Clunky box, is this normal

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Dazzy M

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Hi there, I bought my 15000 mile 2008 FZ1 (abs) in September last year.
I noticed that when you changed up a gear it was slick and no problem. However when changed down to the lower gears, they seemed to "crash" into place. Almost sounded like they had caused damaged.
Worse is from neutral changing down to first....CLUNK!

However saying that 1 out of 10 times, I would change down from neutral into first and hear nothing, just a nice "click", but the rest of the times its quite violent.

Recently also when changing up its not as slick and is worse with a pillion on! Is this because the downwards pressure of the weight, slackens the chain?

There is nothing else wrong with the gearbox and doesnt hit any false neutrals, it just bugging me that this CLUNKING could be the onset of early gearbox failure?
Does anyone else have the same probs?
 
Do you know if you have stock sprockets/chain? Have you or a previous owner changed sprockets? Check for proper chain slack, make sure the rear wheel is in line and not binding the sprockets and the chain is clean, lubed and has no serious tight spots.

Also, I found a good full synthetic oil (Mobil 1 4T for me), made the shifting smoother. That might be worth a try next oil change if nothing else if found and you aren't already running that type of oil. :2cents:
 
Dazzy M said:
Worse is from neutral changing down to first....CLUNK!

However saying that 1 out of 10 times, I would change down from neutral into first and hear nothing, just a nice "click", but the rest of the times its quite violent.


Does anyone else have the same probs?
Click to expand...



when in neutral changing down to first, same here.. 9 out of 10. What I do I will push my self ahead even so slightly and that will prevent the "click" most of the times :D
 
Not sure if its original sprocket and chains but everyone's advice here seems relevant so I will check the wear and tear of the chain and sprockets and look to replace them at the next service interval (August), its a relatively cheap fix and plus they will check alignment whilst the wheel is off :) Thanks peeps
 
This is really off-the-wall, but when I first got my FZ1 I thought it shifted poorly when downshifting. Then one day I looked down and noticed that my boot was pushing on the shift lever quite a bit, instead of pushing on the outer extension from the lever. (Probably a holdover habit from my previous bike). I moved my foot outward slightly so that I was outside the lever and it made a big difference.
The "clunk" into first gear does not occur on my bike when cold, but only after warming up, and even then it is only normal. I try to hold the clutch disengaged for a moment, before shifting into gear. This helps a little.
 
I typically get the 1st gear clunk if the bike is still. Roll it forward and it will snick in place nicely. 1-2 is always a bit "notchy" until the bike has been fully warmed up. Other than that it's butter smooth up and down.

I always rev match (blip) on down shifts. On upshifts I preload the shifter and then simultaneously close throttle and barely squeeze the clutch to unload driveline. Shifts smooth and seamless this way for me.

I would check to make sure that the shift linkage is properly adjusted / tightened. Make sure that there is no excess play. Maybe try an oil change if its been a while?
 
The quality of oil is a big factor. Run a synthetic, I have found the Shell Rotella T6 works awesome. I used to run Mobil1, but tried the T6 and found it better (for my bike anyways).

A few things..

Check the adjustment of your clutch cable, it needs some slack, but not too much.
Same for the chain. As loose as possible without making a bunch of noise.
Pull in the clutch for a second or 2. This gives the plates time to seperate.
Just before you "snick" it into gear, give it a light throttle blip, then when the revs are coming down, toe it into gear.
 
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