hi all, again.

thanks for some of the responses to my previous threds, i have a niggle with my bike.

2000 model Firestorm/Superhawk 14,700 miles ive done a 1000 miles my self in 3 weeks on the bike, loving it and to my supprise the chick loves to come for a ride too.

over the last few hundred miles ive noticed seemingly more and more difficulty for 2nd gear often hitting neutral or it sounding like its smashed into gear, the only way i can seemingly stop it from doing this is by doing a race start and from 1st and changing into seccond with high revs realy realy quickly. with just my self on the bike this is usualy the case and i quite enjoy it but with the chick on i cant realy be setting off like a mad man or she might get worried as ive convinsed her i drive like a ***** all the time just like when shes on the back.

will an oil and a filter change make a big diffrence or is it likely to be a gear box issuse? do you think adjusting the rear set would help? as it looks a little to flat and mabe thats why im often hitting bloody nutural, ive tried out many other bikes and never had this problem. i love this vtr but by christ its costing me money in fuel and parts. and to boot some little bastard thief stole my tax disk off my bike today in Bolton! snaped the bastard thing off!

any one have any trouble with 2nd gear, or is it just my vtr that suffers like this?

im sure its getting worse sometimes it clunks so hard it feels like its going to smash, a little worring at times haha.

 

An oil change can help this especially if the oil is dirty or does not have the right additives for motorcycle clutches. Adjusting the linkage is a good idea too. If you lower the lever closer to your riding position it makes the shift easier to hit. First to second has always been a bit of problem for the Superhawk/Firestorm. Over here some of the guys install a Factory Pro Shifter kit that does away with this problem completely.

 

seb421;

It's a pretty common complaint. It can help to change the engine oil, especially if it's been in there for a while. Some people think using 15w50 or 20w50 instead of 10w40 helps.

If the clutch fluid is or might be more than a year old I'd bleed it out and replace it with fresh.

If you use the search engine for "2nd gear", "shifting", "transmission" etc. there are a number of previous threads discussing the issue.

 

Also check out this thread

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...+shifting+hawk

 

just chiming in to say that while the 1st to 2nd shift is a known issue with the hawk, there is a sweet spot. it doesn't require revving to the moon, infact it tends to work better if you shift sooner rather than later. I try to shift before I hit 5k rpm. it can be frustrating, but if you hit it right, its smooth. but it takes practice. if I had the money I would get an aftermarket shift set. but since I don't, I'll just get more consistant with the sweet spot.

 

Not just the VTR, but all motorcycle have this issue. When a bike starts shifting like Seb421 describes it's almost always due to a bent shifter fork or rounded off gear dogs... or most likely both. Don't be surprised if the shift drum has taken a beating enough to have been damaged as well.

An oil change is a nice idea but I wouldn't get your hopes up. Sorry for the brutal honesty, but I've just seen this type of thing far too many times. It comes down to abuse - a prvious owner didn't shift it properly and cause the damage.

 

I have a mate that owns a bike brakers not far from me so I'll see if he can source a replacment rear set from a smashed vtr. It does feel so differnt riding a bike with a gear linkage as aposed to the direct shift I have been used to on the moto-x bikes. Still totaly loving the vtr it turns heads as people here the sound of thunder roaring down the road thanks for the advise I'll defo be changeing the oil when I can afford it. Yes I realy am that skint!

 

+1

 

I don't disagree with anything in the above quote but would point out a couple other things.

A lot of guys who bought a VTR brand new found the 1-2 shift to be a problem. That was true in my case.

I found that my bike "preferred" 15w40 oil and shifted better with fresh oil than with stuff which had been in there for a couple thousand miles.

About 2 years after I bought my bike I realized that because it was a new/leftover, the fluid in the clutch was probably 3+ years old. I flushed/replaced it with fresh and it made all the difference.

I haven't missed or buggered a 1-2 shift in several thousand miles. I don't even think about it anymore unless someone starts a thread about it.

Try the simple and cheap **** before you decide to sell the bike or tear it down.

 

It might sound crazy, but I've noticed that brand of oil makes a big difference too. I've run various high-end oils and the shifting on the VTR was not that great. Now I run plain old generic Honda GN4, the cheapest oil my dealership carries. The shifting is 100% better than anything else I've tried. I don't want this to turn into an oil thread (ahhh!!) but I point this out in support of your comments that it's not always something major. However, I fear that seb421 is WAY beyond that stage, his bike sounds like it needs parts replaced.

 

Oil thread! Did somebody say Oil Thread? Yea! I haven't seen one of those in...oh, about a month or so. I think it's time for another!

Mobil 1 15W-50 FTW!



Seb421, FWIW the VTR does have a loud, clunky shift from 1-2. That's pretty normal. You can short shift it or find that "sweet spot" as mentioned earlier. Change the oil and get back with us. Also, Jamie is making a sturdier, adjustable shift lever for us that could improve feel.

 

I'm just a lowly riff-raff around here so I'm allowed to do that. You're an admin, you aren't supposed to start crap like an oil thread!!!

 

What?! I thought the whole point of being an admin was that there was nobody that could throw you out for not obeying the rules...

BTW It could actually be good with an oil thread about now... It would make us all less cranky at the newbs...

 

I can tap it into 2nd without using the clutch, but yeah, it's not as easy as the other gears, so I usually clutch it anyways so I don't risk chewing up the dogs.

I'm running 15w40 Rotella.