Can't shift after coming to stop in 2nd gear

[konradphoto]

Hi,

I've recently bought a 2003 GZ250 and I immediately had a Suzuki shop done maintenance service on it. I told them about the following situation but they said everything was fine when I got the bike back but it just happened yesterday again: when I come to a complete stop in a gear other than the first gear, the shifter is loose and it's impossible to shift down or up. I have to roll the bike back and forth a bit to be able to downshift. I wonder if it's normal (I'm a newbie - this is my first bike) and if not, if I should be worried about it. Thanks!

btw: the bike has only +3,700 miles on it

[Vegas Street Rider]

It can be hard to shift gears once you have stopped the bike to downshift more than one gear. You should be downshifting as you slow down or come to a stop thereby reducing the need to shift down after you stop. Besides, it will save your brake pads as well. Be careful to reduce the speed of the bike this way though until you are used to the speed ranges for each gear. If you downshift at too high of a speed for that gear level you could end up over the handlebars. Let the compression of the engine slow you down to the bottom of each gear range, then downshift. Hope I didn't make it sound too complicated. As you get used to your bike, you will know by the sound of the engine when to shift (both up and down).

[konradphoto]

Thanks Vegas Street Rider for the tips! I just wonder that if I come to a stop in the second gear and I can't downshift to the first gear, is this a normal behavior for the clutch/gearbox? Everything else seems to work fine.

[alantf]

This is one of the GZ quirks. Most of us learn to shift into first gear, just before coming to a halt. This way, you are ready to set off again, or shift into neutral if you plan to stop for longer.

[konradphoto]

Yeah, I stop in 1st gear most of the time but I got worried about the lack of shifting yesterday when I stopped in the 2nd gear. I'm glad to hear it's the GZ quirk :)

[Water Warrior 2]

It is a quirk in more than a few bikes. Completely normal. As Alantf suggested, be sure to down shift progressively while slowing and be in 1st gear a wee bit before coming to a full stop.
Oh, and you will likely never go over the bars by gearing down. LOL.

Fun Fact. A fairly large % of Honda 250 Rebels will not go into 1st until you stop. Then you push down on the shifter(clutch in)and shut off the engine. Clunk into gear it goes. Neat huh??

[spldart]

I often find my gz gets hung up and I have to let the clutch out enough to shift stuff around in the tranny so I can then up or down shift or get out of neutral.
I guess this is normal after reading this thread ;~)

[raul10141964]

is normal, I do the same