I fear the worst...

[coffee_brake]

Could you folks tell me more about what's going on? I couldn't test-ride my '01 Vmax before I got it. It is very clean, but maybe the tranny is on its way out.

It has 32k miles, and shifts well around town. It is incredibly hard to find neutral. Sometimes I just can't and give up on it. I changed the oil this weekend, just to start over with the maintenance under my "watch." It didn't change anything with the weird neutral.
I've only ridden it hard a few times, as I'm still getting used to it, but every time I hit the Vboost and shift up to second gear, then when I let off the throttle it comes out of gear. I grab the clutch lever and even with the clutch in, it crunches and crashes and lurches when I down-shift.

As best I know it, this means second gear is bad.

What else can I mess with? I'm very sure I'm pushing through to a positive shift and using enough strength, but maybe the linkage has troubles?

Then, how bad is this going to be to fix, if it IS second gear? I'm not scared to do the work, but I have just the common/basic decent home tools and zero experience with trannys.

Much appreciate any info....

 

[KJShover]

Did you try and move your shift lever down a little to aide in the shifting?

If you try that and you still have that problem, it might be the dredded second gear or a gear segment issue.

As far as finding neutral, some bikes are a pain in the ass to find it. on my max its a pain I can find it easier if I'm kicking down to neutral rather than pulling up to it.

 

[naughtyG]

I'm sure Sean will chime in - he's the expert on transmissions!

In the meantime though, I would check that your clutch is in good shape and working properly, just because I believe it's easier to get to the clutch than to rebuild the tranny.

There was a second gear problem with early Maxes, but I thought that the later ones (and definitely by '01) had been modified by Yamaha so that this would not happen anymore. If it is gone though, it would probably mean that the PO rode it very hard, raced it or did a lot of wheelies and burn-outs..

As far as rebuilding it is concerned, it's a pretty full-on job, as my understanding is that you have to take the motor out, then split the cases to get there. I believe Sean has said that it can be done without disturbing the top end, which is a small consolation.:confused2:

One possible bonus - if that's yer cup of tea - is that when rebuilding the tranny you can swap the 5th gear for one from a Venture, and that gives you much more relaxed RPMs in top for highway cruising. Something I would like, but it's gonna have to wait until the motor eventually needs to come out..

 

[vmaxride06]

Found this link on a venture forum, it will give you an idea if you want to tackle yourself. Has decent pictures. I would get more information from Sean

http://www.venturers.org/Tech_Library/?action=article&cat_id=001006&id=250

 

[richwrench]

Mine did that, but I had the old style shifter segment in it - your '01 would already have the updated one. Still,it's much easier to check that than to split the case - it's right behind the clutch drum - check the older threads here. Not too hard of a job.

 

[maleko89]

When's the last time the clutch fluid was replaced? Perhaps clutch plates/discs aren't fully disengaging.

 

[COP RUNNER]

did you try and move your shift lever down a little to aide in the shifting?

If you try that and you still have that problem, it might be the dredded second gear or a gear segment issue.

as far as finding neutral, some bikes are a pain in the ass to find it. On my max its a pain i can find it easier if i'm kicking down to neutral rather than pulling up to it.

hey kj , thats funny that you say that , i just found that out myself this summer , & if i'm still rolling a little ! Still the hardest bike i've ever had !

 

[maxcruiser]

Hopefully, just need to adjust the shifter downwards - not completely engaging in gear. You do have the new segment on the shift drum, so it should be ok - Generally, the second gear issue is that it slip/pop in & out of 2nd gear under hard accelleration as it gets worst, you will hear some gear bashing and crashing.

As far as finding neutral, the max can be a bitch sometimes. Try getting into neutral while still rolling or blip the throttle a bit will shifting into neutral.

Mike

 

[maleko89]

Using Yamalube doesn't help. Try Castrol GTX or Shell Rotella and see if that helps.

 

[coffee_brake]

When's the last time the clutch fluid was replaced? Perhaps clutch plates/discs aren't fully disengaging.

'Scuse my ignorance...I was sure this engine was a single unit construction and there was no seperate clutch fluid? Please tell me what I should check in the clutch...I traded a Harley for this bike and it had seperate fluid for engine, primary, and tranny, but I didn't see anything in the Vmax manual about changing clutch fluid. Are you telling me to pull the plates and clean them and re-soak them?

I've never checked a clutch assembly for damage, what do I look for, other than burnt-looking plates and ridges in the basket walls?

I coudn't ride this bike before I got it, but I checked it over the best I could. I couldn't find the least bit of burnt rubber in the back or any signs of racing. It would be fantastic if this bike really was as clean as it looks linside and out....

I can always move the shifter down a notch and try it again...but I was sure I was pushing through the shifts well enough.

 

[RazoR333]

My 95 had been sitting in the garage awhile before i bought it from the PO,....
It hard shifted for a few weeks and finding neutral was maddening to say the least, specially at stop lights (where every one is watching)...But once the cob webs were worked out, and Max an i got to know each other a lil better ....things improved ...an oil change, (Rotela 15/40 diesel), helped. Shifting improved,..and engine sounded/ started better.
As for finding neutral,...the throttle blip works the best ,..sounds kewl too.

Letting the clutch out slow while at a stand still with a throttle blip also works well.
I'll cross my fingers for ya,...hope it's that easy.(no engine tear down).

I have all the faith in the guys in here to steer you in the right direction

 

[maleko89]

I was talking about clutch hydraulic fluid. If you pop the master cylinder cover and diaphagm off is the fluid clear?

 

[lankeeyankee]

Your clutch fluid is located in the clutch resovoir which is located near the clutch lever. Remove the 2 screws that holds the top on and drain the fluid at the slave cylinder down under the blk rubber cover with a nipple on it located by the gear cover on the engine.
Remove all your clutch fibers and steels.. Check your steels for any purplish burnt discoloaration. and use a mic on the fibers and check the thickness with the OEM specs in the VMAX service manual which can be downloaded free at the VMAXOUTLAW.COM site.

 

[coffee_brake]

Oh Hell you guys meant the *hydraulic* clutch fluid. Now I feel stupid (shuttup, not a word about it! :biglaugh: ) just ran outside to check the clutch fluid.
OK yeah that's nasty and looks like steak drippings. Due for a change and I still have fresh DOT 4 left from the brakes, can do it tomorow.
The shifter does not have the punch mark in it to align with the shaft, that I know from other motorycles. But it is level to the ground.

I can go into the clutch this week to check the steels and fiber plates, do have access to a good micrometer. Right now I am far too far into the cheap red wine to consider touching anything mechanical. :th_wine:

But the way it's coming out of gear, just as I let off the throttle....wow I hope I didn't just bring home a big pile of doo....

 

[lankeeyankee]

Not to sound negative,, but sounds as the dogs are shot in your tranny.. There was a reason why the guy didnt want to allow you to test ride it.. That right there is a sign of "RUN FOREST RUN"
Sorry if I burst your bubble thinking it may be something simple, but its not.. might as well finish that red wine tonight and start making some phone calls in the AM.

 

[coffee_brake]

It was a dealership....

 

[dannymax]

It was a dealership....

Any chance of a warranty, or even a partial?

 

[gamorg02]

and if you don't mind me asking why wouldn't they let you test ride it?

 

[82ndCowboy]

It was a dealership....

Not sure about your state. But do they have a lemon law? Has it been 90 days? Popping out of gear would be a deal breaker and maybe you can get your money back or have them fix it for free.
But then again, a dealer fixing a VMAX is sort of an oxymoron.

I'd first try changing the clutch fluid, then adjusting the shift lever and then see if you still have a problem. Then if it still does it tear open and check the plates fibers and basket.

As for finding neutral, I discovered that pushing it out of 1st or 2nd into neutral is a lot easier than trying to pull it into neutral. The more you do it the easier it is to do.

Good Luck.

 

[coffee_brake]

Dealership cited insurance reasons. I've never had any dealership, except Harley, allow test rides, even of used machines. To their credit, it doesn't do this under "normal" riding conditions. No lemon law in GA.

It doesn't slip out of second unless I'm on it hard, it has never come out of second unless I was over 6k rpms. That said, the bike is new to me and I'm very aware of my mortality, so I have only "gotten down on it" a few times. So it has done this maybe 5 times since I've had it. At first I thought I wasn't shifting it well enough, but the last two times I made a conscious effort to shift very hard and still, when I let off the throttle, it coasted and I had no power because it had slipped out of gear.

Can't rule out the simple/cheap fixes so of course I'll get new hydraulic fluid in there and pull the clutch plates to measure/inspect and at least look around.

I can't find the post about the shift drum; is there a better set of search terms?

Don't want to re-sell, there's no other bike I want and I don't have any extra cash to put toward a newer model. I wanted a Vmax for years and progressively was more and more dissatisfied with my Harley Dyna Glide. I know that the Harley was worth more than this Vmax but I couldnt' get the Harley sold in this economy. I traded, title for title.
I have recently split the cases on my darn-near-free budget project '82 KZ440 and put it all back together, and let me tell you I don't want to do that again on this even more complex machine.

Crap, I'll probably be making phone calls by this weekend....