another shifting question

[rayzuki]

After the recent oil change and more seat time my shifting skills are improving. both upshifting and downshifting. After a good 45 minute ride I start missing 2nd gear. It goes into neutral from 1st. My question is...is this me or the bike? Is the oil and motor/trans getting hot and need a little extra kick to get into gear or is it me getting tired and not realizing my weakness? I get into all the other gears just fine. up and down no problem. Its just from 1st to 2nd and only after about 45 min or so. When everything is "cold" no problems. Any suggestions? I am real comfortable with the shifter position so I really don't want to adjust that.

[jonathan180iq]

I get the same thing every now and then. Just make sure you "click" second into gear.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by rayzuki

After a good 45 minute ride I start missing 2nd gear. It goes into neutral from 1st. My question is...is this me or the bike?

A little bit of both, probably. The feel of the transmission no doubt changes from hot to cold but that is something you have to deal with. As I've mentioned before, the one biggest thing you can do to improve your UP-shifts is pre-load the shifter. That is, put a little pressure on the shifter BEFORE you drop the throttle and pull in the clutch. Done properly, it will just "fall" into the next gear at the proper time and you won't have to worry about getting the timing right. This technique is especially helpful for the 1-2 shift.

Having said that, I've ridden for about 40 years...........I sometimes forget to do the pre-load thing and I sometimes STILL miss a shift from 1st to 2nd. By now, however, I can almost always tell it in time to give an extra jerk before I close the clutch and embarass myself....almost always. :roll:

[rayzuki]

thanks guys. I feel better knowing there is not a problem with the bike. I will just have to get out there and ride some more.