Life expectancy of clutch/gearbox?

Hi,
I have a 2001 SV650, with 42K on the clock.
Just a couple of times lately it's misbehaved a little, either falling back into neutral from second, or as this morning, having changed up into third, given a little jump as I pulled away, as if it hadn't been properly in gear in the first place, and was then dropping into gear properly.

Normally I put this sort of thing down to operator error, but given the bike's age and mileage, I'm just starting to wonder if this is something mechanical that I should be thinking about - any opinions?

id say 42k wouldnt even be close to expiring, theres guys here with over double that mileage and havnt done anything but good maintenance

My 21k clutch was perfect, but my basket is a mess.

it really depend on usage... i've seen a cbr with bent shift forks and destroyed 2nd and 4th gears with ~8K on it... i had a much older CBR, sold it with 65K and never had tranny issues. Clutch is a different thing, even with gentle use 40K might be near the end of its life, but you would notice it slipping, not popping out of gear. Your issue sound like a damaged shift-fork, maybe (i really doubt it) stripped gear, not a clutch problem.

[Sid Squid]

I know of a few SV650s that have gone over 100,000 miles with no mechanical failures, I've seen several others that have died in a fraction of that.

Use, (or abuse), and maintenance, (or the lack of it), are the important factors.

Fair enough, that's really my question answered. I don't think I can be accused of abuse, and maintenance has been regular if unexceptional, so I guess we're back to operator error. I can live with that (no self-respect, me )

make sure that your oil is between the level markers and certainly not too high. I sometimes make a mess of second to third and it's almost always because I have not unloaded the gear linkage after the shift to second. Pay attention to the shifts the next time you're out and see if you are removing your boot from the lever between shifts.

Garry

That's interesting, will do.

[mister c]

I have just changed the clutch plates on my curvey with nearly 29000 miles on it. I found that it was starting to clunk into gear, or was difficult to engage, or it was still trying to move with the clutch lever fully in. When I took the old plates out they seemed fine, fitted the new plates and it feels as good as new again.

My SV clicked over 80,000km last week on the original clutch and the only attention that it has received is a wear check on plates and basket plus clean-up around the actuator at about 45k. It has a long way to go but it is not your average urban riding.

The gearbox should outlast the engine by a factor of at least two providing that it is looked after and the rider uses proper technique. That has been my experience with other bikes... I learned the hard way from one wrecked gearbox that required back cutting of the dogs or replacement on three gears after 30,000km of youthful ignorance.