What do you mean "2nd gear going out"? Does it have a problem during shifting, or does the second gear stop working all together and the bike needs the tranny serviced? There was no call back on it, so if you can provide some more info. about it, I'll be sure to watch out for it in the future.

The next question, is what can be done to avoid such 2nd gear issues? Are there any upgrades that can be installed to help avoid such problems?

And on a separate topic, in your upgrades list for your bike, you list "sec flies removed", and "ape manual cct". Can you please explain to me what these items are, and what they do for the bike? Thanks.

 

the problem with 2nd gear on the 05-06 636 is when you shift into 2nd gear and roll onto the throttle it will sometimes pop out of gear, you can install a factory pro shift star to prevent this problem but just keep a eye out for these problems, sec flies is when you remove the top flies inside the throttle bodies, lets more air inside and improves throttle responce, the ape manual cct is a good upgrade over the stock cct, kawi motors are notorious for the noisy engines so by upgradeing you will elimanate alot of that noise

 

768 RYDA, Thanks for taking the time to explain things. It took me awhile to figure out that you were talking about the "cam chain tensioner". I'm still a newbie to all this stuff! It is some really useful information, that would have been appreciated if the dealer selling the bike would have mentioned. (Then again, saying to a potential buyer that they might hear some noises coming from the engine, might just scare them off!) The other info you provided about the throttle bodies is good to know too. And if my bike pops out of gear going into second, I will be ordering the "shift star kit" from factory pro right away! I just wanted to say thanks for the info. Gotta go, I'll check back later!

 

no problem, glad i could help you out & if you have any other questions feel free to ask

 

Good Looking bike! I just purchased an 03 636 for my 1st bike. So far so good! Just waiting on the weather to get better... How much is your bike lowered, and howed you do the rear?

 

When lowering a bike, the most common way is to get a rear lowering link, (it is just a flat piece of metal that attaches to the rear of the bike) then the front forks can be adjusted to match. Remember, any adjustment made to one end of the bike, must also be made to the other end. I ride a 2005 ZX6R, and although it is a bit tall and I can't put both feet flat on the ground, I will not lower it, as it will affect the overall handling and ground clearance when cornering. Riders who drag race their bikes have different needs, and so they lower the bike to cut through the wind, and keep the power and front wheel on the ground more. Figure out what type of rider you are, or want to be, and then adjust your bike accordingly. One more thing. Try adjusting the sag on your bike to your weight. This might give you enough adjustment to touch the ground without having to install a lowering link.

 

thanks. Im a dragracing fan, but have no plans of racing the bike...have a car(mustang) for that. The main purpose of the bike is for transportation on pretty days. But my dilema is i'm just too short to ride it comfortably. How do I find info on adjusting the sag?

 

thx man, the 03-04 636's are some bullet proof bikes... but i have my bike lowered a inch up front & 2 inches in the back, i slid the forks down thru the tripple trees on the front & use the strap to lower the front end more at the strip & use adjustable lowering links for the rear

 

when i lowered my bike it didnt really affect the handeling at all, if you do it right you want see any affects, i can still drag a knee if i want, lift the front wheel up & ride the GF on occasions

 

Thanks for clarifying that for me. I might have my info. a little off. From what I understood, lowering the bike too much from its' engineered settings can cause certain handling problems. One being ground clearance. Another, possibly more common problem would be if the bike was lowered using only a fixed lowering link on its' own. This would allow the rider to touch the ground as they want to, but also this would change the balance of the bike. Most bikes carry around 51 and 52 per cent of its weight on the front wheel. If one was to lower the back only, they would have moved a significant amount of the weight towards the rear wheel. This would increase rear tire grip during hard acceleration, but will cost the rider a lot of confidence in what the front of the bike is doing. Especially in the wet or during hard cornering. They would notice a vague feeling in the front, or maybe even lose control if the pavement surface is compromised by moisture, sand, dirt, or whatever when fast cornering. Dropping only the back also changes the rake and trail of your bike's stock front suspension geometry. As the rear is lowered, the rake angle of your forks increases, slowly turning your bike into a chopper, with all the handling traits that go along with it, namely a large increase in effort to initiate turns, and disrupted manners when braking while leaned over. This, combined with the reduced weight on the front end, makes for a bike that handles pretty miserably and you may lose any riding confidence that you gained from being able to put your feet down. My concern with some lowering links, is that they move the wheel way up in its travel without altering the starting point in the stroke of the shock. ( If you hit a really big bump you will bottom out quicker than bikes without the lower link.) Even worse, if the adjustment made with the lower link is too great, the rear tire could damage the plastic underbelly of the tail section. Especially if pre-load is backed off. My point is that keeping the bike correctly balanced should be the main goal. If that means safely tri-podding at a stop light, instead of being flat footed, then I would do it. Obviously you have kept the right balance for your bike 768ryda, and that is great! I wasn't sure how to successfully achieve it, so I left well enough alone. Now that I know it's possible though, I might look into dropping mine a little bit too!