Possible Gearbox Issues

Sop out old crud, re-fill, then crack bleeder. Hopefully, mechanical gawds will smile on you, and you will not struggle with a lousy feeling lever, thats why I have Mityvac hooked up to my compressor. You could be cursing for a few, try it...

Old brake fluid if covered will be ok, they say its hydroscopic or something, which means, it attracts water, so water and brake fluid are bad. Water nuetralizes the stuff if you happen to get it on your paint/aluminum, or even your finger/hands/tools

 

Can you expand on what you mean a bit?

Are you saying the crud might clog my entire system when I try this leaving me completely screwed? If that is the case, I am more iffy on even wanting to try it.

 

Yeah, a bent shifting fork would affect other gears too. Generally the 1st to 2nd shift is the hardest on the transmission since it leaps through neutral, and the throw is longer so it's harder to get it exactly right.

 

If changing the oil doesnt help I am going to try some different shifting techniques to see if that might help. I am so used to riding the pretty rough gearbox on my vstrom that its possible i have developed some bad habbits and i dont even realize it.

 

When you bleed the clutch just be sure you clean out the master reservoir thoroughly & go ahead & pull the slave off & check the pushrod actuator for the clutch for any debris buildup---it's a common issue with a few years of inattention. Clean out the slave well, too & inspect the piston/o-ring for crud. Mine had so much crud in it that it wouldn't even bleed~

You should be able to adjust the clutch in to a reasonable feel with the lever adjustment. Too far out can cause it to slip.

 

With all the discussion of the other stuff I realize we havent discussed the noise i hear in neutral unless I missed it.

The noise only happens when idling in neutral. If the clutch is pulled in neutral there is no noise, if the clutch is pulled while in gear there is no noise, however if the clutch is not pulled and i am sitting in neutral i hear a little bit of a noise coming from down below some where. kind of like a clicking but without a regular interval/pattern, just some light random noise, its low enough that i dont think its too worrisome but figured its still worth asking. (perhaps related to the 2nd gear thing? perhaps the oil, ??)

 

Not sure what to tell you about that. I'd do the oil change then see what you have.

 

will do. now lets hope my oil drain pan fits under this bike, i am guessing the center stand will help.....

 

If you have the standard walmart plastic drain pan, it will fit....put a 2x4 under the front tire for a little extra clearance.


Now you get to become intimate with all the bolts & connectors holding the fairings on~

I suggest removing the left side fairing only.

DO NOT over tighten the oil drain bolt!!!

 

yeah it doesnt seem very simple LOL.

However, dont I need to remove both sides in order to flush the coolant (also doing that) and install my power commander?

 

The noise while idling in neural with the clutch level let out (hand off the bar), to me, is completely normal as mine does it too. If you think about it (at least this is how I do), when you pull the clutch in the link between the motors crankshaft and the transmissions main shaft is broken and the transmission shaft and gears don't spin. If you let the clutch out that link is now complete. The gears in the transmission are aligned so that no power is transferred but the main shafts will be spinning since the clutch discs and plate are all now "hooked" together. Since there is no wind, road, motor, what have you noise that you hear when at speed you now hear the transmission noise. Now this is only my reckoning based of my basic "how things have to work" knowledge. Someone with more smarts than me can either agree or disagree.

 

Yes, remove both fairings if you're doing the coolant as well. I just meant for changing the oil only......

 

That reminds me, the manual mentions an "inner fairing" for the oil chance, but i have looked and cant find it, will this magically appear when i get the left side off?

 

Could be talking about the black lower front fairing piece the one where the front headers run.....

 

1. Change oil.
2. Don't listen to SOW, unless you are interested in learning about flea infested cats and how to score with a she-male in 5 steps or less.
3. I'll leave this to owners of a similar model, but possible its the CCT (cam chain tensioner) making the noise?
4. Changing/bleeding clutch fluid on these bikes is a breeze. Linked brakes - no so much.
5. Remember when removing your plastics to take the bottom screws out first. Otherwise, if you take the tops out first, its possible for this thing called gravity to let the top start falling down while the bottom is still screwed in. Result? You seem like a smart enough guy to figure this out.
6. Yes, you will need to take both fairings off if you plan on doing coolant. But only the left for an oil change.
7. What color are your brake/clutch fluid. Actually, shouldn't be any color at all.

 

Thank you, very helpful info, all you guys have been great!

I will check the fluid colors tomorrow when i ride the bike again ( i store in a storage unit, not my garage, so cant just run out and look )

good advice on the bottom screws first! i would like to believe i would have done that if you didnt say it, but who knows LOL. There seems to be some of those clips too, they seem interesting... lol seems they are simple but can be a pita.

 

What was meant is the shift lever tight on the spline. Your fluid could be clear. Look for crud in the bottom of the master cylinder.

hydraulic fluids are hygroscopic. (likes water) Where the caution lies is in using fluids that have been already opened and sat for who knows how long. Opening the cap of the master cyliders to inspect or
top up is not the same thing,

If you know how try some clutchless upshifts. If you don't know how don't practice on your bike.. Loading the shift lever is good too.

The clutch assembly is spinning and you don't actually need to use the full arc of the clutch lever to shift.

 

FYI SOW has the scoring process down to three steps using Slick 50 as an incentive.

 

The securing plastic rivets/push pins are not very structurally sound, and will break if not handled with a certain amount of care. I've broken a couple, and the ones on the bottom of the fairings are the worst. Some guys simply don't replace those and use a zip tie or two. Your choice. I've been pretty lucky and have only had to replace a couple over the years, and none in the last 10 years.

 

I actually bought a few extra from the dealer the other day just incase (i needed some to replace some missing ones)