Kawasaki Motorcycle Forums banner

Transmission trouble??

2 reading
2.4K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  soc_monki  
#1 ·
So, every once in awhile, I've had a false neutral with my ZX-14. I've noticed lately that it tends to be going from 4th to 5th. It happened again today, went to shift to 5th, let out the clutch, twisted the throttle back up a little and the revs shot up with the distinct 'clunk clunk clunk' I hear whenever I miss the gear. So I pulled in the clutch, pushed it up into 5th...and continued on (shifting to 6th shortly after and cruising the 80 remaining miles home as usual).

Well I noticed in first gear at low speeds during the trip, I'm hearing the 'clunk clunk clunk' until speed is increased enough, or I stop the bike. I have noticed this, much less pronounced, in the past...but thought I just had the chain out of adjustment. Now I'm fairly certain it is the transmission. I don't believe it to be the clutch since there's plenty of feel, and it is still quite smooth when at speed and slowly disengaging and engaging it.

Anyone have any ideas what is going on? I'm at 7500 miles on the bike (doing the service myself tomorrow). Honestly, I have very little knowledge of manual transmissions in general...much less bike transmissions. Bike is still under warranty, so I'll be taking it in to have it checked, but I like to have an idea of what it could be rather than taking a vehicle in blind.
 
#3 ·
I'm not sure if I trust my dealer or not. Its not that they are bad guys, its that they are a farm implement dealer first and foremost. I know they can't change motorcycle tires, I have to go to an independent shop for that...so that doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Anyway, I did quite an extensive search last night for ZX-14 transmission issues and came up with pretty much nothing. Everything I found said it was a very stout and smooth transmission. The transmission isn't stuck in a gear (read a few posts about that), its not slipping out of gear...only thing is it requires a little more force to put it into 5th than any other gear (sometimes)...and the knocking in first at very low speed. Not sure if I'm being paranoid or what.

If my back wasn't acting up, I'd take it for a ride with the fresh oil and clean chain (I just did the 7500 mile service) to see if its still doing it. If it was, I'd go ahead and take it to the dealer.
 
#4 ·
Definately take it in. It sounds like a broken fork. That clunk you hear could be a portion of the fork being batted around in your case. The longer you wait the more damage you'll do.
 
#5 ·
What if I don't hear any clunk after riding it today for 40 miles?

After doing the 7500 mile service this morning, I hopped on the bike and headed up towards my dealer. There was nothing...no noise, no vibration, certainly no clunking. Shifting was butter smooth again (even going into 5th).

That oil had been in there since the 600 mile service (I tend to follow the owners manual rather than hearsay)...but I'm guessing that is far too long. Think I'll shorten up my oil change intervals to 3000 miles...if the noise or feeling come back, my dealer's service department knows there may be an issue, so I'll pretty much be able to take it straight in.
 
#6 ·
ouch...600 mile service oil stretched to 7500 miles? WAY too long IMO! i know the manuals say to have 7500 intervals (at least on my 6r) but thats too long in engines like these IMO, unless youre running something like Amsoil, and even then i would get oil analysis at 3000 and change, and when the results come back and say you can go longer then stretch it to 4500, analyze again, etc. i know a dealer for Amsoil on the ZXforums said he goes 10,000 miles, and analysis says its fine...but id have to do my own testing and 10,000 miles just seems...insane.

i use Mobil 1 and switch at 3,000. actually did at 2,000 this last time because i was going on a trip and would have been way over but itll be 3,000 this next time. i think you just waited too long to change the oil and it wasnt lubricating well enough. old oil can make the tranny do weird things!
 
#7 ·
Meh...figured even the old school recommendation on cars was 6000 miles between oil changes if highway driving (the 3000 mile recommendation was based on in town driving)...didn't seem that far off. After all...they have to warranty the bike if there are any issues...and more oil changes give them more opportunities for their dealers to perform service on the bike (and make more $$$$).

But, she clearly doesn't like that...so more frequent oil changes it is!
 
#8 ·
It was definitely the old oil. Even on my prehistoric '03 500R (design-wise) I could feel the difference in shifting after doing oil changes every 2.5k miles. Change your oil every 3k miles and you'll be fine. These engines rev high relative to cars so by halving any car engine maintenance numbers you know that you're erroring on the side of caution.
 
#9 ·
It was definitely the old oil. Even on my prehistoric '03 500R (design-wise) I could feel the difference in shifting after doing oil changes every 2.5k miles. Change your oil every 3k miles and you'll be fine. These engines rev high relative to cars so by halving any car engine maintenance numbers you know that you're erroring on the side of caution.
Well I figure (now :lol: ) on top of that, the oil is being used for the transmission and clutch...not just the engine (as in a car). Glad to hear you could feel the difference with old oil...puts my mind a bit more at ease.
 
#10 ·
yea, i was going to say the oil is used for both the engine and tranny/clutch so its a good idea to change it earlier than recommended. i even felt a difference when i changed at 2000 miles this last time! not much, but a little.