a griding noise when i let the clutch out... but only when i downshifted.... what could this be? is if safe to ride my bike... or will i be doing inreversable damage.... any ideas would be appreciated... happy trails fellas!

[fireguzzi]

Does it do it every time you downshift or was it a one time thing? Maybe you just missed a shift, and it did not engage all the way. But if it is doing it every time i would take it to a shop unless you are pretty handy with a wrench.

[Rouge_Dragon]

I agree, if it's an ongoing thing, best thing to do is take it to a shop and get it looked at....or you could tinker around with it yourself, which would probably result in the engine exploding next time you took it for a ride , I'd go for door number one, safest option

[polarelf2003]

That heppend to me a couple of times when I didnt push the shift lever down all the way, when I first got my bike. Make sure you're pushing down all the way.

[Reluctant-but-ready]

it was everytime on a down shift but only if i was at 3200 rpms or more... but only at the very beginning when it would catch it was just make a grinding noise for a second then stop... thats why im wondering if its just an old clutch... i can remember when i used to ride around in his ford escort and he needed a new clutch it would grind... and he would say... man i need a new clutch... but i guess ill just take it to a shop .. i was hoping just to replace the clutch myself.

[bigswifty]

If it were the clutch and its a cable operated one, you probly dont need to replace, just adjust