I know this is off topic, but...

I am having some problems shifting this morning. Here's the story:

I took the bike in to work this morning, as I have been doing for a few weeks now. As of late, I've been having minor problems getting the bike into neutral when stopped. All the other gears were like butter.

Last night I took a trip into town with my fiancee and had a very hard time after parking getting into neautral with the engine on. On our way back home, no problems. Covered the bike and went to bed. 12 hours later (this morning) I start the bike and take off and notice the shifting is very "notchy". I almost have to stand on it to downshift and really have to pull to upshift! I try reving more and what not, but nothing really changes. I shut the bike off and seems to shift easier when not running, but not much. Turn it back on and same deal, really rough. The whole ride into work (city traffic, 10 kms), it is the same.

This is a 2003 SV650S with no mods. The bike has been layed down last year by my father and repaired by my Suzuki dealer. The bike is still under warranty (4 year extended). I checked my oil level, it is full, and all the shift linkages seem well attached (I'm no mechanic). My old boss is going to come and check it out during lunch, is there anything I can look at before taking it to the dealer? I'd really rather not and the good weather has just arrived...

Thanks for you help!

 

(Not sure why you're off topic, this is a motorcycle forum on a technical website after all and tech talk is something we could use a little more of.)

I have the same problem although not quite as bad. It being the "budget" bike that it is, the shifter/linkage was one the more cheaply made items I think. My bike is also under entended warranty but I haven't been annoyed enough yet to do online research before taking it in. If you do, let me know what comes of it.

My current symptoms:
-Trouble going from 1st to N when stopped, occasional, rocking seems to help
-Popping into 1st from N when stopped, always, unknown fix but doing so at low speed is no problem
-Trouble downshifting out of higher gears when stopped, occasional, unknown fix but doing so while moving is no problem

 

My friend with an 03 sort of has that problem to. If he is stopped and in 1st gear, sometimes it is really hard to get into neutral, if he rolls forward or backward a little bit, then it goes into neutral easy. This happens to me sometimes on my 1st gen. Is it any easier to get it into neutral while you are still moving forward? At like 5mph?

 

Yes it's easier when moving

 

Sounds to me like the clutch is dragging mate. I am not sure if it is hydraulic or not but I would start with adjusting that up.

 

You couldn't have been more right. It was the clutch cable.

I feel like an *** now...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ohlias &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You couldn't have been more right. It was the clutch cable.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Explain.

 

The clutch cable is probably real loose Apocalypse. It isn't disengaging the clutch because there is too much slack. Therefore, it is harder for the tranny to do its work. Tightening the cable should solve your problems.

 

Would this explain the pop I get when going into first at a stop? Actually, I guess it would because the clutch isn't fully disengaging. Hmmm...

 

When I took my SV in for its first service, I was having real problems getting it into neutral. The clutch cable was too loose, and they also adjusted the position of the shifter for me, so I wouldn't have to reach so high with my foot.

My R6 is even worse, to tell the truth. Pulling it up into neutral is damn near impossible, so I have to kick it up into second, then tap it down into N very lightly.

 

The more I think about it the more the loose clutch cable makes sense. If I start my bike in first gear with the clutch pulled it actually hops forward about six inches as if the clutch isn't fully disengaged. Man, I can't believe I didn't put these pieces together sooner. Damnit I wish I hadn't put my bike up for the week so I could test this out. I hate being a motorcycle tech n00b.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Apocalypse &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Would this explain the pop I get when going into first at a stop? Actually, I guess it would because the clutch isn't fully disengaging. Hmmm...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Mate most bikes crunch into first whatever the state of the clutch. If the bike creeps or is hard to get into neutral unless rolling then 9/10 it is poor adjustment. More frequent oil changes help a little.

 

u may have to adjuct the cable down at the tranny. I found a bolt on mine had completely come off.

Also i had overfilled the oil and after i took like a 1/4 qt out it was liek a night an dday diff.