1st FALSE NEUTRAL 5th to 6th. Anyone else?

[OB_valklex]

The bike is a blast to ride and the transmission is buttery smooth. Coming from hondas that you need to shift like a man, this thing shifts with minimal effort (I guess I'll just have to shift more positively in the future). I was wondering if it was an isolated incident or if some of you have experienced it as well. Maybe synthetic oil once I have the miles will help.
Thanks!

 

[OB_BlackPanther]

I also have experienced the "false" neutral and my dealer said basically to shift harder, but I fail to see how people like us who ride and ride and ride could be lacking the positive shifitng. I mean, its like writing on a piece of paper, how often do you not press hard enough??? RARELY.

~BP

 

[OB_Cisco San Jose]

Had same problem on my 99,but after third oil change no problem.I now have 3,851 miles on the bike.Used Golden Spectro after 1,900 mile synthetic blend but will switch to Mobil one since someone else on this board posted that Golden Spectro was not a good oil.

 

[OB_Johnnycheese]

don't know about golden spectrol. been using it from 1988 and on changed oil at 500 miles with it. readjusted my shifter no more miss shifts

 

[OB_Velociraptor]

Had the missed shift with my 99. Adjusted the shift lever down about an inch and almost went away. Switch to Mobil 1 and more miles have seen the missed shifts disappear.

 

[OB_valklex]

I feel better now. I also would like to know what is the ideal way to get out of one. On this one I pulled the clutch in, pulled over to the shoulder and shut off the motor; downshifted pushing the bike a little bit until neutral came up, restarted the motor and took off. This optimum scenario might not be feasible next time around. What to do in that case? maybe rev the motor and crank the shifter up or down. Any advice?

 

[OB_Cycle Stuff]

Factory makes a shift kit for the busa that works well. What I have done in those instances was let up off of the gass, pull the clutch in all the way, find a gear lower then ease up off the clutch and then I started to add throttle. It worked for me.

 

[OB_KawAbuser]

Adjust lever

Factory kit works great but is a several hour job as the side cover is fouled by the frame and the motor has to be tilted in frame for the installation.

 

[OB_soja1]

I had the same problem, which is quite embarassing when you have a lady on the back. What tends to work better for me is to only shift to sixth gear at 75 and higher mph. It's a lot smother at high rpm. I also hold the gear up until I know it has engaged. I never had a shift problem with my TLR but still like the busa better. The problem decreased as I went over 2000 miles.

soja1

 

[OB_Earl]

I have always used Golden-Spectro and think it is the best avaliable. I have never had the false neutral between 5 and 6 and have about 2600 miles on it now. I think all modern oils are good now though as long as you change it often. I would be concerned about that "Grinding" noise from the chain area. I have never heard that from mine.

 

[OB_gsx1300rguy]

Another thing we`ve done to help eliminate the 5-6 problem was to adjust our shifter down 1/8-1/4 it works really well.

 

[OB_John Smith]

I've got the same problem. Like the rest of you, was worse in the beginning, got better with miles (now 4000), synthetic oil, and adjusting the lever downward. But STILL, with pulling up as hard as I can, I sometimes cringe as the tach zings skyward. Is a bummer when passing on a fast 2-laner, hung out in the left lane and go to stab 6th. Is the Factory kit the best answer to this? Will that cure it for sure? Long clutch pulls and double-toeing work, but is a long interruption in power. Nothing like the slick tranny in my RF900 (GSXR1100 bottom end and tranny).

 

[DaveO]

Adjust shift lever down to get more throw. Be careful, the linkage will hit the left pipe if you go too low. Raise your shift point, this helps the MOST. Dropping the counter shaft sprocket will help this because of shorter gearing. And switching to synthetic is a good idea after broken in.

Only had it happen a few times till I figured out raising the shift point(speed) eliminated it. Or you could shift @ redline, full throttle with an electric kill....works every time...he he. My two cents.

 

[OB_SlowHand]

Haven't had the 5th to 6th problem, but the gearbox was very stiff and notchy when new. Really difficult to get back to 1st or neutral when slowing for a stop. It's been a steady, gradual improvement, and of course synthetic oil has helped. At 8000 miles it's much better. This gearbox reminds me of one I had on a '92 FJ1200. It took about 15000 miles to get fully broken in.
On bikes that have had the false neutral problem I usually clutch, hold it, then gear up rather than down. Easier on the dogs or synchros, or what have you.

 

[Guest]

I ALSO HAD SOME FALSE NEUTRALS FROM 5TH TO 6TH BUT THEY WENT AWAY AT ABOUT 2500 MILES.

PAUL

 

[OB_Jeff B.]

Seems unusual for a zuke to have tranny problems. I've ridden an fj1200 they were terrible at missing shifts. I hope the comparo is not very accurate.

 

[OB_Buffalo]

I never had a single missed shift at any rpm. Used Spectro Gold from first oil change on. I've used it a long time and I'll still buy it. I'm really surprised at all these missed shift posts. it's the first I've heard of it. My trans was very slick strait off.

 

[OB_Dingo]

I had a few false neutrals in the first 600 miles, but it seemed to be part of the break in process. I've not had them since then. I remember this was a hot topic in the beginning for this board, and the general consensus was that the false neutrals went away.

Just be ready to do a couple make up shifts in the beginning, and try not to plant your face in the rear of a cage when going to fast!!

 

[OB_SlowHand]

Jeff for the 2 individual bikes I had and have, the similarity is startling. As I said, the FJ took a long time to break in(15000 miles). Once broken in, however, and given a diet of synthetic oil it shifted pretty well.
I read somewhere that big engines require big gears, and big gears are hard to move with that tiny little shifter. Smaller bikes probably will always shift slicker,but my Busa is shifting better all of the time, and I expect that in another 5000 miles it will be fine.

 

[OB_JohnnyB]

I had the false neutrals in 5-6. I found moning the shifter lever down about 1/2 inch helped me get a moer positive shift. The false neutrals went away after about 1500 miles.