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Difficulty changing down gears - too much slack in mechanism?

jrr

jrr

Just got it firing!
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Hi! I've very recently started to have a problem with changing down gears. The bike is always fine for the first 10 minutes of riding, but as soon as it starts to get warmed up, I'm having difficulty shifting down into 1st gear. When it gets a bit warmer, I then have difficulty shifting down into 2nd too. I can eventually shift, but I have to kind of bounce my foot on the lever a few times.

This is also when I noticed there seems to be quite a bit of slack in the mechanism. I started to think perhaps the mechanism/lever needs tightening somehow (undoing the two nuts on the linkage rod and twisting the centre shaft?), but I don't want to overdo it, since I know it's not good to have no slack at all. This is also when I noticed my lever is occasionally rubbing on my exhaust (a design flaw which I see they corrected on later models, with a good few cm gap). It's almost as if the slack in the mechanism is preventing the connecting mechanism rod from moving far enough. For clarification, the lever doesn't feel like it is hitting some type of mechanical barrier preventing it from being pushed down further, it in fact pushes down very far but just doesn't do anything.

For reference my bike is a 2013 V7 Stone.

I was wondering if anyone had experience with similar issues? I was hoping it wouldn't be something internal, like a return spring or something, and I was especially hoping that the problem wouldn't suddenly get worse and leave me stranded somewhere in 3rd gear.

Thanks
 
I had simialr issues with some Tonti machines that had a spring on the bolt for the pivot at the frame. I removed the spring, greased the bolt, and adjusted so it moved freely without binding and not going sideways. So long as it moves freely and without any drag you will be OK.
 
Vagrant said:
All the road crap hits the lever out of the transmission. It needs a good clean and lube job regularly. The same goes for the hand lever. How much play is at the top?
Click to expand...

I tried to give it an external clean, with little effect. But of course this is very different to taking it off and cleaning/lubricating it properly. For me the problem seems to be around the top 'clamp' of the mechanism (it's very difficult to describe in words, I'll have to get a photo when I disassemble it). There's also very little play on the hand lever. It feels good.

john zibell said:
I had simialr issues with some Tonti machines that had a spring on the bolt for the pivot at the frame. I removed the spring, greased the bolt, and adjusted so it moved freely without binding and not going sideways. So long as it moves freely and without any drag you will be OK.
Click to expand...

I think the only spring in this mechanism is where it meets the gearbox. When I remove the lever from the mechanism, it falls/moves freely. I'll disassemble the top part and see what there is. I had the engine out relatively recently so maybe forgot to tighten something properly....I've done at least 2000km since that though.
 
You are looking at the transmission adjustment. I was referring to the clutch cable and where it hooks to the clutch lever. The pin in there needs to be free and they rust/gum up sometimes.
 
Vagrant said:
You are looking at the transmission adjustment. I was referring to the clutch cable and where it hooks to the clutch lever. The pin in there needs to be free and they rust/gum up sometimes.
Click to expand...
I've just had a look at various bits of the clutch lever, from the top where the lever meets the cable, to the other side of the cable at the clutch release arm. It all looks and feels good. There's no play and it doesn't seem like it's sticking. The clutch release arm moves immediately with the tiniest movement of the clutch lever, so there's no slack. The thing is though, I can shift down into 1st when I kind of bounce my foot multiple times on the gear lever, this is however all while the clutch is pulled, so to me it seems to suggest it's more of a transmission issue than clutch.

I took the full shifting mechanism (between the pedal lever and the splined shaft which goes into the gearbox) off earlier to have a look what was there. The ball joints move freely, and it all looks very clean. There's unfortunately no spring or anything I can do anything to. Everything else must be internal. I lengthened the shaft, and then compensated for the amount that this moved the gear lever, by moving the gear lever around a couple of teeth on the splined shaft (sorry I don't know all the terms). I was hoping that this would put a bit of extra tension in the mechanism while keeping my gear lever in the same position.

After going for a ride it seems to have made a bit of a difference, but it's difficult to know if this is a placebo or not because the problem is still there. It's also difficult to know if I'm just getting better at the knack for shifting down into 1st/2nd...I'm tempted to lengthen the shaft even more, but one of the sides actually seems like it's maxed out. There's still plenty of room for adjustment on the other side (at the other nut), but it just seems like I'm masking the real problem. It doesn't seem like this is the proper way to fix the problem...I'm really trying to avoid taking it to the garage and getting the inevitable big bill as usual.
 
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Internal return spring in the end. Which turns out is in a really bad place, quite a long job for such a cheap part. Bike is less than 30k km, which makes me wonder why this would happen, and if it's something I need to watch for in the future.
 
Before pulling box apart, I would try different oils, see if it makes a difference. I doubt it's the return spring or box, they have been perfected and are bullet proof pretty much.
You can also adjust the pipes in a bit by loosening everything up.
 
Ok, my 2 cents worth….

1. If your clutch has very little or no free play in the lever then IT’S NOT PROPERLY ADJUSTED. ALL CLUTCHES REQUIRE FREE PLAY. ALL.

2. What oil are you using in the gearbox? This makes a huge difference when either the wrong specification is used or the incorrect viscosity.

My inclination is that you have the clutch cable way too tight. There is a specification for lever free play. It is in the Service Manual and I would bet that it exists in the Owners Handbook as well.

Before I tore anything apart, those would be the things I would check, reset, and replace.
 
Before you go tearing things apart, your era bike had the clutch cable running right on the inside of the right cylinder. It melted them and caused stretching. Get it pulled back away from there and it might need replacing because it has melted.
 
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