Transmission problems?

[themetalman03886]

Ok I have had my valk for about 2 and a half weeks and have put about 1300 miles on her. When I am accelerating it will pop down a gear. It happens the most in 4th, pops down to 3rd. It has done it once from 2nd to neutral and 5th to 4th. It's not a common problem but just happens maybe once every 100 or so miles. Any ideas? Maybe I am not shifting hard enough? I am no novice rider, she is my 9th bike.

[shortleg]

 Make sure that you are putting it all the way into
the next gear.
    Valks have square cut gears and and need to be
put into them hard.
           Shortleg[Dave]

[Ricky-D]

Not trying to be argumentative here, but the way the gears teeth are cut has no bearing on the shifting of the transmission.

The movement of the gears causes the gear shafts to lock and unlock and/or the dogs/lugs which are on the gears to engage and disengage with the neighboring gears on the same shaft.

The dogs/lugs are undercut to help them stay connected with their neighboring gear when shifting through the gears.  This is an engineered feature to eliminate the problem you are encountering.

So, if more positive shifting does not eliminate your problem I would say you indeed have a problem which will only be solved with transmission work.

However,,,,,

I suggest to look very closely at the shifting mechanism to assure there is no obstruction or restriction with the shifting process. Something that may be keeping the shifting movement from full and complete shifts.

Aftermarket shifting devices can be a culprit as can be exhaust modifications and pedal and floorboard modifications which should be thoroughly investigated before considering transmission problems being the cause of your problem.

***

[Patrick]

Yours is a common problem/complaint with new Valk owners.. Just shift with authority,, don't baby it,, but,, don't abuse it..  You'll get it right in short order..

[Jabba]

Mine does it too... firm shifting helps a lot.  It still has something funny between 1st and 2nd.  Sometimes it doesn't go the whole way and grab the dogs for 3rd.  I have learned to live with it.

Jabba 

[Hoser]

Check the shift lever, it may be loose on the shaft.  Hoser

[R J]

Drop the shifter 1 (ONE) tooth on the tranny shaft.   Tighten it back up and then learn to put it in gear with authority.

If you can find a Rattlebars Kick Shifter get it, it will eliminate all your drop out of gear problems.     When I 1st got MGM I had that problem.    Always used toe/heel shifters on all my rides even on the Patrol bikes, so I was used to them and liked them.    The toe/heel shifter isn't for everybody.   So some people just need to learn to use it.

I'll get off my Soapbox now, oh, 1 (one) last thing.

Get your BUTT out and VOTE...............................  Thanks, you have made this old man happy happy happy.

[Patrick]

I should have also mentioned adjusting the lever to fit you.. It slides right on and off.. RJ got it though..

[themetalman03886]

Thanks for the replies. I will move the shifter down one tooth and see If that helps me out.

[Farther]

Pay attention to the punch mark or place your own mark on the shaft so you know where you are at when adjusting the lever.

[Rio Wil]

Thanks for the replies. I will move the shifter down one tooth and see If that helps me out.

May I suggest that you first pay attention to exactly where you are resting the toe of your left foot....like... keep it off the gear shift lever unless you want to shift a gear!

[97Valk_CT_Euless]

Had a similar problem.  I was shifting without the clutch alot, like a sport bike.  Since I started using the clutch on every shift I haven't had the issues since.  May also make me shift more deliberatly, I don't know.

[Jeff K]

Ok I have had my valk for about 2 and a half weeks and have put about 1300 miles on her. When I am accelerating it will pop down a gear. It happens the most in 4th, pops down to 3rd. It has done it once from 2nd to neutral and 5th to 4th. It's not a common problem but just happens maybe once every 100 or so miles. Any ideas? Maybe I am not shifting hard enough? I am no novice rider, she is my 9th bike.

If it happens in all gears I'd say a bent shift fork is not the issue. I find it hard to believe they are all bent.
The stock sliders are not back cut, or undercut, if they are it is miniscule. I have had all of mine back cut when I had them apart. It improves the shifting a lot. But that s a huge job.

If firm shifting doesn't cure the problem, and the shifter levers are on correctly, not touching the pipes when you push it down, the problem could be internal. I have seen one GL1500 that had severe wear to the actual slider and fork. It rattled like crazy when you made an attempt to shift, and wouldn't stay in gear.
Going from memory I believe 1-2 share a shift slider, 3 is alone, 4-5 share. So there would have to be a problem that relates to two separate areas. Not impossible, but not probable. You have to have two bad shift forks and or two bad sliders, since you don't say you have any problems with 3rd.

[valky1500]

Come to think of it, the very first mod I ever had to make with my new brand Valkyrie was to adjust the shifter to fit my foot. Later on I had to do the very same mod all over again so I could wear both sneakers and boots while riding and without issue.   

The best thing I ever did for the transmission was to use the synthetic oils (Mobile 1) instead of the regulars. All of that noise went away along with the tranny wear issues.   

Go Figure.