OK, rode my bike to work today. It is pulling nice and hard in this cool weather. That is until 5th gear. On the way I noticed power seemed down in 5th, and 6th really. It almost seemed like it surged somewhat. I went for a ride in the afternoon, just to get away from my desk, and experienced it again.
So riding home I really paid attention and "tested" it best I could. It is like in 5th gear it is slipping or something. It has a clunky feel as it tries to go faster and then slows, again like a surge. While 6th gear seems to be down in power it does not do what 5th is doing.
Keep in mind I have a DD kevlar clutch and HD springs in it with very few miles on it.
I think I have read about this and am about to do a search for it. my BIG concern is do I go on the ride Saturday?? the bike seems to run fine steady in 6th gear. Though I have thought I have felt a slight "surge" for some time now. Kind of like getting hit by a gust of wind. Nothing regular just enough to notice. Thought I was being anal but now not so sure.
Any advice as to what might be going on and more important at this point what is the general consensus of me going on the ride???
It pulls hard in 1st-4th. I know someone is going to say don't get out of 4th (maybe not now).
Just searched on the V4 forum and am pretty sure 5th gear is going out. Good news is by what I read I can still ride it, just need to try and be nice to 5th gear. Guess I will still make the ride.
Can't you just skip 5th gear?
DG, yeah sounds like you're losing 5th. If I remember right, Raymond in Houston on the V4BBS has a spare 700 motor out of a Sabre that he was looking to give away. I think he's still back in town from Iraq, might be worth asking him. If not, then after I swap motors in my 700 Mag, you can have my old motor. 2nd is going in that one, but 5th and 6th are fine. Between the two, you can probably build one good motor. Or you can just get a set of undercut gears from Dave Dodge and never have to worry about it again.
Thanks for the offer, very nice of you. I have 2 other engines already, though one is very rusty. I have said I was going to build a new engine, guess I have more pressure to do so now.
So, do you agree it is OK for me to keep riding it some, especially this Saturday?
Quote from: DG on March 05, 2010, 06:31:20 AM
Thanks for the offer, very nice of you. I have 2 other engines already, though one is very rusty. I have said I was going to build a new engine, guess I have more pressure to do so now.
So, do you agree it is OK for me to keep riding it some, especially this Saturday?
Just a shot in the dark here..
A transmission is a all physical connection...
I don't understand this surging being a gear thing..
Sounds to me like it's a clutch thing.. because of the lower gear ratios there is more pressure on the clutch plates and disks in the higher gears.. When My clutch needed replacing it was in 5th gear that I noticed it.. IF I was going along and then wanted to pass and I did a hard acceleration without gearing down, the clutch would slip. As soon as I let up on the throttle it would catch and be a solid connection again..
IF I'm off on understanding the issue, it's fine.. I really don't need it explained to me. Just throwing out another thought..
It is not a "slip", though before the new clutch and springs it would slip like you describe and I know exactly how that feels.
Lurching is probably a better description than surging. There also is a clunkiness, almost like it is sort of slipping in and out of gear. The rpm's do not go up like a slipping clutch.
I did a search on the V4 board and found someone describe it really good, but it was 2nd gear for them.
What it's probably doing is trying to pop out of 5th because the shift forks are probably shot. So it'll kinda stay on the line of being engaged in gear and being in between gears (which is essentially neutral), when you add power it'll start to pull out of gear and jump teeth. My 2nd is shot on my little Magna and it'll hold in gear just fine until you really open the throttle, but because of the additional force put on it being a lower gear, it'll abruptly just jump to neutral (plus being right next to neuteral doesn't help I'm sure). My big Magna had a blown 2nd gear when I got it, wouldn't even go in, but if you shifted through it the rest of the gears worked ok. Split the cases and the one fork was trashed, gears weren't too bad, and shift drum was missing pieces.
For your still ride question, I'd say it should be ok, just try and skip 5th and run it in 6th if it'll stay better. I put 10K on my little Magna with a bad 2nd and it still rides good. Since it really only popped out when I was WOT, I was in no rush to swap motors. Need to now though because now that the big Magna's done I promised I'd sell the little Magna so she can get her antique couches recovered...I guess I owe her that, she's been waiting for years to do them!
MY report:
I have no gear issues.
Though, my bike has a tendency to slip into neutral...
over time, I've learned I just have to hit it solidly...no light shifting when i'm going 1st to 2nd.
Which of us has not, in accelerating from a standing start, seen the tach in the red when we thought we were in second gear? It is real easy to miss.
I may have to buy a pair of boots with the goofy looking metal cover over the right left toe -- I bruise the big toenail pretty often with my "riding boots". The Doc Martens are a bit stiffer, but are really hot in the summertime.
Quote from: 1985v45Magna on March 09, 2010, 10:40:21 AM
MY report:
I have no gear issues.
Though, my bike has a tendency to slip into neutral...
over time, I've learned I just have to hit it solidly...no light shifting when i'm going 1st to 2nd.
Try lubing up your shift linkage, they tend to bind if they're dry making a solid shift into gear hard to get accomplished. I've heard of theories that a binding linkage can lead to premature failure of the dogs and forks from not going fully in gear. Basically, those times you don't get a good shift in and it pops out, well prior to it popping out the gear is pushing against the fork harder than it ususally does...don't know if it's true but that's my story and I'm sticking to it... :)
I would till try skipping fifth, I know fourth will take you fast enough to shift into 6th. Try riding it that way for a few days before your trip to see if you can get use to it, it's worth a shot. Even with that handicap you should be able to stay ahead of the pack :cool:.
thanks Charles.... the trip was last weekend... :cool:
I did skip 5th most of the time. Although it acts fine if I am easy on the throttle.
I've got to start checking the dates on the post :oops:..