Funky Shifting

[Canadian FJR]

Clutch soak completed, found nothing unusual.

Hope to get out for test run tomorrow.

 

[RossKean]

Clutch soak completed, found nothing unusual.
Hope to get out for test run tomorrow.

Might want to take 20 minutes and bleed the clutch hydraulics while you are at it. Cover all the bases!

Good luck.

 

[RossKean]

Any luck with the clutch soak???

 

[dcarver]

Oops. Yeah, what Ross said. Ride that thing. Report back.

 

[Canadian FJR]

The first ride after the clutch soak I thought we struck gold, every shift smooth from the get go.

Second and third ride back to the normal randomness. I reported back to the shop and asked them to document it and I'd keep them in the loop.

Yesterday I spent the day at our local race track and the shifting was flawless. Keep in mind that all of my upshifts are

clutchless on the track but the downshifts were perfect with the clutch.

The shop mechanic was there and we discussed that possibly there needs to be more or larger holes in the basket

for the plates.

Still a mystery.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

The first ride after the clutch soak I thought we struck gold, every shift smooth from the get go.
Second and third ride back to the normal randomness. I reported back to the shop and asked them to document it and I'd keep them in the loop.

Yesterday I spent the day at our local race track and the shifting was flawless. Keep in mind that all of my upshifts are

clutchless on the track but the downshifts were perfect with the clutch.

The shop mechanic was there and we discussed that possibly there needs to be more or larger holes in the basket

for the plates.

Still a mystery.

A friend had the same problem and he decided to drill some holes in the basket as his mechanic suggested.The things gote worse after that and he bought a new clutch basket.The problem still there...

 

[mcatrophy]

I would have thought drilling holes would allow any oil in there to get out of the clutch more quickly (centrifugal forces), I can see no way it would get more oil in.

Maybe read Oakdave's post here? Gives a new perspective to possible clutch issues.

 

[Canadian FJR]

After several oil changes, a clutch soak and 20,000 Kms

It seems to be coming around.

 

[jimhoy]

I have 1000 miles on my 2018 es and the shifting is driving me crazy. It was much better before the first service. Sometimes I cant downshift and some times I cant up shift. I can up shift every time I think about it and really push it in. There are no unusual sounds other than the normal clunking.

 

[RossKean]

I have 1000 miles on my 2018 es and the shifting is driving me crazy. It was much better before the first service. Sometimes I cant downshift and some times I cant up shift. I can up shift every time I think about it and really push it in. There are no unusual sounds other than the normal clunking.

Sounds like an issue with it returning to center between shifts. I would take apart the shift linkage and clean/lube the pivot and anything that moves. A clutch soak might help. I assume that the dealer hasn't done anything for you?

 

[dcumpian]

I have a 2018A and there was no lube in the shift linkage when I took it apart at around 2500 miles. Other than the occasional times where it won't drop into 1st from Neutral without releasing the clutch, I have had no further issues since lubing it. The only time I have the N -> 1st issue is when I come to a stop without dropping it into 1st. That is just bad muscle memory from older bikes I used to ride.

Dan

 

[Bounce]

And those pivot points are listed as routine maint items. Odd if they didn't do it themselves.

 

[jammess]

And those pivot points are listed as routine maint items. Odd if they didn't do it themselves.

I have a FSM and a Haynes manual for my '10 FJR1300A and nowhere can I find any reference to lubricating shift linkage pivot points. Only thing discussed is shift pedal position adjusting no mention of pivot point lubrication. Where can I find a routine maintenance procedure for this? Other than just common sense as in does the shift pedal always return to the proper stow position without binding I question if there is an actual lubrication schedule for the shift linkage.

This reminds me of the old wives tale about the need to lubricate the swingarm roller bearings on my '93 BMW as in not a maintenance item and not necessary for the life of the bearings which is a very long time.

 

[Mihalis fjr]

And those pivot points are listed as routine maint items. Odd if they didn't do it themselves.

I have a FSM and a Haynes manual for my '10 FJR1300A and nowhere can I find any reference to lubricating shift linkage pivot points. Only thing discussed is shift pedal position adjusting no mention of pivot point lubrication. Where can I find a routine maintenance procedure for this? Other than just common sense as in does the shift pedal always return to the proper stow position without binding I question if there is an actual lubrication schedule for the shift linkage.

This reminds me of the old wives tale about the need to lubricate the swingarm roller bearings on my '93 BMW as in not a maintenance item and not necessary for the life of the bearings which is a very long time.

Here you are:

https://www.fjr1300.info/howto/lube.html

 

[Bounce]

And those pivot points are listed as routine maint items. Odd if they didn't do it themselves.

I have a FSM and a Haynes manual for my '10 FJR1300A and nowhere can I find any reference to lubricating shift linkage pivot points. Only thing discussed is shift pedal position adjusting no mention of pivot point lubrication. Where can I find a routine maintenance procedure for this?

The owners manual lists several pivot points in it's periodic lube chart. It starts here and continues for other pages.

https://dd5394a0b8ca8e97ba29-abf76f3d91a2125517d6c7c409f095c7.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/content/common/manuals/2016/LIT-11626-29-61R1_59527eeb2a0ab6716ccc4879.pdf

 

[rbentnail]

And those pivot points are listed as routine maint items. Odd if they didn't do it themselves.

I have a FSM and a Haynes manual for my '10 FJR1300A and nowhere can I find any reference to lubricating shift linkage pivot points. Only thing discussed is shift pedal position adjusting no mention of pivot point lubrication. Where can I find a routine maintenance procedure for this?

The owners manual lists several pivot points in it's periodic lube chart. It starts here and continues for other pages.

https://dd5394a0b8ca8e97ba29-abf76f3d91a2125517d6c7c409f095c7.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/content/common/manuals/2016/LIT-11626-29-61R1_59527eeb2a0ab6716ccc4879.pdf

In my FSM Chassis section, it says specifically to "lubricate the pivoting point and metal-to-metal moving parts of the pedals." You may not be looking in the correct place in the book plus it can be pretty vague about such things.

Yep, the owners manual is better at telling you what & lube type, another source like the FSM tells you how. Many shortcuts with pictures are available with sites like fjr1300.info, fjr-tips.org, etc.

 

[jammess]

The owners manual discusses lubricating shift pivot points if necessary on page 7.28 of the owners manual but it is not listed as a scheduled maintenance item only recommended should binding be noted before a ride. It is NOT a scheduled maintenance item which was my point. That's not to say it's not a good idea to pay attention from time to time to pivoting items like the center stand and control levers but it is not scheduled like an oil change or a valve adjustment for example. Read my original post. I know to some this seems like nit picking but it is what it is.

My plan is to clean and lube the shift pivot points when I do the drive shaft maintenance but this is just my plan for the sake of convenience not because of any Yamaha recommended scheduled maintenance. Scheduled maintenance and trouble-shooting are two different things.

 

[Mortenk]

After 5 years on a Honda ST1300 I now ride a 2016 ES and I can certainly relate to this. I recently compiled a pros/cons list between the two bikes, and as far as the transmission goes, the ST is a clear winner. It's 5-speed, smooth, and quiet. 6 gears on a large/powerful motorcycle is just annoying IMO, although I couldn't live without the ratio of 6th (gives great gas mileage and minimal vibrations). If the FJR had 5 gears with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th spread nicely between the current 1 and 6, I would be very happy. As a result, I frequently skip 3rd and 5th while accelerating...but it still takes a lot of shifting, which brings me to my original thought:
I also observe a lot of randomness here. Sometimes N-1 is smooth, and sometimes it's very clunky. The worst part is when you have to shift from e.g. 5-1 during a standstill (happened a few weeks ago, when I had to make a sudden stop, with no time for downshifting). I frequently have to release the clutch slightly between each gear before I can downshift again. So, it will take a while to get from 5 to 1. The car behind me wasn't super impressed with my delay to say the least.

Another annoying behavior that seems to happen pretty much all the time: whenever I release the clutch after up-shifting (e.g. 2-3), transmission makes this slight "engaging" sound, which to me indicates that shifting alone isn't really doing all that's needed to "enter" the next gear. This is driving me nuts...I would expect the same behavior whether I simply release the clutch without switching gear, or I shift gears and then release...

Final note: I love the clutch! It is so soft and easy to pull.

Six months later, and now running Rotella T6. Not sure if it's the oil or me just having gotten used to the FJR, but I am now very happy with the transmission. Consistent shifting, engages every time. I occasionally get a clunk when I go N-1, but most of the time it's just a slight click.

 

[jammess]

The owners manual discusses lubricating shift pivot points if necessary on page 7.28 of the owners manual but it is not listed as a scheduled maintenance item only recommended should binding be noted before a ride. It is NOT a scheduled maintenance item which was my point. That's not to say it's not a good idea to pay attention from time to time to pivoting items like the center stand and control levers but it is not scheduled like an oil change or a valve adjustment for example. Read my original post. I know to some this seems like nit picking but it is what it is.
My plan is to clean and lube the shift pivot points when I do the drive shaft maintenance but this is just my plan for the sake of convenience not because of any Yamaha recommended scheduled maintenance. Scheduled maintenance and trouble-shooting are two different things.

I stand corrected. On page 7-6 of the owners manual Periodic Maintenance and Adjustment schedule lubrication of virtually all pivot points is recommended. The shift pedal pivot shaft is recommended to be lubed every 4K miles or 6 months.

Shut my mouth!

Update: I got to feeling guilty so I lubed the shift linkage pivot points. I used plumbers grease since it is rated not to wash off with hot or cold water. There was no grease at all on the pivot point. I had done the dog bone assembly last summer when I installed a gen3 rear shock.

 

[Bounce]

And, with some consideration, such points would be added as PM items because one thing rubs on another thing and without lube wear is increased. It's sort of an old-school car/bike thing where you do what should be done even when no one else explicitly lists it. The hand lever bushings are another such item. Remove and clean/lube them once or twice a year or you'll have to replace the bushings sooner.