RSV4 with a sloppy gear change?

[Mad Dave]

hi all,

ive got an original 09 Factory and I swapped bikes with a friend last night, he's got a 59 plate Factory with a few more miles on than mine. The thing that struck me most was his transmission just seemed so much tighter and crisper than mine, from the moment I knocked it into first it just felt much sharper than mine. What could cause this? I noticed his chain is a bit tighter than mine (mines adjusted to the specified 30mm) but this shouldn't make much difference when stationary? Anything I can do tighten it up at all? His gear shifts all through the range are crisper than mine are. My chain and sprockets are good, the front sprocket is brand new. I'm running Gilles VCR rearsets with an HM Plus SS Quickshifter but I recall the gear change always being as sloppy, even with the standard kit.

thanks in advance,

Dave

[jjones]

Change the engine oil.

[Mad Dave]

Hadn't thought of that. The oil has only done about 2k miles but it's 5w40, whereas my mate changed his oil yesterday and put 15w50 in. Do you think it could be as simple as that?

[trickywoo]

Try cleaning your chain and using the same lube he does.

I tried wd40 chain wax a while ago and my shift quality went to hell.

Also how is your alignment? I've got a laser to align the chain and the smoothness with just a few mill of adjustment to true is amazing.

Your Cush drive could also be shot.

[Mad Dave]

trickywoo said:

Try cleaning your chain and using the same lube he does.

I tried wd40 chain wax a while ago and my shift quality went to hell.

Also how is your alignment? I've got a laser to align the chain and the smoothness with just a few mill of adjustment to true is amazing.

Your Cush drive could also be shot.

Chain is clean and well lubed with WD40 Chain Lube (not the wax, the thin lube) and the Cush drive, I believe, is fine - the rear sprocket carrier is certainly a tight fit.

I checked alignment yesterday but admittedly I aligned it according to the lines on the swing arm and I don't know how accurate they are. How easy are the laser alignment tools to use?

[trickywoo]

Laser tool is really easy. Hardest bit is working out which adjuster to lengthen or shorten but you get used to what's best quickly. I used to mess around with parallel string an a ruler method but the laser is so much quicker and easier.

It does sound a bit like your box is iffy though. Clutch cable properly adjusted?

[Mad Dave]

Thanks mate. I'll have a look into getting a laser aligner. I've no idea if the clutch is adjusted correctly, I wouldn't know how to do it! It's cable operated so it wouldn't surprise me if the cable had stretched in 6ish years

[Steve Bass]

double cck any rose/ball joints in your linkages.
See if the slack is in the linkage or the gearbox itself.
Check the gear shaft for movement other than in the rotational direction. Check it's tight on the gear shaft, that the splines aren't moving against eachother causing he slop.

[Pravus1]

I've just fitted a giles shift stabiliser to my tuono and the shifts do seem to be more direct. Worth a pop at £50 and 5 minutes of your time

[Mad Dave]

Steve Bass said:

double cck any rose/ball joints in your linkages.
See if the slack is in the linkage or the gearbox itself.
Check the gear shaft for movement other than in the rotational direction. Check it's tight on the gear shaft, that the splines aren't moving against eachother causing he slop.

There's about 1-2mm movement in/out, is that acceptable? It's certainly less than on my zx6r and that shifts fine.

To add insult to injury I spotted it's leaking some oil from somewhere on the left side of the engine, and then I folded the mirror up and the fecker snapped off!!!!

[Steve Bass]

Mad Dave said:

Steve Bass said:

double cck any rose/ball joints in your linkages.
See if the slack is in the linkage or the gearbox itself.
Check the gear shaft for movement other than in the rotational direction. Check it's tight on the gear shaft, that the splines aren't moving against eachother causing he slop.

There's about 1-2mm movement in/out, is that acceptable? It's certainly less than on my zx6r and that shifts fine.

To add insult to injury I spotted it's leaking some oil from somewhere on the left side of the engine, and then I folded the mirror up and the fecker snapped off!!!!

Sorry Dave, missed this. Was travelling.
Where's the movement? Radial or Axial??
Have you checked the rod ends etc??