Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Did the thing.

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Niche. Do you notice any difference?

Only fitted once I got home from a 150 mile jaunt, will test today. I love the bike so far, but it is easy to hit false neutrals when shifting aggressively at top revs.

There’s a lower acceleration super smooth clutchless shifting point where it feels brand new… and then there’s the rest of the time. I know it’s me and it’s getting to know the bike, but I want to take all the slack out the shifting system.

Half tempted to fit a simple lever and remove all the linkage. It would mean GP shifting but at least it would be a solid click each time.

Borrowed a mates triumph the other date, gearbox was mostly made out of half gears and neutrals. Only had 15k on it but felt awful, quickly had zero confidence in it staying in gear on any fast corners. Suspect one of the gear shift linkages being either too floppy or near seized was causing it to just jump between gears

The little CNC thing has made a bit of a difference, but there’s shedloads of play in the assembly.

I think I need to:

• Coke can shim the bush on the lever where it bolts to the rearset
  
• Remove excess play/replace link rod
  
• Tighten chain
  
  
  

To be honest the chain tension is probably making the biggest trouble. It’s inconsistent depending on how I’m riding so I think the excess chain slack is negating any benefits elsewhere.

When it’s smooth it’s lush, but sometimes it’s crud - and it seems smoother under a particular load, which says to me chain slack.

Fucking off the non-working heated grips that had never been changed.

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Sounds like there is something not right, especially at 15k.

Am of the opinion that once confidence drops riding style/efficiency drops.

Yup for sure. As soon as you get 'crap is front tyre going soft, whoop, ooops, oh er', your best to just give up for the day as that confidence doesn't come back the more tired you get.

Massive lean angles on show here! Mate found it after going out the other day in the sun.

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Well can you teach me to walk away, take a break or what ever ;) We all know it but somehow pressure to carry on.

For me, it is especially difficult when group riding.

Sorry for droning on, and giving advice I may not follow. But comes from a position of care. Honest.

Good to see Alf approves

Yeah sort the chain tension will probably help. I remember the gearboxes being a bit vague on them even back in the day - I’m sure you’ll get used to it!

Re-reading, the Triumph sounds awful.

It's just the wrong kind of clicky, like it's resisting or at a bad angle. I had it on the XJ whenever I was tired or something was out (like bad revmatching, chain, or oil was old), but the F3 seems quite sensitive to it.

Then again I also haven't eased into it, been right on the gas for 500 miles in half a week.

Alf

Instantly thought the same when they arrived.

Yeah, back in the day, Honda seemed to have two kinds of gearbox, awesome or a bit vague. That era CBR6 seemed to fall into the latter category. The first time I ever rode one was a test ride from a shop out in west London. (Me and one of my little pals used to go to multiple branches of the same dealership blagging test rides, then go for a thrash.)

Anyway, I came screaming into a roundabout at max speed somewhere out on the A40, clutch in, banged down a load of gears, clutch out and threw hard it into the right. Proper brown trouser moment as I discovered it went into a false neutral!

It's not they're bad gearboxes, just that there's not much in the way of positive feedback that you've clicked another gear (like the delightful snick snick feeling of Suzuki.) My 900SS is similarly vague and I miss upshifts on that with some regularity.

But, on balance, you get to 13k revs and you’ve got 2k until you’re bouncing off the limiter!

False neutrals are no fun. I had one on the IOM on the left hander before bungalow - brown trousers isn’t even close! I’d guess 140 heading towards the verge, jumped on the shifter and got a gear - more luck than skill!

Oof! - They're no fun on the downshifts when you're steaming into a corner, that's for sure. The 900SS is the first bike I've had for ages where they're an issue; it pissed me off at first but I more or less ride round it now. At least it only happens on the upshifts. The XR650R box is a bit of an agricultural pig but it doesn't miss gears. All the others are snickety-snick.

That was the only memorable time on my GSXR - normally the gear box was faultless. I would have preferred it to happen elsewhere though and without an audience 😁 The upside to black visors 😂😂

All this talk of false neutrals, I went out and did the next bit of ghetto bike mechanic-ing.

Having loosened off the linkage rod, a few o-rings to take up the slack on the ball joins. Hidden under the rubber boots now reassembled.

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Can't remember what bike it was I saw recently, Guzzi maybe in a show room, brand new, 1 mile on it, shifter + linkage felt like it had 30k of wear in it, flopping all over the shop, no obvious loose bolts, but at each pivot there was noticeable play. Bit shite!

Sure it wasn’t a Ducati?

Found two perfectly sized metal shims in a bag of rubber washers and orings from grandad’s tools I inherited a couple years ago. Perfect fit between lever and rearset mount, to take out the lateral play.

I’m always amazed how even long after death, he’s had at least a couple of anything I need to bosch a repair.

Tiny tiny bit of play left in the ball joins but otherwise about as tight as it gets.

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Silly noisy, silly fun, silly silly silly.

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I sometimes have thoughts about a road bike with risers instead of clip-ons, but the bike would need to be special. I could get on board with this.