pops out of gear....

[MONSTER450]

alright i posted this another area but i figured i'd give it another title to catch more attention.... I have a problem when riding my new kx450f.... It pops out of gear. I can be riding in 4th and then boom it's out of gear and i am now hanging on to the nadlebars as my stomach has just hit them. It's weird, when it happens i can hit the shifter down all i want and it won't go into any gear. I need to actually stop and keep kicking it down until finally it'll find a gear. I called the dealer and they told me to bring it in, i asked what it would cost to look at it and they say, "initially it shouldn't cost anything" . I'm kinda worried, what could it be? I checked the freeplay in the clutch lever and it's all good, i look through the book and it tells me either certain parts are worn or broken.... I don't get it, sometimes it'll go great and sometimes it won't take any gear, any ideas?

~~~i went in the garage and clicked the lever all the way down and it's still in neutral.... It feels like the shifter isn't grabbing whatever it needs to grab to put it into gear... Can anyone explain how the shifter works on these? I am new to dirt bike riding and would like to know what is going on....

[robertc]

Try this: tip the bike over with the clutch cover facing up. loosen the clutch cover but dont take it off. tighten it back up and check lever free play. that might work b/c it might be disengaging under load. if that doesnt work, try new clutch plates.

[MONSTER450]

Originally Posted by robertc

Try this: tip the bike over with the clutch cover facing up. loosen the clutch cover but dont take it off. tighten it back up and check lever free play. that might work b/c it might be disengaging under load. if that doesnt work, try new clutch plates.

Thanks for the info, at this point i don't want to take anything off... i bought the bike on tuesday and first ride today and i have problems. I will take it in to the kawasaki dealer on monday. I'm hoping to find a small problem thats fixable on the outside so i can ride tomorrow

[MONSTER450]

i'm actually real tempted to take the cover off to look inside.....

[robertc]

alright. good luck and I hope it doesnt cost a fortune to fix!

[MONSTER450]

Originally Posted by robertc

alright. good luck and I hope it doesnt cost a fortune to fix!

i hope not too, i just bought a $7000 bike and i can't even ride it

[robertc]

really stupid. They better fix it cause that seems like it was put together poorly. They better not charge you, especially cause' its new.

[MONSTER450]

Originally Posted by robertc

really stupid. They better fix it cause that seems like it was put together poorly. They better not charge you, especially cause' its new.

ya thats what i'm saying. The more i think about it, the more i get irritated. I REALLY REALLY want to take the side cover off and play with the shifter. If i take it off will i be able to see how the shifter moves?

~~~also, when these are assembled, how disassembled do they come?

[robertc]

if you take the clutch cover off all you can see is the clutch plates and basket. I have never taken this off but I think the only way to see all of the components together would be to take the Right crankcase off.

[MONSTER450]

ya that right cover is what i was looking at, i can clean it up to make it look like i was never in there.... I'm thinking there is a misaligned lever or linkage in there... maybe a missed bolt?

[robertc]

the only problem I see with that would be the daeler feeling that the gasket glue had been broken before hand. they would notice that the cover would come off too easily. I guess you could act dumb and deny you did it but they might accuse you of messing with it and blaming them for putting it together wrong.

[FFRacing11x]

Guys, just take it to the daeler and DONT touch it. Let someone who is qualified and has some knowlege take care of it. I am all for someone wanting to learn how to work on their bike, but you have to at least have rudimentary skills and knowlege of what makes a motor work. Tdub

[robertc]

i say im good with everything on a bike except all the gears inside the engine. I have sucsessfully taken apart and put back together every part on my bikes in working order except thoes gears. i have even done the clutch. but i would definately pay someone to do it for me instead of guess and take apart random things.

[LoKi]

You got new boots? You sure you're not just accidentally downshifting and don't know it?

[DPW]

I would ask the question here....[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[ossagp1]

usually I dont tell anyone to take something to a dealer, but like FFR says, you have some warranty issues here. But I am really curious as to what loosening a clutch cover might do for something that pops out of gear. so from that point, since it is your money i would like a report if you bother trying it!!

i haven't seen the shift mechanism for yours,,but if you log onto any of the parts datatbases you will get a general idea of what the ratchet type mechanisms are. in some cases a loose component, missing spring on a detent etc can cause what you describe.

bikebandit.com, may show it or one for a kx two stroke so you get the idea.

usually a bike popping out of gear starts as a bent or worn shifting fork that allows the gear dogs to round off from popping out under power. not the thing that a 1 day old rig would be guilty of.

[MONSTER450]

hey thanks for all the replys. Just as a background, i am a diesel tech at a gm dealership. I have rebuilt auto trannies and such but i have never worked on a bike. I just wanted to say that so you know i'm not a complete moron :-) just new to bikes. I like to know how everything works and i am really curious as to how the trannies on these work. As of right now i am in total agreeance with the fact that it needs to go back to the dealer. It should be fixed by them as it's not something i did : If they want to charge me then i will be doing it myself. I feel that something is just misaligned. It's killing me not being able to tear into it but it's a $7000 bike that don't work


When it did work, oh my it was beautiful. So if it worked off and on then i feel it's a misalignment issue.

I unbolted the bracket that holds the clutch cable just to make sure it wasn't misadjusted and even then i still can't get it into gear. If i sit there and just keep tapping the shifter it will eventually grab and put it into first gear. Takes at least 30 taps.

As for the boot issue i thought about that too while riding and when it started popping out i made sure i had my foot out of the way. It still did it so i put regular shoes on and it continued to do it.

I will give a full report as to what happens. I read tat kawasaki has a brand new for this year " shift drum cam " i don't know what the hell that is but i bet it has something to do with my problem. Thanks again for the posts guys.

[MONSTER450]

oh, and yes i did find a parts place and i pulled up my trans parts. it sucked because it didn't show a break down of large sections it was all little pieces shown in the picture. I really want to know how this works. I will be reading through my manual and hoping i get some info.

[crazyrydermx]

The way dealers are, they will probably charge you.
There are common problems leading to this type of situation, but all have to do with wear and tear and could never, unless built wrong, mess up on a brand new bike like this.
I am trying to think of the simple things it could be, as you know I already tried helping with the clutch thing. That seems as though that would be why you could easily roll it around in gear, because that is what usually takes place to be able to do so. If the clutch adjustment is fine as you said, then it is already getting worse than you want it to be.
I know many things of the shifter have been said...the boot thing, the loose thing, but the shifter is usually the cause of the problem with the popping out of gear. There are other items such as a shifter fork, drum, etc. that I believe lead to this same problem, but as was said, these couldn't effect a bike this early.
Check ALL the easy things first, then go from there. If you get in there yourself, you are gonna be doing some oil work, too.
I can't imagine it being clutch plates at all this early, unless something went wrong when manufactured, you majorly slipped the clutch etc.
Just tell us how it goes and all
If you decide to do it yourself, make sure you get some help because you probably haven't messed with too many wet clutches.

[FFRacing11x]

It would be highly unlikely it has anything to do with the clutch. Did you by chance go down and layit on the left side hard. If so it is possible you jammed the shifter up or down hard enough to bend or break something internally.
Behind the right side cover all you will find is the shift mechanism. Cam, locator, ratchet, etc. Everything else is internal.
Exactly when did the problem start? Just riding? After a fall? Cased jump?
Tdub