second gear issues
 

i get occasional grinding into second gear and sometimes the bike grabs neutral and grinds when i try to get it into second gear from there, usually with the revs up. i find if i dont click up fast enough itll sometimes clunk harder than normal aswell. its hard to explain, if im riding along normally its fine, if i ride along normally and then bring the bike under a bit of load itll sometimes grind and i find that most of my second gear misses come when i start to run her hard. 98% of the time second comes without a problem but once in a while it doesnt and thats when it grinds as i try to put it in. i know my motor was replaced before i bought the bike because the original had lost second gear. im wondering if this is common with these bikes or not

In my experience second gear issues are not uncommon with these bikes.

thanks, so if the second gear does take a crap am i better off finding a used low milage motor or repairing it? i know its risky finding a motor and having to deal with someone elses problems but at the same time is it financial feasible to rebuild the gearbox for second gear? my motor had 15000 km on it when it went in and right now sits at about 20 000 km

Well first do the "shorter shifting hawk" mod:

https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=10161

Then be sure to still shift with authority (I only have problems when I shift half heartedly)..
if you still have problems, then look into your more expensive options.

Mine pops out of second sometimes, especially with fresh oil. I believe it's the shift forks. I just shift very deliberately from first to second and never at full throttle. It only happens on the 1-2 upshift, so once underway it's not really a problem because I almost never use first except when I come to a stop.
I'll ride around it for a long time before I pull the engine out and split the cases or buy another one.

Sounds just like my issue. If I half ass the shift I find is where the problems are and if I don't shift fast enough it doesn't seem too smooth. Thanks for the info.

I haven't botched a 1-2 shift in thousands of miles. Fresh clutch fluid made a big difference on my bike. Unless you know the clutch fluid is less than a year old, I'd replace it. I think motor oil at least 15w something beats 5w or 10w something.

ill have to do both over the winter. wouldnt mind doing something about my brakes either.

sounds like it could be a bent gearshift fork:

http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm/...GEARSHIFT_DRUM

You meant DOT 4 brake fluid, right?

Gearbox issues are fairly common on all motorcycles, and the VTR is no different. Mine it's perfect and tends to grind a little going into second. One of these years I'll probably have to pull it down and replace the parts that are worn/damaged. For now I'm just going to ride it.

Ha!. DOT 4 for the clutch, 15wsomething for the engine/trans. I't hadn't occurred to make the distinction, but on second thought, you're probably right.

don't worry about it. mine has been like that since I got it 5 years ago. I've come to recognize the conditions that it doesn't like to shift smoothly in (revving too high, too light on the shift...) but if you get it right, then you can shift smooth every time. for me it just took practice to know where and when to shift. 4.5-5K is where it likes me to shift into second. and I slap it in with authority. clutchless upshifts work too. but either way, I don't think its an issue that warrants tearing it apart. unless you were going to anyway. and I do find it shifts a little easier after an oil change, but the difference is inconciquential. I run 15w-50 mobil1.

For those having 2nd gear issues, which year is your bike?

All years
All makes
All models

This is common across all motorcycles when they are not shifted properly.

I have two SuperHawks...and they both have the same second gear clunk. I seem to notice it more of a clunk, when the rear sprocket was changed, to pull the front wheel up off the ground. Went back to the original gear ratio and would get into second gear ASAP so I would not have to deal with the crunch. I almost think that there is no sycro on second gear...but who knows? Like I say... both bikes have this issue. I do find if I am accelerating hard, I can apply heavy pressure on the up shift at the same time and then take the power off fast and back on again, without the clutch, it can drop in better. This is how I used to drive a track trailer with a splitter (way back when) with out using a clutch...which is standard procedure.
Just my thoughts.

I'm not aware of any motorcycle with a syncro. Cars only.

Also, you should never use the clutch to upshift. I feel like that shouldn't even need to be said.