2001 ZX-6R J2 gear lever/clutch problem?

[MJ]

I searched, but couldn't find anything to help me, so I hope you can.

The last two times I've been out on the bike the gear lever has felt funny. Normally I am unable to move the lever up or down without disengaging the clutch, but these last two rides I've had great difficulty getting it in first while riding.

The common situation I've noticed is I drop it into second, then release the clutch, but the gear lever still moves up and down without using the clutch instead of being solid.

At one point it wouldn't go into 1st and I was able to shift between 2nd and 3rd at slow speeds without the clutch.

When I got home I was parking the bike in the garage and I turned the ignition on, but didn't start it, and I was able to shift from 1st to neutral and vice versa without using the clutch.

I don't recall any of these 'problems' up until the last couple of rides, I thought maybe I was doing something different while changing gear, so on the last ride I was really thinking about my gear changes and still the gear lever would go limp.

I don't ride the bike hard or change gear aggressively and have ample freash oil in it (it was serviced before I collected it).

It's under warranty, so I'm going to take it back to the dealer, but I thought I'd see what everyone thinks first.

[QKENUF4U]

might have a part of the shift mechanism going bad on ya. your on the right track with taking it back to the dealer and letting them fix it.
good luck

[MJ]

I called the dealer yesterday and described the symptoms and they thought they knew what it was and asked me to come in today, so I took the bike in and they looked at it and said it was what they thought and asked me to come back in an hour.

An hour later and it was done.

There was a build of dirt and gunk at the pivot point of the gear lever causing it to get stuck on the bushes, so they've cleaned it and greased it up and it feels perfect and very smooth.

I'm glad it was nothing major.