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When under fairly hard acceleration, say on a freeway onramp, my bike ('04 1150RA) is sometimes VERY reluctant to upshift from 2 to 3 or from 3 to 4. Some months back my shift lever broke leaving me to come down a mountain road in 2nd gear with clutch and brake for speed control. Could I have damaged something? Or is the transmission such that it just doesn't want to upshift when hard pressed? Never a problem up or down at 'normal' speeds.

Ralph

REFFI wrote:When under fairly hard acceleration, say on a freeway onramp, my bike ('04 1150RA) is sometimes VERY reluctant to upshift from 2 to 3 or from 3 to 4. Some months back my shift lever broke leaving me to come down a mountain road in 2nd gear with clutch and brake for speed control. Could I have damaged something? Or is the transmission such that it just doesn't want to upshift when hard pressed? Never a problem up or down at 'normal' speeds.

Ralph

Get it checked out, seems something is out of wack. It should shift just fine under load.

Definately not normal. The transmission isn't really "under load" because the clutch should be pulled in. Your problem seems to be with synchronization. Are you letting the RPMs fall too far between shifts? I can see where there would be some trouble shifting if you are accelerating aggressively, but letting the RPMs fall to near idle between shifts. If your shift / throttle release are quick, the RPMs should fall naturally into the right spot for the next gear. You can easily shift without the clutch this way.
If your technique is good and you are still having this problem, then something isn't right. Start with the easy stuff and change the transmission fluid if it hasn't been done recently. Check for metal on the drain plug.
How many miles?

If you're doing "spirited upshifts" and using the clutch, things tend to get froggy. Try timing your shifts without pulling the clutch in, just cut the throttle slightly as you shift up, the bike will handle it just fine. It can't hurt to have your clutch and tranny checked for any issues from said ride with broken shift-lever, but if there's nothing mechanical, then it's probably just shift timing. Again, in a hurry, ignore the clutch, the bike will shift beautifully without it.

My bike shifts better when riding spirited. Not sure how long you have been riding the R, but pulling the clutch in about a 1/2" and very quickly without letting RPM's down is the best way to shift. You can try that and see how it works for you. If that doesn't help, it may be time for fresh lube in the final drive and transmission. I also add about 10% moly to both. If that doesn't cure then it would be time for someone to check it out.

I agree with previous post, use very little clutch pull when spirited shifting (never tried no clutch). I discovered this myself when I first bought my 05 Roadster, I was pulling the clutch in too far and the transmission kept missing shifts, as soon as I adjusted my clutching, Voila! smooth shifts every time.

I thank you all for the input. Biting the bullet, I dropped the bike off at my local dealer and crossed my fingers. The upshot of his inspection is that there is galling on varous rotating parts of the shift mechanism and the clutch is near gone. There is also some seal leakage. I'm having it all done (but did not upgrade to the ceramic clutch). The tab will be eye-tearing, but it's cheaper than a new bike.

Ralph

Final update: I brought the bike home today and the shifting was butter-smooth. Don't ask teh price, but I'll tell you that I bought my last new bike for around the same amount of money in 1980.

Ralph

What ceramic clutch?
Am looking for a better clutch than the oem that wore out at only 32k.

Have it apart now.
Thx!

The dealer's service department offered to install what they called a ceramic clutch with better wear properties (i.e., "forever") for another $500. I just couldn't spend that kind of money on top of what it was already going to cost me.

Ralph