Keep Missing 2nd Gear

[Auggie_1970]

Hey Guys not sure if this belongs here or in the drivetrain section. For some reason when I get on the throttle hard from a standstill I keep missing second gear enough times that I have no confidence that its in gear and i'm not going to redline the snot out of the bike.

My bike is an 2004 with about 5,800 mile on it. Is this something that is common with these bikes, (only had mine for a few months now) or is this an indication that something may need adjustment or looking into.
When I'm not hard on the throttle I have no issues missing 2nd.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[gamorg02]

sounds like your dogs have worn. common problem with these bikes. one2dmax does exchanges.

i thought yamaha fixed the problem in like '02 though, but that sounds like the symptom allright.

 

[Auggie_1970]

Ok I'll have to look into this, anyway of determing if this is really the issue before I go that route. Any idea how involved replacement is for this part?
Also does this seem to make sense though with 5,800 miles only? Thanks again

 

[maleko89]

I would check your foot shifter adjustment first. Try raising it a few millimeters and see if shifting improves any. If it's too low the shifter will bind and may not engage all the way.

 

[RaWarrior]

It's about as involved as you can get. Pull the engine and split the case to access the transmission. Not for the faint of heart. Winter project, do the exchange, or just not mash it in second. You could try to sell the bike and get your money back, and buy another. Sorry....hate to bring bad news but that's the deal.

 

[BIGMO]

The shifter can be adjusted so it will fit your foot better. maybe you arent kicking it all the way up into gear? I miss 2nd a bit too much cause i havent adjusted mine. lazy. Now i just slam my foot under the shifter peg and kick my leg up high as i can to kick it into gear so i know i wont miss it. if im just running regular speed and not getting on it i never miss it. The vmax to me seems like you have to click up really high to get it in gear. my 2cents.

 

[[email protected]]

If you are not getting it into 2nd, that is not a problem with the dogs on the gears. That is a shifting problem. When the dogs are worn it pops out of the gear you are already in, or if totally trashed you wont have that gear.

Try to lower your shifter a touch to get some more leverage and put a little more effort into that 1-2 shift.

 

[gamorg02]

good point mike. its kind of ambiguous what exactly is happening.

 

[RaWarrior]

OK, I guess I didn't quite read the post right. If it doesn't actually ever grab second, but rather hits neutral instead, then it's likely a shifter issue. Make sure the lever fully twists the shift rod until the rod stops it....nothing should bind.

Since you have an 04 it has the updated shift segment, so that shouldn't be giving you any issues(on pre 99's it would cause mushy/missed shifts, ultimately causing the gear to stop working once the pins completely fall out.

 

[satariel666]

When i've bought my bike at last winter, the owner(illinois) claimed that second gear is not functionig. Also he continiue riding with 2nd gear poping out.
He also claimed that hes mechanic told him its bent shifting fork...yeah, sure and im Santa.
I was sure that gear dogs was the problem.

So early january just right after i've get the bike ive diassembled the motor right away. It was suprise what i've discovered.
Not only dogs where worn, also shifting forks and gear selector shaft.
So 300$ extra to pay.

If you have 2nd gear poping out do not continue riding or, yeah sure do it but
be ready to spent some extra money on engine rebuild...

 

[Auggie_1970]

Well I'm assuming I'm not getting it into 2nd gear and not that its in 2nd gear and popping out. I woud assume that if it was popping out of gear I would at least get a little pull out of that gear but its like I'm hard on it through first, go to shift, hit red line and see the neutral light , say a few choice words , then shift if into 2nd. I hope its just Im missing second verses its in second and popping out. I'm going to check out how to properly adjust the shifter and give that a shot.

 

[gamorg02]

Well I'm assuming I'm not getting it into 2nd gear and not that its in 2nd gear and popping out. I woud assume that if it was popping out of gear I would at least get a little pull out of that gear but its like I'm hard on it through first, go to shift, hit red line and see the neutral light , say a few choice words , then shift if into 2nd. I hope its just Im missing second verses its in second and popping out. I'm going to check out how to properly adjust the shifter and give that a shot.

sounds like it ya bud. thats good news for u.

 

[2stangs69-91]

I was having a little issue with second gear also. mainly under very hard acceleration. I droped my shift lever about 1/2 inch and it seemed to help. Good luck

 

[Auggie_1970]

Just wanted to report back with what ended up happening in case anyone could benefit from this. I took the advice of the others and adjusted the shift lever downward a bit and oiled up the both of the ends of the linkage. For those of you thinking of loosening the 10 mm nuts and leaving them loose so you can periodically mess with the adjustment to see which feels the best, dont do it Eventually the linkage will back itself out and the shift adjuster will end up hanging by itself...Dont ask me how I now this Anyhow it shifts much better now, not sure which one fixed it but I'd have to think it was a combination of the two. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[BIGMO]

Thanks Auggie. Now i gotta get my lazy ass out there and adjust mine.

 

[zippo6]

I had to adjust mine as well after taking possession. I literally had to lift my whole damn leg to shift... ya no.... 2 adjustments later and the position is good. All ankle action now. So I can leave my lazy leg on the peg!!

 

[vmax626]

If you are not getting it into 2nd, that is not a problem with the dogs on the gears. That is a shifting problem. When the dogs are worn it pops out of the gear you are already in, or if totally trashed you wont have that gear.

Try to lower your shifter a touch to get some more leverage and put a little more effort into that 1-2 shift.

+1 Idid that and now it goes in alot better.
I know how you feel , it`s fustrating as hell when it keeps happening but try adjusting the shifter first.
I lowered mine bout 3/4" and now it`s fine for now.
<<Dave>>

 

[81LS1Camaro]

Im having the same problem, so I guess I will try this before anything else. Will let you know how it works out when it warms up here, its 15 degrees right now.

 

[kaboom]

Im having the same problem, so I guess I will try this before anything else. Will let you know how it works out when it warms up here, its 15 degrees right now.

Yup........:bang head:

 

[BrianK]

Hey Guys not sure if this belongs here or in the drivetrain section. For some reason when I get on the throttle hard from a standstill I keep missing second gear enough times that I have no confidence that its in gear and i'm not going to redline the snot out of the bike.

My bike is an 2004 with about 5,800 mile on it. Is this something that is common with these bikes, (only had mine for a few months now) or is this an indication that something may need adjustment or looking into.
When I'm not hard on the throttle I have no issues missing 2nd.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

Auggie,

I had similar miss-shifts trying to get into 2nd., 3rd. and 4th. gears when I first got my 85' Max about three years ago. One of our elder statesman in Houston gave me some great advise on how I might get around the problem, which worked very well for me. Thanks Rhoy.

If having trouble getting the shifter to stay in gear, try "pre-loading" the shift lever just before the actual shift. For what ever reason this worked real well on my 85' Max which seemed to have a long travel requirement to shift her into most all gears and "pre-loading the shift lever worked for me.

My 2000' Max is a bit different. She only had trouble getting into 3rd. gear, but I find its easier to "pre-load" the shift lever for all gears then to remember when i am about to get to 3rd. gear.

Pre-loading the shift lever works on both my Vmaxs.

Hope that helps a bit.

BrianK-5125
Houston

1985' VMax
2000' VMax