Clunk on second gear

[SQUIDO]

Well lately i am riding with my half helmet (harley kind) to hear the engine sing. but noticed that from first

gear to second the CLUNK (almost doest want to go engage)is more louder than any of the gears.I havent really notice this at all before

because i always wear fullface helmet. Is this something i should worry about???

I have 06 with 2800 mi

thanks

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

Well lately i am riding with my half helmet (harley kind) to hear the engine sing. but noticed that from firstgear to second the CLUNK (almost doest want to go engage)is more louder than any of the gears.I havent really notice this at all before

because i always wear fullface helmet. Is this something i should worry about???

I have 06 with 2800 mi

thanks

:lol:

see my avatar!

B)

 

[radman]

All in technique my friend. You can eliminate all shifting noise other than the clunk into first at rest, by changing the way you shift. Before depressing the clutch, begin applying pressure to the shift lever, and complete the movement as you pull in the clutch. Some would call this a preload, but it's actually one smooth rapid movement. Another factor is a clean and well lubed shift mechanism, the shift lever pivot, heim joints on the shaft, and the clutch lever pivot. Do that, learn the technique, and I guarantee absolutely noise free, smooth shifting. The R1 shift shaft lever helps in that it's a little shorter, and reduces the travel length to engage a gear.

 

[Dan23]

So, bluedevil... does that mean your bike had the engine out for a tranny problem?

 

[dbvolfan]

All in technique my friend. You can eliminate all shifting noise other than the clunk into first at rest, by changing the way you shift. Before depressing the clutch, begin applying pressure to the shift lever, and complete the movement as you pull in the clutch. Some would call this a preload, but it's actually one smooth rapid movement.

Started doing this and noticed it went much smoother, especially first-second shifts. I still occasionally get a kickback when shifting from first to second (at 4-5k) like some teeth are not engaging and it kicks the shifter back but I thik that is because I dont give it a quick kick in the butt.

 

[SQUIDO]

All in technique my friend. You can eliminate all shifting noise other than the clunk into first at rest, by changing the way you shift. Before depressing the clutch, begin applying pressure to the shift lever, and complete the movement as you pull in the clutch. Some would call this a preload, but it's actually one smooth rapid movement. Another factor is a clean and well lubed shift mechanism, the shift lever pivot, heim joints on the shaft, and the clutch lever pivot. Do that, learn the technique, and I guarantee absolutely noise free, smooth shifting. The R1 shift shaft lever helps in that it's a little shorter, and reduces the travel length to engage a gear.

Thanks Mr. Rad I will give this a try.

 

[FJRMGM]

+1 on the R1 shift lever - it really helps the shifter "throw".

 

[SQUIDO]

All in technique my friend. You can eliminate all shifting noise other than the clunk into first at rest, by changing the way you shift. Before depressing the clutch, begin applying pressure to the shift lever, and complete the movement as you pull in the clutch. Some would call this a preload, but it's actually one smooth rapid movement. Another factor is a clean and well lubed shift mechanism, the shift lever pivot, heim joints on the shaft, and the clutch lever pivot. Do that, learn the technique, and I guarantee absolutely noise free, smooth shifting. The R1 shift shaft lever helps in that it's a little shorter, and reduces the travel length to engage a gear.

Thanks Mr. Rad I will give this a try.

It worked!!!!nomore CLUNK. Thanks alot

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

So, bluedevil... does that mean your bike had the engine out for a tranny problem?

Yes that is why I have been with out the bike for 2 months and all the parts are still not in.

My bike when new purchased off the floor of the dealership, always seemed to be indifferent to shifting into gears, although third to forth to fifth never really seemed to have an issue, except there were some times that i would shift and nothing would happen.

That was not because the shifter did not reset after shifting, I just think my bike was the problem child of the litter.

rear end leaking now being fixed for a second time,

I just think it was out of adjustment from the factory and that is why they never gave me any grief for fixing it.

all gears and shift forks plus drum being replaced, So it is what it is, not technique all the time.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

I've had the same problem with this bike. The technique Rad wrote of helps, but not always. Blipping at slower speeds helps too.

Question: Why just second gear? I was always taught to disengage the clutch before shifting. This has worked on every other bike I've owned, and every other gear on the FJR. So why do I have a clunk/grinding intermittently (less as it has broken in) on this bike and only second gear? Why not every time? Enquiring simple mind wants to know.....The dealer just said Yamaha's do it a lot........ :dntknw:

 

[radman]

Break-in is part of it, familiarity is part of it, the tranny's hefty build is part of it (100 lbs-o-torque demands it), also rpm's are part of it. You'll find as the r's climb, so does gear engagement smooth. The method I promoted above has become, to me, perfectly natural, and with practice results in quiet, fast, smooth, noiseless shifts every time, every gear. Grinding is a result of to slow of a foot movement, so that the shift collar slips on the gear to be engaged, hence the noise until it locks in. Most guys are too gentle, thinking that this is kinder to the trans, when the opposite is true. This is also why the R1 lever helps, by speeding up the process, while adding just a little more shift effort. Don't dismiss my suggestion on a clean and lube of the linkage-smooth easy action in this mechanism eases the process, reducing effort and the associated grind. The clunk is often attributable to mismatched speeds between in/out shafts, such as shifting at too low a speed. You can reduce this by, once again, following the above procedure, which prevents the input shaft from slowing to much, resulting in mismatch (engine rpms dropping during the process). This is why some report quieter shifting by raising the idle speed, valid but the wrong way to go about it.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

Break-in is part of it, familiarity is part of it, the tranny's hefty build is part of it (100 lbs-o-torque demands it), also rpm's are part of it. You'll find as the r's climb, so does gear engagement smooth. The method I promoted above has become, to me, perfectly natural, and with practice results in quiet, fast, smooth, noiseless shifts every time, every gear. Grinding is a result of to slow of a foot movement, so that the shift collar slips on the gear to be engaged, hence the noise until it locks in. Most guys are too gentle, thinking that this is kinder to the trans, when the opposite is true. This is also why the R1 lever helps, by speeding up the process, while adding just a little more shift effort. Don't dismiss my suggestion on a clean and lube of the linkage-smooth easy action in this mechanism eases the process, reducing effort and the associated grind. The clunk is often attributable to mismatched speeds between in/out shafts, such as shifting at too low a speed. You can reduce this by, once again, following the above procedure, which prevents the input shaft from slowing to much, resulting in mismatch (engine rpms dropping during the process). This is why some report quieter shifting by raising the idle speed, valid but the wrong way to go about it.

So if I have this right Rad, I'm lugging the engine a bit, so rev it more before shifting; and make sure everything is clean and lubed. And stop being gay and throw my 13 EEE boots at the thing.

Actually the explanation of more horses and torque available than any previous bike I've ridden makes sense too.

I wasn't discounting the technique, rad, but trying to understand the process better. Thanks!

 

[Dan23]

>>I just think my bike was the problem child of the litter.<<

Thanks for the clarification and good luck wit the repairs.

 

[Neville McNaughton]

I notice that I have some level of apparent problem when I'm not in a hurry. Gear shift appears to go part way through and hangs up, letting the clutch out and you feel it snick into gear. Talked with my mechanic today and his explanation was that this is not uncommon. The transmission is built with large slots and dogs and less of them than gearboxes of old. This is more likely to lead to a slight hang up than older gearboxes so he said. But all that seems to be irrelavent, ride is hard, shift purposefully and I seldom have problems.

Neville

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

A public +1 and thanks to Radman and others with assistance on this (my) problem. I'm shifting at 4-5K rather than 3K rpm and with more purpose. Did the trick and shifting is smooth like it should be. Thanks again :clapping:

 

[Kiki]

Speaking from past mechanic experience, a poorly lubed pivot shaft is trhe most frequent source of a stubborn shifter. I had a guy that actually used to reach down with his hand to shift because there was so much resistance in the lever. I do agree that you need to be firm with your foot, but dont beat the thing.

Also, it is important to understand that gears engage laterally, not radially, so when a gear pops out of engagement, it either wasnt fully engaged by the fork, or the dogs are damaged.

One suggestion we used to have on the VMAX board was to run slightly heavier oil for the clunkier trannys-- especially when drag racing (from Dale Walker himself).

But the pressure prior to clutching is an excellent tip.

 

[flying junior]

Speaking from past mechanic experience, a poorly lubed pivot shaft is trhe most frequent source of a stubborn shifter. I had a guy that actually used to reach down with his hand to shift because there was so much resistance in the lever. I do agree that you need to be firm with your foot, but dont beat the thing.
Also, it is important to understand that gears engage laterally, not radially, so when a gear pops out of engagement, it either wasnt fully engaged by the fork, or the dogs are damaged.

One suggestion we used to have on the VMAX board was to run slightly heavier oil for the clunkier trannys-- especially when drag racing (from Dale Walker himself).

But the pressure prior to clutching is an excellent tip.

I've always applied that pressure prior to clutching, but with my fjr the least pressure often makes it shift w/o clutching, and it's a quick, smooth shift, like my daddy's old hydramatic oldsmobile.

I keep wondering if I'm doing harm. At the same time, it's so smooth and quick I can't believe it hurts anything. It's almost to the point where I choose not to use the clutch.

Anyone know if I'm courting trouble?

 

[Kiki]

I've always applied that pressure prior to clutching, but with my fjr the least pressure often makes it shift w/o clutching, and it's a quick, smooth shift, like my daddy's old hydramatic oldsmobile.
I keep wondering if I'm doing harm. At the same time, it's so smooth and quick I can't believe it hurts anything. It's almost to the point where I choose not to use the clutch.

Anyone know if I'm courting trouble?

Great question-- the tech school always told us that "clutchless shifting" is slow to wake the beast. IE-- it seems great for a while, but down the road the thing will have a hard time holding a gear. I honestly shift with the clutch on the street, and without on dirt -- the dirtbike is a CR250, and it still shifts fine-- in fact none of the local MX'ers use the clutch after a start.

I do know that my old V65 wouldnt hold 2nd gear after 2 years of drag racing. And a teardown did show damage, but I always clutched, and preloaded the lever-- however, the previous owner was an idiot, and i believe i paid for his sins. (and mine too!!)