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Problems when I downshift

1K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  RJ2112 
#1 ·
Whats up guys, so I bought my 06 zx6r about 6 wks ago and I've only put about 250 miles on it. I changed the oil with this and a K&N filter

My clutch shifts very clean and smooth but I noticed when I'm downshifting from 3rd to 2nd and 2nd to first I get some rattling in my shifter lever. I've been an MX rider for yrs but new on the streets and I almost feel like its the way I'm down shifting. If I squeeze the clutch halfway in and quickly shift down it doesn't seem to do it but if I squeeze the clutch fully to where the bikes rpm is down and then attempt to shift down it does the rattling sound and also can be felt in the shifter lever. It does downshift but acts real finicky. Any thoughts on what it is or is it the way I'm shifting.. I fully squeeze my lever almost always on the up and downshifting but not on some videos people barely squeezing the lever as they climb and descend through the gears. Should I be a little more aggressive with my down shift when coning to a stop instead of kind of relaxing the throttle and holding in the clutch lever as I cycle down?? Bike has 13,000 miles.. Thanks in advance!!


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#2 ·
Im not sure what u mean by this rattling or how slow u are actually shifting. But if I try to shift my bike very slowly(barely pushing down on the pedal) the gears will grind for a second before it actually engages.
My advice would be to shift fast. Dont let the RPMs drop in between shifts. If u hold in the clutch lever for a whole second, that will cause your RPMs to drop and the gears will grind before engaging when u try to kick it in. As soon as u pull the clutch in, kick the pedal.

Still not sure if I understood ur issue correctly tho.
 
#3 ·
Yeah its kind of hard to describe, I guess it could just be the gears grinding a little from me shifting to slowly, it just seems like it doesn't want to click down sometimes and it's only when I'm going into the bottom 2 gears.. On my next ride I'll try a different approach to my method, lol.. Maybe I'm just not punching it down hard or fast enough.. Its just the way it sounds that bothers me because like I said it more of a rattling sound than a grinding.. The Mobil 1 I used is good enough oil right?
 
#8 ·
OK, that's a possibility.. Even with only 13000 miles? Seems early for that kind of problem, but not ruling it out because I simply don't know. Is that something fairly easy to fix? I've replaced clutch plates in my MX bikes but never torn into a sport clutch, is the drum an individual part I can replace without replacing entire clutch?
 
#11 ·
It's not the clutch drum. It could be the trans shift drum and associated shift forks. The forks can wear and cause shifting issues. I saw somewhere on this forum that you can remove the bottom inspection cover and get to the parts. Yes it could happen with just 13,000 miles. It could happen whenever you jam the shifter. Look for the post about 05/06 trannies.
 
#13 ·
Had a similar problem on my R6 and it ended up being this shifting forks. To get to them I pulled the engine and split the case. PITA. Honestly I would try to pin point the problem a little further before you go pulling the engine or throwing parts at it. Worse case scenario take it to a very very trusted mechanic to look at it.
 
#14 ·
So I flushed my coolant today and just took her out for a 10 mile ride and it didn't do it once, hmmm.. I gotta get this figured out or its gonna drive me insaaane!! I gotta go for a little more stop and go next time I'm out and see if its something I'm doing or if its actually the bike.. Don't get why it only does it sometimes unless its the start of my shifting forks going bad..
 
#15 ·
A lot of times, a dirty shifter linkage will bind slightly and hang up the lever so it doesn't complete the shift.

The lever has to return to center freely, before the next shift can begin.

Lube the pivots and ball joints, and see if the action improves.
 
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