Triumphrat

thegazzyb · 12-08-2008, 08:45 AM

Hi,
I've had the following problem ever since I picked up my Street Triple R from the dealer two weeks ago. In fact, since I couldn't get out of second gear I had already turned around and was heading back to the shop when I discovered a workaround to get the gears 3,4,5 and 6 so continued home

Basically I can pull away and get first, second and neutral ALL with my left foot in a natural position on the footpeg. When I then go for third gear nothing happens, the shifter just hits a solid wall, there is nowhere to go. In order to get the gears 3,4,5 and 6 I have to either twist my left foot outwards at an unnatural angle ( very painful after half an hour or so ) OR move my whole left foot right to the outside edge of the footpeg ( which doesn't feel very secure ). How this manifests itself out on the road is that whenever I have had my left foot down and put it back on the footpeg I almost invariably hit second gear, go for third, nothing happens and I have to move my foot out and try again. Since I have been groping about for third gear in several overtaking manouvres already it is somewhat of a safety issue. Looking at the shifter linkage, it can be wobbled in and out a fair amount and possibly that is causing it to snag somewhere when going for third with my foot on the inside edge of the shifter. I can't see any posts about anybody having a similar issue but maybe your dealers just told you to live with it. I would imagine this is just a linkage issue and something which can be adjusted. Certainly there is no fault with the gearbox, the gears drop in so sweetly when my foot is in the right position. Any suggestions ? I was intending to get my dealer to check the linkage when he does the 800km service but maybe there is a quick fix which I can do myself ?
Would be grateful for any feedback, cheers.

Jamie · 12-08-2008, 08:58 AM

For whatever it's worth (probably not much): I had the same problem or at least the same symptoms on my Daytona 675. The issue was simply that the gear lever was rubbing against the peg mounting bracket. Why was that rubbing only affecting 2nd gear? I'll never know. But I added a washer to the lever and raised it by roughly one third of an inch. And that solved it. Jamie

thegazzyb · 12-08-2008, 09:20 AM

Thanks Jamie. Yes I found a post where a similar sounding problem on some Daytonas was mentioned but was curious that this problem doesn't appear to have occured on a Street yet. Maybe I'm just lucky ?

I think you may be on to something though,. It feels as though when I go from second to third the lever just refuses to move, unless I move my foot right over. I think it may well be snagging somewhere. When I'm bored I'll go into the garage and try shifting the gears by hand. Maybe I'll see something that is stopping the movement when I'm trying to get out of second gear. The linkage wobbles in and out a fair amount as it is - maybe that movement is contributing to the problem ( again mysteriously only in a certain gear, as with your Daytona ).

Jamie · 12-08-2008, 10:36 AM

Yes, I think we are on something. I am almost positive in fact. I went back to my diary (I keep one for each of my bikes !!!) for you. I had actually lowered (NOT raised) the Daytona's gearbox lever. This allowed for more lever movement, 1st to 2nd upshifts and, to a lesser extent, 3rd to 2nd downshifts seemingly requiring more movement than the other cogs. From memory, standing in the way of that movement, was either the side or the bottom part (or both) of the peg mounting plate. A very slight contact (so slight, in fact, that moving the lever by hand w/o the engine running had NOT revealed it), but enough to impede shifting or to make it laborious during actual operations. That and the 1mm thick spacer I mentioned earlier (another fix might have been to slightly bend the lever to the left) took care of the problem all at once.

Hope this 10' solution is the right one. Best. Jamie

thegazzyb · 12-08-2008, 11:19 AM

...thanks for checking your diary ( well impressed ! ) Jamie.

I think a spacer or bending the lever outwards slightly should work. Presumably when my toe is on the outside edge of the lever or turned outwards I am pulling the whole linkage slightly away from the bike, thereby narrowly clearing whatever it is that is causing the snagging problem. We must be talking a minute difference here, maybe barely a millimetre between clearing the snag or snagging.
I will check out the footpeg/gear linkage interface scenario on my bike later this evening.
Thanks again !

Diego · 12-08-2008, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thegazzyb

... but was curious that this problem doesn't appear to have occured on a Street yet. Maybe I'm just lucky ?

Some people have all the luck, I guess.

The different riding position of the Street makes linkage problems a little less frequent than on the Daytona, perhaps. I believe I would have turned around and gone right back to the dealer as soon as the problem arose, because linkage operation is something they SHOULD have checked during the pre-delivery inspection.

Yours might simply need a little adjustment, or Jamie's solution might well take care of it.

thegazzyb · 12-08-2008, 01:54 PM

Well the main reason I decided to persevere with it was because it was getting pretty late and I had a two hour ride home. My lift to the bike shop had also already disappeared so there was a good chance that a) the shop would have closed by the time I got there or b) if it wasn't a quick job to fix I would have been stuck two hours from home with no transport.
I think I swore pretty loud though when I discovered that third gear wouldn't go in ! Unfortunately because it was in the city I had to ride quite a way before the need for third gear arose and the problem first presented itself.
But anyway, I viewed it as a "quirk" and once I had learned how to get around it I was of course desperate to get my baby home and get some miles on it. I've done 500km already and it's not a major problem, just something I have to be aware of. Will waggle the mechanism about and see if I can find where it's fouling. Quite agree that one would hope that the dealer would have spotted it, but strangely they don't test ride the bikes at all and this particular problem can probably only be reproduced when riding.
See, you're right, I'm just plain lucky

Neanderthal · 12-08-2008, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jamie

I went back to my diary (I keep one for each of my bikes !!!) for you....

Smart idea. As an old two-stroke tuner, I learned the value of keeping a diary long ago. I log every maintanence done or items added, along with cost, date and mileage.

Neanderthal

MacBandit · 12-09-2008, 01:50 AM

No problem here. Have you tried shifting through the gears by hand to see what it's hitting.

On a side note I have had customers on BMWs with a similar problem. It turned out they were consistently not releasing the shifter far enough for it to catch the next notch on the shift drum. To check this try making your 1st-2nd shift and then taking your foot completely off the peg and then returning it and going for the 2nd-3rd shift. If it works try it again. If this were to resolve the problem you usually adjust the shifter to cure the problem.

thegazzyb · 12-09-2008, 07:34 AM

OK. There seems to be no issue when changing gear by hand ( as Jamie predicted ) and to be honest it doesn't look as though there is anything anywhere near the shifter which could be snagging it.
I will try MacBandit's procedure on my next ride and see whether that helps. Since I use the same foot pressure and procedure for all gear shifts I doubt whether I am doing anything different when going from second to third but maybe something is still a bit tight and sticky when going into third and that is just enough to cause the problem.
Thanks for all your advice so far