shifting

[TKM]

this is the third season with my Valk ,love the bike ,lots of power .Shifts up and down like an old truck , what can i do to inprove

[Chrisj CMA]

increase rpm...decrease throttle back prior to shift

[Jess from VA]

Square cut gears contribute greatly to the bike's reliability and longevity.

[TKM]

increase rpm...decrease throttle back prior to shift

Ok I'll give that a try , trying to get through all the gears without a clunk , clang or a grind has become a fixation which makes it that much  worse

[Daniel Meyer]

Preload the shifter on upshift.

[BonS]

Preload the shifter on upshift.

+10 

[sandy]

Several folks have gone to a good synthetic oil which helps a bunch.

[R J]

You are not riding a Ferrari, so BANG the gear into the next one and forget about it.

Chet's heel toe shifter is a good fix for that problem.

[old2soon]

You needz lotsa AUTHORITY when you shift these beasts. Be firm with her and she will respect you more. Be timid on shifting-you already know.  RIDE SAFE.

[Ricky-D]

I think the best suggestion is to try a better oil, one that would facilitate better shifting.

And it would be good to inspect the shifter linkage for looseness and clearance from obstruction.

***

[salty1]

Preload the shifter on upshift.

OK I'll bite, how does one preload the shifter?  ???

[Buda]

Preload the shifter on upshift.

OK I'll bite, how does one preload the shifter?  ???

Put a bit of pressure on the shifter with your foot before you shift.

[Jess from VA]

Very much like taking the slack out of a trigger before pulling it. 

[97ValkSteve]

It's funny.  I didn't notice how clunky she was to shift until I put stock pipes on in place of my 2 brothers this Spring. In my mind I actually thought it shifted smoothly and quietly.   Plus, now you can really hear all the other little noises she makes which I kind of like. 

Occasionally, I get the perfect clunkless shift by doing the "preloading" and shifting just at the right RPM but then the next time it doesn't work so basically I don't really try much anymore and just enjoy the ride.

Also, I briefly tried the clutchless shifting mentioned in another recent thread and sometimes it would shift real smoothly and others it was pretty awful so I gave up on THAT technique quickly.  Good luck and enjoy!  Steve

[Sigrún]

Very much like taking the slack out of a trigger before pulling it. 

Almost precisely like that. Also I've learned that the faster you shift, the more the lady likes it 

Lift the shifter until the play is all gone and you can feel the shifter starting to touch the ratchet, rev up to your shifting RPM ( whatever that might be on that situation ), pull the clutch just about halfway there, drop the throttle just a tad and shift like the beelzebub is right behind you. The more you think about it, the more you're likely to botch it up, but once you get it down to muscle memory, you'll be well and truly surpised how smoothly she can shift up......

It'll take some practice and a learning curve but it can be done. And it's worth it.

[cookiedough]

speaking of shifting,  I'm pretty sure this is normal, but does the foot shifter jiggle a tad (seems loose but is not) and that is how it is suppose to be, with a tad bit of slop/jiggle room in the shifter rod?

On the same note,  has anyone had troubles ONLY when the bike is in extreme heat and revved and road hard at lower speeds a lot in town traffic mostly, had trouble downshifting or upshifting from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 1st without getting caught in between which is neutral?  Same intense heat and  several low speed shifting in town traffic and I sometimes find it hard to get the bike out of neutral especially into 1st gear like it won't go.  I have to slam it hard from neutral into 1st gear and even sometimes that does not work, like the heat causes the gears to not go smoothly ONLY out of neutral/1st gear.

[9Ball]

Also, make sure to flush and bleed the clutch master cylinder.  Inspect the clutch lever for worn or sticky operation and fix accordingly.  It helps to have everything up to operating standards..

[salty1]

speaking of shifting,  I'm pretty sure this is normal, but does the foot shifter jiggle a tad (seems loose but is not) and that is how it is suppose to be, with a tad bit of slop/jiggle room in the shifter rod?

On the same note,  has anyone had troubles ONLY when the bike is in extreme heat and revved and road hard at lower speeds a lot in town traffic mostly, had trouble downshifting or upshifting from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 1st without getting caught in between which is neutral?  Same intense heat and  several low speed shifting in town traffic and I sometimes find it hard to get the bike out of neutral especially into 1st gear like it won't go.  I have to slam it hard from neutral into 1st gear and even sometimes that does not work, like the heat causes the gears to not go smoothly ONLY out of neutral/1st gear.

I've never experienced what you've described even on 100 degree days. Sounds like a serious problem. I would think that slamming a bike in gear is eventually going to result in a bent shifting fork(s).

[R J]

speaking of shifting,  I'm pretty sure this is normal, but does the foot shifter jiggle a tad (seems loose but is not) and that is how it is suppose to be, with a tad bit of slop/jiggle room in the shifter rod?

On the same note,  has anyone had troubles ONLY when the bike is in extreme heat and revved and road hard at lower speeds a lot in town traffic mostly, had trouble downshifting or upshifting from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 1st without getting caught in between which is neutral?  Same intense heat and  several low speed shifting in town traffic and I sometimes find it hard to get the bike out of neutral especially into 1st gear like it won't go.  I have to slam it hard from neutral into 1st gear and even sometimes that does not work, like the heat causes the gears to not go smoothly ONLY out of neutral/1st gear.

As someone said earlier, change the oil.    I've used nothing but Automobile Mobil 1 - 15/50W I think it is.     My case of oil is at the shop, and the kid is out on the lake somewhere in the boat, and it is 11 miles for me one way, so just take my guess unless I post it differently later.

[Daniel Meyer]

Also, make sure to flush and bleed the clutch master cylinder.  Inspect the clutch lever for worn or sticky operation and fix accordingly.  It helps to have everything up to operating standards..

+1 on this for the heat related issue...I've seen this behavior in high heat when the clutch fluid is old/saturated.

[Tx Bohemian]

...Also I've learned that the faster you shift, the more the lady likes it...

I've noticed this too. 

If I "speed shift" I smoothly run through the gears like a pro racer, but trying to "normal" shift seems like I've lost all coordination between my feet and hands!!

[whitestroke]

...Also I've learned that the faster you shift, the more the lady likes it...

++++

I've noticed this too. 

If I "speed shift" I smoothly run through the gears like a pro racer, but trying to "normal" shift seems like I've lost all coordination between my feet and hands!!

+++++

[cookiedough]

speaking of shifting,  I'm pretty sure this is normal, but does the foot shifter jiggle a tad (seems loose but is not) and that is how it is suppose to be, with a tad bit of slop/jiggle room in the shifter rod?

On the same note,  has anyone had troubles ONLY when the bike is in extreme heat and revved and road hard at lower speeds a lot in town traffic mostly, had trouble downshifting or upshifting from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 1st without getting caught in between which is neutral?  Same intense heat and  several low speed shifting in town traffic and I sometimes find it hard to get the bike out of neutral especially into 1st gear like it won't go.  I have to slam it hard from neutral into 1st gear and even sometimes that does not work, like the heat causes the gears to not go smoothly ONLY out of neutral/1st gear.

As someone said earlier, change the oil.    I've used nothing but Automobile Mobil 1 - 15/50W I think it is.     My case of oil is at the shop, and the kid is out on the lake somewhere in the boat, and it is 11 miles for me one way, so just take my guess unless I post it differently later.

Doubt it is the oil since only about 4,000 miles on Amsoil 10w-40 full synthetic cycle oil this year of riding since March of this year.  I'm not slamming as hard as I can on the foot shifter, but pretty darn hard.  LIke I said,  it eventually goes out of neutral into 1st or 2nd, just that it gets stuck or should I say hung up in neutral more than I think is normal.  Clutch fluid was changed 3 seasons ago and about 8K miles also.

[Ricky-D]

Without trying to perpetuate the hijacking of TkM's thread, it sounds like to me you are not using the stock shifter setup but rather some aftermarket "heel/toe shifter mechanism and therefore I feel, there is where the problems lay.

***

[Blackduck]

A lot of interesting replies.
We all know the Valk likes shifting better with a few rev's on it, Granny gearchanges are hard to get smooth.
Another thing to consider is what is your idle RPM and does it increase when the bike warms up?
Higher idle RPM will definitely cause harsh shiftling, partically if moving in and out of neutral.
Cheers Steve