My 2nd gear is worn and it pops out when ever I let off the throttle. I don't have the time or money to rebuild or swap the tranny right now. Can i still ride it and just skip second or am i risking any other damage to the bike?
2nd gear question...
Jonnygsx
1 - 20 of 32 Posts
It all depends.
My bike had trouble with 2nd gear last summer, and I rode it for a few months til I could get the time and $ together to do something about it. I didn't ride it HARD while it was messed-up though... mine was not popping out of gear though, mine was only "skipping" under hard acceleration in 2nd gear.
If you don't have any bits of metal lurking in the oilpan that used to be parts of gears and/or shift-forks, then you can probably get away with it for a short time like I did. I found it to be *extremely* frustrating to have to skip 2nd gear and baby the bike around, so I don't think I put more than 200-300 miles on mine when it was messing up.
It is a large risk to take though, and it's impossible to say for-sure if you're going to have trouble like that without pulling it apart to look at it first... and it will cost you for the gaskets/o-rings/circlips, etc, etc just to pull it out and re-assemble it... nevermind the trouble and work of getting the engine out of the frame.
I did mine the cheap and easy way - and it still ended up costing me a little over $600 just for the gaskets/o-rings/circlips,etc and gears (I replaced only the 2nd, 5th, and 1st&4th driven gears, not the drive-gears). I also replaced my shift forks, shift-drum, and shift-fork rod. I did not remove the head to get at mine, as the head gasket alone is about $40 or $50 and I can relate to being on a budget.
If you take it to a shop, expect the total cost to be near $2K depending on hourly rates.
Good luck!
My bike had trouble with 2nd gear last summer, and I rode it for a few months til I could get the time and $ together to do something about it. I didn't ride it HARD while it was messed-up though... mine was not popping out of gear though, mine was only "skipping" under hard acceleration in 2nd gear.
If you don't have any bits of metal lurking in the oilpan that used to be parts of gears and/or shift-forks, then you can probably get away with it for a short time like I did. I found it to be *extremely* frustrating to have to skip 2nd gear and baby the bike around, so I don't think I put more than 200-300 miles on mine when it was messing up.
It is a large risk to take though, and it's impossible to say for-sure if you're going to have trouble like that without pulling it apart to look at it first... and it will cost you for the gaskets/o-rings/circlips, etc, etc just to pull it out and re-assemble it... nevermind the trouble and work of getting the engine out of the frame.
I did mine the cheap and easy way - and it still ended up costing me a little over $600 just for the gaskets/o-rings/circlips,etc and gears (I replaced only the 2nd, 5th, and 1st&4th driven gears, not the drive-gears). I also replaced my shift forks, shift-drum, and shift-fork rod. I did not remove the head to get at mine, as the head gasket alone is about $40 or $50 and I can relate to being on a budget.
If you take it to a shop, expect the total cost to be near $2K depending on hourly rates.
Good luck!
Well for 2k i would buy a newer bike. I bought this thing for $500 and the only real problem is second gear. I've drained the oil and had the covers off and haven't noticed any metal specks. I don't know how long it was ridden without second gear before I got ahold of it anyways. So, I think I'll just take my chances and ride it as is for the summer then next season sell it and look for something else.
Yeah, I've put a little into it, but not much..... yet. I put a new starter clutch in causet that was out. I was going to put new sprockets, chain, and rear tire on it, but now it depends on if i'm going to keep it or not. What do I risk by riding it as is, just messing up seals etc. Nothing saftey wise though, right?
You'd need a psychic to answer that.
You're rolling the dice. If it jams up a piece of a gear in another gear, you could possibly get a grenade-like experience... it will be more explosive the faster those parts are spinning at the moment.
More likely is to starve bearings and/or cams of oil... which will also create a catastrophic failure, but pull the clutch in and call a tow-truck kind, nota grenade-kind. ...unless you spin a bearing and snap a rod and then punch a hole in the crankcase...
...OR...
maybe everything will be just fine.
You're taking a chance. I don't have my crystal ball with me to be able to tell you exactly what the odds are.
Thats what I like to hear. If i'm forced to deal with second gear I only have two options 1 sell the bike, or 2 let it sit most of the summer why I try to get the money to rebuild/replace the tranny. I assume that as these gears wear they simply have small shavings come off till they will no longer hold. I don't figure that they break. I'm going to look into replacing the tranny as the thought of an engine exploding between my legs followed by the lockup of the tranny at 80+ mph isn't very appealing.
Is there anyone else who has had any experience with riding without second. Or is there anyone who has replaced second and can tell me how there gears looked when they were replaced?
Is there anyone else who has had any experience with riding without second. Or is there anyone who has replaced second and can tell me how there gears looked when they were replaced?
it's not the "teeth" parts that cause the problem. it's the "engagement dogs" :
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...the shift-forks themselves also tend to get bent/worn:
![Image]()
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![Image]()
...and I don't have photos to show, and I'm not gonna go dig trhough boxes to find them to take photos of, but the spacers/washers/thingamabobs in-between the gears get burnt too. The shift-fork rod can get bent, and the "keyways" in the shifter-drum get worn and sloppy.
...the shift-forks themselves also tend to get bent/worn:
...and I don't have photos to show, and I'm not gonna go dig trhough boxes to find them to take photos of, but the spacers/washers/thingamabobs in-between the gears get burnt too. The shift-fork rod can get bent, and the "keyways" in the shifter-drum get worn and sloppy.
Ok, but atleast in my mechanical mind, being worn and sloppy might keep them from holding in gear, but it doesn't seem like something that could cause "catastrophic damage" If the gears were coming appart and teath/dogs were coming appart and flying around the gearbox I could see that being a problem but that isn't the case.
I must ask, have you ever heard of "catastrophic damage" actually happening from a worn second gear or were you just prophesizing. I have heard of many instances of worn second gears but no engine explosions. But then you have been in this game longer than me....
I must ask, have you ever heard of "catastrophic damage" actually happening from a worn second gear or were you just prophesizing. I have heard of many instances of worn second gears but no engine explosions. But then you have been in this game longer than me....
I've never seen it happen to a bike.
I used to work in a shipyard.
I HAVE seen the results after it happens in a reduction-gear assembly of a piece of machinery.
and "prophesizing" is the only thing that would answer your question. If you don't disassemble it and have a look, then "prophesizing" is the only kind of answers you can get.
I used to work in a shipyard.
I HAVE seen the results after it happens in a reduction-gear assembly of a piece of machinery.
and "prophesizing" is the only thing that would answer your question. If you don't disassemble it and have a look, then "prophesizing" is the only kind of answers you can get.
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factory service manual...
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I have all three of the same parts including the shift cam sitting right in front of me and all of the parts were worn at least twice as bad, especially the 5th driven gear or what have you.. the plate.. its practicly rounded.
I did a case swap when the rivet job on the chain let loose and broke the seal housing off the shifter hole and replaced the said parts while I was in there and it works fine now, a really positive feel to it.
Thats why I think youd probably be fine letting it go for at least a while. Dont forget how fast time goes though...
I did a case swap when the rivet job on the chain let loose and broke the seal housing off the shifter hole and replaced the said parts while I was in there and it works fine now, a really positive feel to it.
Thats why I think youd probably be fine letting it go for at least a while. Dont forget how fast time goes though...
I stopped by my local shop today and talked to the Suzuki tech. He said that I can ride it till the engine dies without a problem. I said the gear was worn and he described exactly what was happening before i even told him. He said once the part is worn, it may wear more, but that its not going to affect anything else. So I will continue to ride it as is till I get the cash and time to rebuild. Thanks to everyone who freaked me out for nothing!
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