Loose shifter in first gear

[Royales83]

Hi! I have a 2015 fz and for some time when I downshift into first gear (first gear only), the shifter (pedal) stays loose more and more often. It doesn't come up and engage properly although the bike seems to really be in first gear.

I changed my chain recently (not because of that, maintenance due to normal wear and tear) and it seems to have become more frequent since then, but I don't think it's related to the chain. On the other hand, the first mechanic where I sent my motorcycle seems to have played with a lot of things on it and had also adjusted my chain much too tightly. He didn't inspire me with confidence and I went to see a 2nd mechanic... Could the first one have played with the tension of the clutch cable and that would cause this problem with my shifter?

[Royales83]

Anyone please?  

[Triple Jim]

Have you checked carefully to see if the shift lever moves freely throughout its travel?

[Royales83]

40 minutes ago, Triple Jim said:

Have you checked carefully to see if the shift lever moves freely throughout its travel?

What do you mean? Like if it gets stuck on something? Nothing is in the way and it seems to go all the way down but the problem is it doesn't come back up. It stays loose and I can make it jiggle down.

Edited September 11, 2023 by Royales83

[ElGonzales]

I think it could be a good first step to check if these 3 joints are moving freely and are well greased:



If not: pull the rubber cap off, clean the joint with petrol or brake cleaner and put new grease on. There's a small spring that moves your shift lever back to center position. It's not as strong as your foot. But maybe there is something defective in this area, hard to tell from far away.
The clutch cable isn't the problem.

[Royales83]

@ElGonzales where is that spring? I have Woodcraft rearsets but the parts in the 2 left circles in your pictures still are OEM.

[ElGonzales]

@Royales83 I think it's the torsion spring #5

But I never had to disassemble the shifting mechanism or even the left engine cover so I don't want to speculate to much about things I never had in my own hands. 

[Subito]

FWIW, I’ve noticed my 2022 MT-07 doesn’t like rapid downshifts when slowing down to a stop. Specifically, I am lazy and often stay in third gear until I’m almost to the stop sign or light, and then quickly downshift twice to get in first gear before I come to a complete stop. But the shift lever doesn’t quickly pop back into position after I shift into second gear so I can then downshift again into first gear. As the OP suggests, it feels like the return spring is weak and the lever is delayed in getting into position.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Subito

[Royales83]

@Subito I rarely downshift quickly (normally in first gear when I come to a stop) and I use engine breaking a lot so I would say it's not related to that. I'm going to investigate that spring though.

[sweetscience]

Who installed the rearsets?  

I would first check the bolt that holds the shift pedal onto the rearset.  Remove it, clean it, grease it and the washers.  Apply blue loctite to the threads, don't get any loctite on the shoulder of the bolt, just the threaded portion, and tighten to 22 Nm or 16 lbs/ft.  Check for binding in all joints. If all else fails, try full synthetic oil.  Do these before diving into the internals. 

FWIW, I have the Gilles rearsets utilizing bearings in the linkages, the Gilles shift shaft support, and use full synthetic oil.  With these there is no play in the shifts or shifter, and it has a very smooth and sensitive feel.

[Royales83]

@sweetscience rearsets we're already on the bike when I bought it 3 years ago. Had no problem with them until now. I will check that bolt, thank you!

[Royales83]

Update: so I used a silicone based lubricant on all the moving parts of the shifter/rearset. It seemed to help initially, but I still had the problem of loose shifter from time to time. I then slightly loosened the bolt (#36) that holds the shifter which seems to have given a little looseness to the wave washer (#35). I went for a quick ride last night and got to work this morning without the shifter going loose once. So I believe that the problem actually came from the bolt being too tight. Thank you all for your help!

 

[Triple Jim]

Probably not too tight, but an out of spec bolt or the part that rides on it.  A shoulder bolt should be able to be tightened without causing binding of the shifter mechanism.

[ElGonzales]

I assume this part is to long? If you compare it with the original shifter and reduce it to the correct length, you can tighten the bolt