Bike Won't Shift Down.

[mikebrooman]

Hey, looking for some advice here, anything is a bonus.

Bike won't shift down a gear at all right now.
Started with just not going into first, which wasn't a problem as 2nd is ok for pulling away, but then later in the ride it wouldn't shift at all. If the revs are high it seems to shift down but only to second, but at stationary it won't budge! The change pedal is floppy and clutch all the way in, but won't change.

Right now the bikes in 4th on my drive.

Possible causes I can think of and why it's not them:

Clutch - new <1000 miles ago
Clutch cable - new < 500 miles
Oil level - perfect and pretty new
Chain Tension - Adjusted on sunday (could it be too tight? I'm really bad at adjusting it)

Any help appreciated!

P.S k2 curvey

[xXBADGERXx]

Is the Gear lever free moving at all ?

[mikebrooman]

If by free moving you mean moving like it should yes.
It moves up and down as you would expect during the change, but no clunk click.

[xXBADGERXx]

Behind the clutch cover is something that is splined or toothed that sometimes comes loose or wears out , I cannot remember what it is but somebody on here mentioned it the other day , I`ll go sniffing for you , back in 5 minutes

[xXBADGERXx]

This may shed some light http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=117027&highlight=gear+selecting (http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=117027&highlight=gear+selecting)

It might not be spot on but there are quite a few suggestions in there , my bike was being an Ar5e last week with dropping down gears , I found that my lever was really gunky and removed the footpeg assembly and cleaned it up and my Gear Selection was sweet as a nut , I don`t think it is anything too sinister as lots of people have suddenly sprang forth with this over the last 2 weeks which suggest a winter issue with maybe gunk and a bit of corrosion from salt etc .

Another one suggesting similar
http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=123611&highlight=gear+problem

[mikebrooman]

ta, shall see in the morning if it works!

[xXBADGERXx]

No worries dude , narrow the problem down for starters by eliminating the simple things first .

[davepreston]

mine did that after i tightened the clutch have a look at the nut and screw (best i can describe it in the center of the sprocket behind the cluch cover try loosening it off a bit see if that works
goodluck with it:)

[vardypeeps]

I tend to have gear problems when the chain is too loose or tight. It should be 20mm to 30mm of travel 1/2 way between the sprockets on the sidestand.

[gettin2dizzy]

If you've just adjusted the chain, then it seems a pretty likely contender! I'd slacken it off, and then go from there.

[mikebrooman]

Hmm, chain seems to be ok, right amount of tension, but its quite far down the notches even though its a relatively new chain. I tried getting the gunk out today. Also sprayed on some wd40 to see if that gets it moving, now it changes down if I 'slam' it down, and will get into neutral easily but won't go into 2nd. If I 'slam' it up it will go in to 2nd then all the way up to 6th with ease, then back to 2nd with ease, but then it won't go into first.
I'm going to ride round the block with it later and see if its got better as all the above was just sitting on my drive.

btw:'slam' as in more force than normal but not excessive.
Also is there an easy way to get gunk out, I removing it with my hands (gloved) but it was still messy work. Is there a gunk dissolving spray I can spray on, like the ones you chuck down a plug hole?

[fizzwheel]

I had something similar on my SV when it had been stood for ages.

I'd be inclined to remove the gear lever from the shaft and clean it up, theres a little fibre washer on there that you need to remove, but be careful and dont damage it as you cant buy it on its own, if you knacker it you'll need a new lever.

Take the lever off, clean all the road grime out of it and the shaft it sits on, then refit it.

I'd be inclined to try that first before you start delving deeper into the gearbox.

[mikebrooman]

Thanks, the gear lever as in the bit that you push with your foot or the bit that is going into the gear box that rotates rather than goes up and down?

[Sally]

Check you're back brake!
If it feels tight or stiff, its probily you're rearsets?? (Is that what theyre called?).
The part where the gear shifter and the back brake join onto the chasis.
Had exactly the same problem a few weeks ago.

Take off the gearchange, and clean and lube it all.

Will defiently help if you cant find any other problems...

Thats what i mean by rearset, take off both sides if the brake feels stiff too..

http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/oo306/_saoralba_/Rearset.jpg

[Sally]

Basically what fizzwheel said, but i have a picture :):)

Of the back brake :P

[yorkie_chris]

The pedal pivot is the most likely contender, especially this time of year

[mikebrooman]

interesting..http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=121413
I changed it not long ago, maybe fitted wrong and problem only just popped up?

[Sally]

I cleaned mines 2 weeks or so ago, and i can feel it coming back..

Its just the **** and salt from the roads just gets ito it..
Try cleaning that, if you do and it doesnt help, wont have done it any harm...

[mikebrooman]

cheers, so take off clutch cover and rear rearests and de-bung. Asked before but it got lost, has anyone a gunk removal tip? parafin? cilit bang!?

[xXBADGERXx]

There is a product called "Gunk" that can do the job , I use Fenwicks FS10 bike cleaner (the concentrated version) . Scrape as much cackola off as you can with something stiff , WD40 will actually break down a bit of Gunk as well if it isn`t too thick and just go and buy loads of Yellow dusters from the market and sacrifice them as oily rags on cleaning duties :)

[yorkie_chris]

Nah leave the grease there it does no harm.

[mikebrooman]

Well cleaning it out didn't help, still doesn't change gear. But to be fair I'm not sure I cleaned the right bit I cleaned all the bits between the foot rest and shaft that goes into the gearbox. It was gopping in there!
I'm probably going to take it to the mechanics tomorrow unless anyone has any more ideas that don't require a degree in mechanics!

[yorkie_chris]

None of it does.

Take the lever off the shift-shaft. Check the pedal is moving freely, if you point it one way, gravity shoudl move it back for you. Same thing with the rose joints.

Do this first then get back to us. The crud around the shaft doesn't do that much harm, it is after all grease.