motorcycle gear is hard to shift?

Question

ive got a 2001 sv650s . when im in first going to second its really hard to get it in gear . sometimes even in nutruel . i have to let of the lever and reapply it again, and it usually goes afther that . why is it jamming ?

Answer 1

Your bike does not have "synchros".
It's a Constant-Mesh transmission typical of average motorcycle type

The Shifter is a multi-functional mechanism.
It's got several parts combined and does a variety of functions.

The action boils down to 2 Basics.
1) Gear SELECTION (Shifting)
2)Gear Indexing ( Holds the transmission "locked into" the selected gear)

The whole works depends up some very "puny" DETENT devices..
Holding the part in your hand,,You'd Never imagine the level of job assignment the lil' part has.

When You SHIFT,,,You CANNOT shift Fully INTO a Gear.
You Only INITIATE the Shift.
You only shift TOWARDS the Gear.
Your Foot pulls the actual gears only about 75~80% of the way to Engagement.

The Little Part takes Over at that point,,,and it's Spring tension Completes the Shift under SPRING PRESSURE only when the Gears come into proper alignment.

So Your FOOT Pressure initiates the shift and can only go So Far then it hits a Hard Stop in it's travel.
"Impossible " to FORCE it Further.
But at that point,,,The Spring Loaded Device takes over the job of your Foot.

When all that stuff begins to Wear,,,
What happens is The Precise Overlap of Foot Travel vs Spring Lever Travel is Disrupted.

Wear on the Part makes it ACT as if Your Foot has not pressed Shift Lever Far Enough into Spring Lever Territory.

That's how/why You get the False Neutral so often.

How is Neutral NORMALLY reached from 1st?
With a sort of "Half Shift",,,right?
Most folks consider it to be a "LIGHT PRESSURE of the Foot".
It's Not really Light Pressure,,,it's a HALF Press of the Shift Lever,,,,Partial travel finds Neutral between 1st and 2nd.

You can press as Light or Hard as ya wanna.
Press "1/2 Way" it's Neutral.
Or,Press FULLY and it goes to Gear.

Point is,,,WEAR on the Spring Lever changes the MECHANISM's Half-Way Point,,,
While The FOOT Lever action remains the Same.

Press FULLY on Shift Lever,,,,but only Get a "Half Press travel" reaction.

So it leaves the Internal Gear Selection mechanism very IFFY about going Fully to Next Gear.

Since NEUTRAL is only Half Way in the travel range,,,,
It's VERY CONVENIENTLY Located to cause that "artificial Half Way Foot Press-due to wear" to plop comfortably into Neutral.

The worse the wear gets,,,the more "reliable" they become at reaching FALSE Neutral.
(Actually You are Finding TRUE Neutral Detent position)

But there is a "Neutral" between EVERY gear,,,
and eventually it will begin to find Those.

You'll "Mis Shift" between 2 & 3,,, 3&4,,,and so on.
It wont HOLD the "neutral" there,,,becuase it has no Manufactured Detents.
Unlike Genuine Neutral,,,which Does have a detent.

Anyway,,,,,,that's How/Why your symptoms are so stereotypical of wear in this particular area,.
NOT indicative of Transmission Problems.
ONLY worn Shifter Mechansim Component.

................................
Real Name according to Suzi is,,

"14 STOPPER, GEAR SHIFT CAM
25350-24B00 1 $6.37 "

http://images.powersportsnetwork.com/fiche/images/Suzuki/1999/Motorcycles/2175_21.gif

It's Item #14,,,,hover mouse on the page and a Zoom Button will appear
.......................................

Here's the entire page/site for Parts Diagram
But you hafta select all your info,,Make/Model/year/etc
Then go to "Gear Shifting"

http://www.mrcycles.com/fiche_section_detail.asp

...............................
95% Odds that's all your problem is

The "failure" is a matter of the Roller's inside diameter Wearing so it's hole gets larger.
As Hole gets Bigger,,it allows Roller to Move ACROSS the Shaft sideways,,,as if it was slotted.

When roller gets Far Enough away from the centerline it's Supposed to be on,,
It No Longer has the Proper engagement relationship/Geometry ,,,or spring tension,,,, to roll the shift cam over into position.

Unintended Neutral is result.

...................................................
On Your SV,,,,I do not know what's involved in replacing it.

Clutch Cover must be removed,in any case.
Most bikes have access to shift mechanism Without removing Clutch.
A few require Clutch Assy Removal.

Generally,,the operation is within the capability of Home Mechanic,,,particularly when Clutch Removal is not required.

Shop Labour and Parts Prices to have the Job done should be less than $100 or so,,I would Guestimate???

There's only slight possibility to cause consequential damage.
Theoretically it's possible,,,
But in real-world,,,I do not recall a trans ever being damaged.
Even though the poor shifting quality makes them FEEL "blown to bits".

Get it fixed asap,,,because the DO get worse to the point of being near unable to shift at all.
100 mile trip home in Low Gear is No Fun:)

Good Luck.

..............................
Edit:
It's NOT a Clutch Problem,,,seems a few folks have mis-interpretted your problem.

Motorcycles shift Perfectly fine without clutch being disengaged due to the way they are made.
Back off throttle a little,and shift.

A Clutch Cannot have any more "Drag" than when it's 100% Fully Locked Up,,,,yet Bikes shift perfectly normal without disengaging it.

The Sterotypical complaint of Clutch Drag/Misadjustment/Warp,etc is,,
" I cannot get into Neutral Easily when Stopped"

If You had Clutch Drag issues,,NEUTRAL would be the LAST thing "easy" to find.

Not the FIRST.

The Only effect a Clutch has upon SHIFTING while in motion is to releive engagement pressure from Gear Dogs & Shaft Splines to allow gears to slide apart & into next gear.

Technically that requirement is equally served by Releasing Throttle a bit or disengaging clutch.
Anything to releive torque off of the transmission.

No amount of clutch drag has any effect upon shifting while in motion,,,,except in instances of shifting under power without reducing throttle opening....aka "speed shifting" in Old School Terminology.

Even THEN,,if Gear Lever is held for the Micro-second it requires for Trans Gear Dogs to come into alignment,,,
It will pop into gear as normal and certain as ever.

NOT an advisable method,,,cuz of physical force being held upon shift forks literally Pressing AGAINST it's gear while waiting for alignment with it's Mating Gear.

Lots or friction/heat/wear from that shift tactic.
Heat accumulates in the fork and gear,,,
and consistent application of that stunt will raise Temps hi enough to begin Flashing the Oil at the contact points of the shift fork/gear,
Metal Seizure ensues,,,,and is commonly mistaken for "bent shift fork" syndrome.

Clutch Probs have virtually NO effect upon shifting while in motion.

Of course,,You are welcome to Try a Clutch adjustment.
It never HURTS to have a properly adjustusted clutch.

But do not hope that it'll solve your "false neutral",,,
1>2 Shift Hangup situation.
No Clutch condition has any influence upon that.

Answer 2

When sitting still, rev the engine then let go of the throttle. When the revs just start to slow down - shift into neutral. That procedure will temporarily unbind the transmission gears, allowing for a smooth shift. Obviously you're holding in the clutch lever (and not moving), so the clutch adjustment is not the cause of your problem. It's just a common flaw of a "constant mesh" transmission. Some models are better, or worse than others.

Answer 3

Sv650 Shift Lever

Answer 4

While everyone's answer up to now makes sense, try a clutch adjustment first, insuring the clutch is fully releasing (disengaging). Sometimes clutch plates stick together. Cheaper and easier than jumping into tearing the transmission apart.

To the people that have thumb downed me, I always suggest to first try any adjustment, as it doesn't cost anything, and clutches and cable DO get out of adjustment!

Answer 5

your clutch packing could be an issue, since you are not completely separating the engine from the Tran you are having some rotational stress, making it hard to engage and disengage the gears, or your clutch cable is stressed out, making it non effective when you pull your clutch lever all the way, oh and make sure you have the proper amount of fluid.

Answer 6

sounds like a possible bent shift fork, bad clutch, or a bad gear. Time for a tranny rebuild.....

Answer 7

My guess is that you simply have to much slack on clutch cable , try that first.

Answer 8

your syncro's worn out. it's time to stop riding and get that bike in the shop before u have an accident on the highway and have it totalled ,or worse yet, hurt yourself. I'm sure u'd rather upgrade than have a total right off.
get the shop to take a look!

Answer 9

Transmission needs to be rebuilt. Worn out.

Answer 10

CHECK CLUTCH LEVER FREE PLAY FIRST...THEN INSPECT..