Shifting issue

[Cormanus]

It may be interesting, but it won’t be fun out there in the garage.

[Tev62]

My young lads 2004 EX250F was dragging the clutch and it only had 6,700 miles on the clock. Regardless of mileage these springs are constantly under compression, even at rest so age is a factor. The service book gives a minimum free length of spring, everyone was under that limit. Changed the springs and hey presto, drag gone. While I was there it was an easy check to see if there was any clutch plate warp (both types), all was well on that front.

[The Gecko_imp]

Hi Corm, don't know how far you have gotten into your solving your problem since your initial post is already a few days old. With all the good advice I am sure the problem is gone (soon). But in case it is not, my neighbor has just rebuilt his clutch (the friction plates on his Kawasaki were worn out after just under 12,000 miles ! - probably a material defect showing just days after his warranty expired). I had a chance to watch him doing it, it was much easier than I thought. Why do I mention it ? Because 150,000 km is no joke, and you may not be lucky with just a fluid change or some lub. If you can't do it, fair enough, it cannot be too expensive if your preferred mechanic writes fair invoices. The parts are not too expensive either.
Good luck !!

[Cormanus]

Thanks Gecko, m in sc and all. Been distracted with other things, but will get to oil and fluid changes this week. I’ll report back when done and tested.

Gecko, did you see I’d met up with the [url=http://www.cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=19065&pid=347149#pid347149]culinary branch of your family?

[The Gecko_imp]

Thanks Gecko, m in sc and all. Been distracted with other things, but will get to oil and fluid changes this week. I’ll report back when done and tested.

Gecko, did you see I’d met up with the [url=http://www.cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=19065&pid=347149#pid347149]culinary branch of your family?

No, I missed it. Thanks for the photo, will forward it to the Huntsville cousins. Enjoy the rest of the post as much

[Cormanus]

I finally got around to changing the brake and clutch fluid as well as the engine oil and filter. Went for a decent ride afterwards and the engine got pretty hot. Seemed to me the shifting problem was still there. I guess that means pulling the clutch out. The question for me is what will happen if I do nothing, at least for the time being?

[The Gecko_imp]

So ... my 2011 CB1100 is 13 years old, has more than 150,000 kms on the clock, is still going strong, and I have no complaints. Except, when it's been ridden for a while, and the engine is really hot, and the bike is stationary, it become difficult to shift into neutral from 1st or 2nd. It can also require more effort than when the engine is cooler to shift from 2nd to 1st when stationary. I also think that when this occurs there is the faintest creep forward when the bike is in gear: it can require more effort to push it backwards than when it is in neutral.

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Hi Corm, if this description is still correct, and there're no other complaints, ... I would just keep riding and do nothing for now. You can live without Neutral in and out of the garage, on the street, and at the traffic light for sure. When at a longish red light and you don't want to hold the clutch - like at road works - just flip that kill switch (that big red THING under your right thumb) and save gas. Even shifting back into 1st at the stop is hardly needed. The CB1100 launches just fine in 2nd. Fix the problem ONLY when it gets really worse.
Don't blame your baby, 150,000 km is no joke.

[Cormanus]

Thanks m in sc and The Gecko. Rebuilding the master and slave cylinders would be a brand new experience for me, but I think I’ll give it a go some time in the not-too-distant future. Can’t hurt, I guess.

Should have said thanks again for all the help on changing fluids. It helped.

[peterbaron]

Thanks m in sc and The Gecko. Rebuilding the master and slave cylinders would be a brand new experience for me, but I think I’ll give it a go some time in the not-too-distant future. Can’t hurt, I guess.

Should have said thanks again for all the help on changing fluids. It helped.

On the road again......

"And our way is on the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
.... ......... .........
And I can't wait to get on the road again"

[GoldOxide_imp]

Thanks m in sc and The Gecko. Rebuilding the master and slave cylinders would be a brand new experience for me, but I think I’ll give it a go some time in the not-too-distant future. Can’t hurt, I guess.

Should have said thanks again for all the help on changing fluids. It helped.

That is good, Cormanus.

Perhaps when high mileage clutch fluid got too hot, behaviour got funky?

I had this happen on a 1984 CB750S. The clutch had to cool down to resume "typical" behaviour, but it did serve as a warning regarding fluid health.