i got my bike used with 3500 miles and have had it for about 2 months now. ive recently ran into a slight problem on 4 different occasions. its mainly when im coming to a stop light. i would downshift all the way to first, but it wont click into neutral. therefore, im stuck at the light holding the clutch in on first gear the whole time. sometimes rocking the bike back and forth a few inches seem to do the trick and it will go into neutral.

has anyone else encountered this problem? maybe i need to adjust my clutch cable? or is something about to give way?

 

your bike has a neutral finder. go all the way to first then shift up. it wont shift into second but into neutral. if youre moving and you shift up it goes to second. also if youre in second you can push down just a little bit and it should go into neutral. hope this helps otherwise i dont know the problem

 

I am not sure if the 06 6r trans is any different as far as being picky to find neutral. At a full stop, from 1st to neutral is just a touch with your foot. Out of curiousity, at what idle speed are you operating at?

Welcome to KF!

 

I'm used to bikes without the Kawasaki positive neutral finder, so out of habit I shift from 2nd to neutral just before I stop. It should be easy as long as the wheels are still turning slowly.

Don't forget to stop on the rear brake, and start off with it covered, so hitting neutral while the bike is still rolling saves some of the swapping from one foot to the other.

Some riders believe that it's better to stay in gear with the clutch in at a light or intersection as a precaution against being rear ended. This is wrong, but the arguments either way are not clear cut.

All that apart, check that the clutch isn't dragging a little - excessive cable free play is a common offender. If you're not too sure of the bike's service history, give it an oil change.

Rob

 

change your oil!!! the trans and motor both run off the motor oil. dirty oil can cause shifting issues.

 

well.. my oil was just changed at the kawi dealer. before coming to a stop i usually drop it all the way down to first w/ the clutch inn and when i come to a complete stop at the light ill put it into neutral, while waiting for the light. the lights where im at are usually long, so keeping it in gear and holding inn the clutch is a real pain.

i checked my clutch cable last night and there was almost 1/3 of an inch of free play at the clutch lever. i tightened it up at clutch adjustment dial at the end of the lever to where i could slip a dime in and out of it freely. i hadn't test it out yet, but hopefully that does the trick.

did i do the clutch adjustment cable, right? or is there another set dial on the other end of the clutch cable that i need to adjust.

 

That's the correct way to come to a stop.

Your cable free play was far too much and probably causing your problem. I don't know thick a dime is (only ever use notes if I'm in the States lol) but there should be about 1 - 2 mm free play at the cable. The adjuster is a barrel adjuster on the end of the cable where it goes into the lever, and it's secured by a thin, large diameter lock nut.

Don't confuse the adjuster for the cable with the adjuster on some bikes that sets the position of the lever relative to the bar. This is usually a big shiny spring loaded thing on top of the lever.

Rob

 

my 6 and on occasions, my 7 do this.. it's kinda the norm. simply clutch drag and trying to movve everything apart.

if the bikes history involved racing, theres the possiblility that a race cut was done to the dogs and that'll make shifting out of a gear a little different. normally, it makes it damn near impossible for it to slip out of gear, but it depends on the cut angle and oil and idle speed and all as well..

clutch adjustment is usually a personal preference.. i run everything nice and tight on mine.. barely ANY slop at all on my cable-clutched bikes.. on the 7 (hydraulic) i'm kinda stuck unless i shim the pushrod a bit. lol

good luck and welcome to KF!