Tranny quirk

[Robert Haller]

I was just out riding my 79 Special and as I was coming down a hill I downshifted. Instead of going into gear it didn't engage (No, I didn't shift into neutral) and when I tried to engage again with the gearshift, it just made a loose rattling noise. I about had a heart attack thinking my tranny had broken! So I coasted into a parking lot to try again. It engaged like normal and has since.
Has anyone had a similar experience? What was that about?

[Jdwags]

an extra neutral

Had that happen last fall on the mongrel.. only once..

maybe a warning shot.. never happened again..

That engine/trans is on the bench right now for other problems..

Have no idea what it was..

[jakal92]

slipppppp

I have had that happen several times while upshifting.

Shift, crack throttle, engine whines, no go.

Usually only second or third gears.

Happened alot on my Yamaha 3 wheeler,
thought it was just normal for yamahas.

Might need to take my tranny apart someday.

[TopCatGr58]

What gear were you downshifting from/to? You said that it wasn't "neutral", but if you were shifting from 5th to 4th, you can slip into a pseudo neutral spot where 5th is disengaged, and 4th isn't fully engaged, has to do with the design of the tranny. Then the noise you heard was probably the "Dogs" rattling along past the slots since one gear was probably spinning much faster than the other so it couldn't slip into mesh!?!? Just a thought?

[Robert Haller]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TopCatGr58
[B]What gear were you downshifting from/to?

I believe I was shifting from 3rd to 4th, but could have been 2nd to 3rd. What you described sounds like what happened. Is that just a quirk or is it a sign of trouble?

[beechfront]

i've had my bike for 2 weeks and has done that
twice going from 4th to 5th.

[Mr Jake]

tranny quirk

I too have had this experience. I can't tell you what it is but I can tell that it isn't very rare. You can punch into gear, while you are still moving (if you push hard enough) but it really does sound bad. It gets back into gear a lot smoother if you get the bike stopped first.

[Mike Hart]

False Neutral

It's called False Neutral, and you can get a lot of bikes to do it if you try. Don't have to 'try' on the xs

Shifting decisively/firmly either up or down, not slamming it, just make sure your foot moves the lever all the way, it won't happen. Get lazy, false neutral.

[Dragonrider]

Also helps to "preload" the shifter. Put a little pressure on it in the direction you are going to shift before you clutch it. Much smoother shifts and longer lasting gears . . . and less "false neutrals".