[Author Index] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: First gear



I have a 99 ST with around 8000 miles on it at this point.  More miles soon, once
the snow goes away  :-).  At first, the gear box was very notchy with what seemed
like huge spaces between the upper gears causing numerous false neutrals.  The
real neutral also seemed hard to locate especially from first gear.  After running
the break in oil to regular MC oil at 600 miles the shifting became smoother.
After the 6000 mile and changing to full synthetic, the shifting became smooth as
silk.  Much smoother than my Nighthawk S, and worlds of difference from the
Virago.  I still occasionally find a false neutral, but have chalked it up to lazy
shifting.

I ran across the following in the latest Rider issue's Tech Q&A.  I don't have any
experience with the workings of  motorcycle transmissions.  I also realize that
the question is about an older Thunderbird, but the answer seems to lump all
Triumphs into one pot.  Any comments?

Q:   I have a 1995 Triumph Thunderbird....  The bike has an annoying tendency to
jump out of second gear into neutral on occasion......

A:  Here's the deal with Triumph transmissions:  The gear-shifting drum is held
with not one, but two detent arms with stout springs.  Shifting is not
particularly heavy, but you do have to be positive when swapping gears, especially
when going from first to second.  Employing two detent arms ensures that the shift
drum can't budge a hair, slightly unlocking the gear engagement dogs and causing
wear.  Triumph transmissions are getting quite the reputation for toughness, and
gear failures are unheard of on the street and rare on the racetrack.  You might
want to try moving the shift lever down one spline in order to get more boot
leverage behind a gear change.

Dan Wallander
Santa Fe


     *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
      The ST/RS Mailing list is sponsored by Jack Lilley Ltd.
          http://www.TriumphNet.com/st/lilley for more info
   http://www.TriumphNet.com/st for ST, RS and Mailing List info

=-=-=-= Next Message =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=