Stiff gear change

[fearless ferret]

First of all Hi , joined you a few weeks back after getting a GTR .... I have a little problem and hope someone can throw some light onto it .....

When I change gear its a little stiff ... how stiff is stiff you ask , well I have to put more pressure through my foot than I do on my fireblade or my ducati , it feels a bit 'notchy' if that explains it , the bike has done 6900 miles and has had oil and filter changed 500 miles ago when I got it . I dont know if this is a trait with these bikes or shaft drive in general , my old 1200GSA was well a GSA typical gearbox a bit notchy . I spoke to my local kawasaki dealer (its still under warranty) and they said I need to be more precise i.e clutch or gearbox and said if they stripped it down down and nothing was wrong I would end up with the bill ? nice customer service I thought ... my ducati 848 radiator went out of warranty and ducati replaced free of charge , the clutch stopped working the dealer stripped it down and found no problem but once back together it worked again no charge...thank got I didnt buy this GTR new , also when I go from neutral to first I get what I can only describe as a 'hop' i.e the bike almost hops forward feeling , any help greatly recieved .

almost forgot seems to get more notchy the hotter (longer I ride) it gets , and mostly from a cold start its reall nice and smooth and light

[Mogster]

No that dosen't sound right at all, My GTR does have a heavier gearbox than the my Tuono (quickshifter) but the hoping forward bit sounds like clutch?.... and as far as customer service goes... the dealer wasn't lloyd Coopers was it...

[fearless ferret]

dealer was groombridge in sussex , I spoke to the bmw dealer I got the bike from and they say they put 10/50 fully synthetic in , the manual says 10/40 but I'm no oil man so dont mean to much to me , and as for the 'hop' that happens more from first starting it , the bike move forward it's more of a rocking forward motion

[BigAlan]

That does not sound right to me, my bike when putting into first even when cold has a lttle clonk but it does not go forward, and the gear change is silky smooth all the time.

I am no mechanic so cant offer any advice other than get the people who offered the warranty to check it out, thats not the GTR i know and love.

Alan

[doebag]

It sounds like clutch drag to me.
Put bike on centre stand, check in neutral,and start the engine. The rear wheel should be stationary, if it is rotating slowly use the rear brake to stop it and listen to hear if the engines revs droop or the engine tries to stall.

[cpettifer]

Hiya... my bike sounds very similar to yours. I've been meaning to get in touch with my dealer about it (and a couple of other things), but haven't done so yet. I MUST do this - so will try and get onto it tomorrow and let you know what they say. The thing that annoys me the most is that sometimes it's super smooth - exactly how I remember from test ride - and sometimes it's really notchy, clunky and stiff. When I left home this morning it was nice and smooth.

My biggest problem with diagnosing it on my commute is that 90% of my commute is motorway, so I don't change gear.

[fearless ferret]

It sounds like clutch drag to me.
Put bike on centre stand, check in neutral,and start the engine. The rear wheel should be stationary, if it is rotating slowly use the rear brake to stop it and listen to hear if the engines revs droop or the engine tries to stall.

Tried this and in neutral the rear wheel doesn't spin but it spins if in first with the clutch in

[O.C.]

Ask your dealer to ensure that the clutch is correctly adjusted/bled. Also make sure the lever span is correct for your hand size.

And this may sound daft but also make sure that the gearchange lever is suitably adjusted to your requirements

I had a GS and its gearbox was bloody aweful.. my GTR is, by comparison, light years ahead.

[doebag]

Tried this and in neutral the rear wheel doesn't spin but it spins if in first with the clutch in

That is not too bad then, possibly worth an oil change if you don't know when the last one was done [ or what grade oil was used ] and check the idle speed is OK

[Lonewolf]

In future I wouldn't put fully synthetic oil in either, I hear that can cause clutch slip I think thats what its called. But as others have said if the bike is on the centre stand and you engage 1st gear and the rear wheel moves that normally indicates that the clutch needs bleeding.

[howard]

I all ways use semi synthetic oil and On Your Bike even used semi on the 1st sevice. Yes you will get a slight clunk going in to 1st but thats normal on a lot of bikes.
My bike has 8.5k on it and the general gear change is very good especially compared to some of the Triumph sprints I have owned.
Change your oil to semi 10/40 and if you still have a problem go back to your dealer and ask for a ride on there demo bike and then you will be in a informed position.
Any problems with your dealer and a phone call to Kawaski would be advised,they have been very help full when I have phoned them...H

[cpettifer]

Here I was hoping this would be my problem too... but it ain't! Doh. No spinning in any gear with clutch held in.

[Boomer]

10W50 is too thick for the GTR in the UK.
Maybe if you lived in Saudi or Egypt.

10W40 or 5W30 is best for the UK climate as it rarely gets that warm here.

The spinning rear wheel in gear with the clutch pulled in is normal on most bikes.
Doesn't happen on Ducatis, Guzzis, some BMWs and other dry clutch bikes.
It is due to the nature of the wet clutch.
The thicker your oil, the worse this will be.
Shouldn't be an issue with the bike on the ground as you should ALWAYS have the front brake applied when selecting 1st gear anyway, and in other gears you are already moving.