Trouble shifting - 2003 V11 Sport Naked

[F344]

Hi,

 

I'n getting false neutrals above and below 3rd. I've noted that some of you have tried different tranny oils. My dealer says not to do that and live with it for a while and it will go away as the transmission breaks in. This sounds reasonable to me.

 

The dealer said the non-stock oils are more likely to weep past the seals into the clutch. Have any of you had a proble with this?

 

Any ideas on the how long the transmission might take to clean itself up?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Frank

[Guest dkgross]

Hi. You didn't mention how many miles you have on your bike. My 02 LeMans took about 1000 miles or so till the false neutrals stoped. Just 'preload' the shifter a little bit with your foot before shifting...

 

I've got 6500 miles now, and she shifts very smoothly.

[F344]

Yes I forgot to add that. I just ticked over 3000 miles.

 

Thanks

[Guest Bruce]

My transmission got noticably looser around 4,000 miles. I also found pre-loading before shifting helps. That was before last Sunday.

 

Sunday I popped the starter off to adjust the shifter linkage and was surprised at how much play was in the linkage itself. So I took it all apart which turned out to be very beneficial.

 

1St I found the joint that links the adjuster arm to the lever on the trans was very loose. The design of it leads me to believe it was never tightened. The joint on the shifter end was just fine. Easy fix.

 

2nd I found the joints themselves where a bit gunked up so I cleaned and lubed.

 

3rd The bolt that holds the shifter to the pork chop had alot of slop in it. This bolt threads into a tab on the frame which is then locked with a nut. Essentialy you tighten the bolt just shy of binding, then sock down the nut to keep it there. I was able to get most of the play out.

 

4th I pulled the afore mentioned bolt out and it had some gummy stuff on it. Although not difficult to remove it certainly didn't fall right out. Cleaned, greased, and re-assembled.

 

While I was down there I lubed the threads on the adjuster shaft as they'd started to corrode a bit making adjustments more difficult.

 

All in all it took maybe 30 minutes ( I did hurry because days this perfect are rare in Northern Vermont ) and went out for a functional check flight. Beautiful.

 

To be fair it did shift well before although I' d miss some shifts particularly in higher gears. It feels like the transmission shaft needs to rotate further in the higher gears. Now it is just amazing. I keep my foot away from the shifter, no more pre-loading as it shifts immediately. Hard to say if its relates to your problem but it couldn't hurt. Worth a look.

 

Good luck with it.

[Guest Fonzarelli]

I have experimented with Redline Shockproof gear oil.

 

It made the shifting noticably smoother. But, after about 1K miles it started to weep at the front seal.

 

I have since changed back to regular gear oil as specified by my MG dealer, my oil weepage has stopped for now! The trans does not shift quite as smooth, but I have only 2100 miles on the motorcycle.

[docc]

Good advice from all of the above!

 

I know the oil is not yet due for you to change but it wouldn't hurt to give it a fresh 850ml of the right stuff.

 

Several of us are running Redline. Anyone else with seaps??