Unhappy with gears after service

Fairly new to bikes so took my 5000 mile Curvy 2002 'S' to a well-regarded mechanic (who used to work on SV's for Mini Twin racing) to get a proper going over and service, just to make sure no horrors were lurking there.

Prior to that I'd found the gears pretty sweet, only a couple of times found a false neutral 5th to 6th, and it seemed to like a firm foot for that change.

Anyway, rode home lovely then started giving me all sorts of hassle when I went to put it in the shed, wouldn't find neutral from 1st then wouldn't come out of 1st at all despite a bit of slipping the clutch to move it forwards a bit. Gearlever seemed jammed; managed to get out of 1st and into neutral eventually but only after being in 2nd not 1st.

So, took it out for another run, plenty of stop start and junctions etc; found that getting neutral from 2nd was usually ok but from 1st was usually a no-go. Out on the main road at speed and using all the gears I found that 5th to 6th seemed to need an even firmer foot than pre-service and twice got false neutrals again! Not a nice sound.......

So before heading back on Monday, what should I be expecting? My only observation is that the chain seems a bit on the tight side whereas before it was on the loose side (but all within spec).

Sorry to drag on, just trying to explain everything!

[Richie]

sounds like your chain tension,

or your oil level...


or do a quick search it's been posted on here loads.

Hth's and you get your problem sorted soonest.

Richie.

[rictus01]

Indeed the SV as said is quite suitable to oil level; clutch adjustment & chain tension also make sure the gear lever pivot is well lubed as this to has been known to stick at times.

Oil Level check

Chain Tension

Clutch Adjustment

Lubing pivot points

Cheers Mark.

Also, double check all is done up tight on the footpeg/hanger- this can affect gear changing quite considerably.

[dizzyblonde]

maybe its just your foot thats wrong???

[yorkie_chris]

Chain tension makes little difference at a standstill, probably clutch adjustment issue,.

Thanks folks.

Been out again after some chill and have to say that the 5th to 6th issue may well be down to me and I'm not now sure it's worse than pre-service; just seems to need a particularly firm foot.

Getting neutral certainly is an issue so they must have adjusted the clutch as the biting point has changed and it almost seems to drag a little. Trying to go from 1st to neutral almost always results in going through into 2nd, no matter how gentle I am. A gentle tap down from 2nd will then always find neutral.

Will talk to them on Monday as I don't want to start adjusting stuff I've paid someone to do, they can put it back how it was.

Thanks again for replies.

Originally Posted by rictus01

Indeed the SV as said is quite susceptable to oil level being incorrect; clutch adjustment & chain tension also make sure the gear lever pivot is well lubed as this to has been known to stick at times.

Oil Level check

Chain Tension

Clutch Adjustment

Lubing pivot points

Cheers Mark.

fixed for you.

Mmm, not getting too far here yet.

Spoke to the guy who did the work, says the only things he adjusted were the chain (tightened a bit) and the clutch via the clutch lever.

On that basis I reversed the clutch adjustment on his instruction but found the problem still there. I'm planning to take the bike back tommorrow, the point is I had absolutely no issue getting neutral before.

The only other theory I have is the oil. Obviously it was changed (he said the old stuff was pretty poor too) but I think he's overfilled it. I've checked it to the best of my ability, had someone sit on it and hold it in the most upright position and the level is above maximum; still within the window but for sure above maximum.

To re-cap, my problem is getting back into neutral from 1st; basically it almost always goes through to 2nd (no flash of the neutral light) and you then get neutral from 2nd. The problem rarely occurs so long as the bike is moving but when putting in my shed or at traffic light etc it will give me hassle. Can too much oil cause this? I'm reluctant to go down other avenues as nothing else has been changed or adjusted

When my chain was recently tightened, i had a bit of troulbe getting into neutral. I've ridden it quite a bit since then, the chain has stretched a little more and now I find neutral easily. I was also getting a falsie in between 5th and 6th, but that has gone also.

If you can drain some of the oil, do - it shouldnt be overfilled, but if your SV is like my SV, then it certainly behaves better when the oil level is more than half (about 3/4s full)

Adjust the clutch at the worm drive; cable adjustment adjusts the slack, but overall the same amount of push-rod travel occurs.