Difficulty up-shifting

[Goose]

Hello All,


As per my introduction thread, I've recently bought a '98 FZS-600. It's only got 4400 miles on the clock so clearly hasn't been used a huge amount in the previous 19 years.  For the most part it all seems to work fine, but it's a bit of a pig when changing up through the gears. 


Down shifting is fine, no issues there and I have no problem selecting neutral either but sometimes (not always, and it's possibly slightly worse once warm) it can be a real pig to change up. 1st to 2nd is fine, and 2nd to 3rd is OK, but 4th, 5th and 6th (seems to get worse the higher the gear) can be difficult to get into. It will go, but sometimes needs 2 or 3 attempts before it will shift.  Other times it will slot straight in without problem.


I've changed the oil and filter a couple of weeks back in the hope that it might have had crap oil in it, but this doesn't seem to have helped (it was a longshot!).  I have also adjusted the freeplay in the clutch, but again it doesn't seem to have made much difference.


I was originally hoping this might be an issue caused by a lack of use, but I've put a 150 miles on it in the last couple of weeks and it doesn't seem to have improved anything.


Does anyone have any idea what might be the problem?


Thanks!


James

[daviee]

have you checked the gear  linkages are not seized everything should be nice and fee

[Goose]

Do you just mean the linkages from the shifter to the splined shaft on the gearbox? If so, yeah - they were pretty clean and free moving, but I gave them a few drops of oil anyway just in case, but no help.


Cheers for the reply!

[daviee]

how is your chain adjustment if its too tight it can cause problems changing gear and yes i did mean the linkage and also the lever pivot point aswell

[JoeyMcEssex]

I was having problems changing gear with my recently acquired fazer.
So went back to basics: reset the gear changer last night to the recommended position and find its ok now, still clunky through 1-3 but haven't missed a gear today or found any false neutrals.

I thought me or the bike was a duffer and thinking I was too old for this shit!!

I should say that I am back on 2 wheels after a few years away, so dont want to "teach granny to suck eggs" if you are experienced?

[daviee]

thats good advice could be the lever is set wrong for your style personally i find the gearbox to be very slick and have never had any issues with it

[Goose]

Thanks for the advice! I will have a look at the chain adjustment and the linkage adjustment.


I've had a couple of years away from riding before I got this bike - but I should add that when it does change up first time it's fine. Sometimes I can go up through the box without any problems at all, and then other times it just won't shift - but it's always the higher gears that are the issues, no problem with the lower ones.


Cheers again!

[sgpwwg]

I had similar issue and it was the centre stand being to high when riding. It was down to the rubber bung that is on the right side falling off and allowing the centre stand finishing 10mm higher so restricting the gear change. Fitted a new rubber problem sorted. Could be worth checking.

[darrsi]

Adjust the clutch, properly at both ends.


And read this post very carefully.


http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,10124.0.html

[Fazerider]

Normally the troublesome interval is the change from 1st to 2nd:
The selector drum has to be pulled slightly further by the escapement mechanism to get it past neutral… the ratio change is big making it harder to get the engine revs matched… and the bike is accelerating at its hardest giving you less time to judge it.
If you’ve problems with 4th, 5th and 6th it points to damaged drum, selector forks or gears. Any issue with the clutch would be a problem with the lower gears too, and clutchless changes should be easy in the higher gears anyway.

[Disorderlypunk]

when i first got my fazer the upshifts were a bastard but was easy to diagnose
previous owner was a short arse with short legs and artheritus (spelling?) in the hand so gear lever was too high and clutch didnt engage until nearly on the bars
after sorting the clutch cable at the bottom end that was just how i like it
but upshifts still to far up so a few splines anti clockwise so it naturally sits just above my boot guarantees a quick upshift
i have a howto video on bottom end clutch adjustment on my youtube channel (link in signiture)


if its anythin deeper than that i cant advise as i have only done one stroker box and classic car boxes if you want a fiat x19 box done im your man lol

[Goose]

Cheers for the advice everyone!


Having checked through everything, and desperately wanting to not jinx it, but things seem to have improved...


Firstly, good advice on the center stand, it wasn't the issue, but I can see how it would be if that rubber stop fell off!


I re-adjusted my clutch, but it didn't seem to help much, but my chain was a bit too tight. Only slightly, but definitely a touch less than the minimum of 30mm it says in the book - so I adjusted that and slackened it off a touch.  I then went out for a ride and it seemed marginally improved, however I fear for the most part this issue might have been down to the idiot in the saddle.  It looks like the shifter has been lowered on the splines slightly at some point and I reckon my toe was holding it up slightly whilst riding, so after shifting I was inadvertently not letting it fully return. I went out for a ride last night after doing the chain and was consciously keeping my foot angled on the peg so as to not rest on the shifter and I didn't have any problems at all, it seemed to be shifting absolutely fine.   Slightly embarrassing but there you go! 


As I said, I don't want to jinx it, but touch wood it seems to be OK now. Hopefully that is all that was wrong with it. I'll keep you posted though...


Cheers all!

[JoeyMcEssex]

Result, the problem is you never know how the previous owner liked it set up?

So just go back to standard and tweak from there!!

[JoeyMcEssex]

And from my previous post , with the shifter change on mine I have gone from Old duffer who cant change gear to Joey Dunlop, god rest his soul, in 2 days.
 I feel like my Fazer is a different bike now?