First gear drop out

[bigbadjoe]

Hey guys,
My R3 drops out of first gear a fair bit. The dealer mentioned the possibility of it being something serious (under w'tee) but just wanna know is this common, and does it go away?
Other than that, it goes like a mutha, with Maddogs, the eliminaor kit and Utopia backrest...what a bike!
Ta
Joe

[Toystoretom]

That's not normal... I'm not a manual trans guy but if it will pop out I think that may mean the shift dogs (forks) are not holding the gear cluster in place. It could be the bush the fork slides on or the fork itself has come loose? And there have been a few cases of that, a small set screw loosens up if I remember. I would have the dealer look at that ASAP... the potential is there to for it to jam in a gear or even do some real damage if the wrong gears try to engage..

[Diego]

I thoroughly endorse what Tom said. There is enough potential for it to be dangerous that I, personally, would trailer it back to the dealership if at all possible.

[Rocketime]

Definately not normal. I would take it strait to your local dealer and have it checked out ASAP.

I agree with Diego, if you can trailer it, I would.

You might try contacting the dealer and request they pick the bike up saving Triumph some pretty significant liability.

[Classic06]

Joe,

I have a similar problem with my '06 Classic. When I stop at a light and put it in neutral it sometimes will not engage first or will slip out of 1st halfway through the intersection. I complained to dealer at the 500 mile service (Baltimore) and they said they have heard complaints about it and that it should get better after some more miles. I did adjust the clutch using the lever adjuster and it improved significantly.
I had a couple of close calls with it. On the last club ride it popped out as I was pulling onto a busy road out of our Triumph dealership, I tried shifting into second quickly but ended up stalling it none the less... not enough twisting on go handle I guess, imagine that... The four wheelers where kind enough to go around.
I filed a complaint at the safety web site as I don't think it should do this at all. The safety site looks for trends and will also send a copy of the report to manufacturer and to the service dealer. If you get a few minutes you might fill out the safety report. The web site is http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

Brian

[bigbadjoe]

OK, thanks for this guys...Dealer says that, like a BMW (which I havent ridden), you have to let the clutch out slightly in order to engage in 1st. They said there was a prob with 05 models whciih has been fixed. Havent had a chance to give it a go, but will report back
Joe

[wiffmajig]

Mine is a bit stubborn also, I am only around the 100 mile mark on the odometer. From what I have read on this forum everything finds a happy place around 1500 miles. I am going to be patient.

My Honda was similar with 9000 miles on it, You had to let the clutch out a bit to get everything spinning so it can line up.

As the syncronizers wear a bit, everything will become much smoother.

I have not had it pop out of gear yet...But I have not gotten down on it hard yet.

Just a pain in the butt to get it in first somtimes.

I have had mine pop back through the intake a few times. Anyone had that problem?

[dougl]

I always double clutch it before putting it into 1st.

[Diego]

> I have a similar problem with my '06 Classic. When I stop at a light and put it in neutral it sometimes will not engage first or will slip out of 1st halfway through the intersection. I complained to dealer at the 500 mile service (Baltimore) and they said they have heard complaints about it and that it should get better after some more miles.

Difficulty getting into first, yes, that gets better. Dropping out of gear if you have gotten into it, not very likely! If you're sure you've engaged first gear, Joe, then you should be concerned and have it checked out.

By the way, which year is yours? I hope they haven't 'fixed' the stiff engagement by making it possible to only be partly engaged when you start off.