Did a search and I seem to be the first with this problem.

I bought a used 2008 D-Tracker 250X, the fuel injected version of the KLX250SF, with 1000 miles on it. It was clearly never dropped and it never overheats. It now has about 1500 miles on the odo.

When I'm at an intersection waiting, I'm usually waiting in neutral. My problem is half the time the bike won't go from neutral into first gear or up to second gear. It won't engage a gear unless I roll the bike forward or back a foot and it clicks into gear. This is dangerous because I have cars behind me wanting to rear end me.

This is my 4th motorcycle so naturally I checked the shift lever is good and the clutch cable tension is maxed out so there's no slack. The clutch engages within the first 25% of lever travel but even if I pull the lever all the way to the grip, it still has this problem.

When I'm moving along it has no problems downshifting or upshifting with minimal lever pull through all the gears and finding neutral is never a problem. The ECU is derestricted so I've tracked the bike and the tranny works fine under racetrack conditions. It has never skipped or accidentally popped out of neutral or gear either. It's only when I'm stopped in neutral and want to start moving it won't engage, half the time.

I brought it to the Kawi dealer and they changed the oil and reduced the idle speed from ~1400rpm to ~1000 rpm. I thought this helped but then the engine died out on me at an intersection so I raised RPM to 1200 again. What is the standard idle speed on these bikes? FI or carb, it should idle around the same since they have the same flywheel and internal friction.

Since this is the latest iteration of KLX the shift star should be updated.
The original owner was older and said he had several motorcycles in the past so I figured he wasn't too harsh on the break in. Any of you guys have this problem and it went away after a few thousand miles? Is it even possible to damage this tranny? I imagine some of you have been harsh shifting your trannys but have you ever actually damaged it?

Is there anything else external I can check or will I have to let Kawi rip the entire tranny apart? Yep, it's out of warranty.

Thanks in advance, Ted

 

Unlike car gearboxes, a motorcycle gearbox actually requires that the gears are turning during a gear shift to guarantee that the gear engages.
Usually this is not a problem since there is enough drag in the wet clutch that even with clutch all the way pulled in, the gears are still turning when in neutral.
(that's why many bikes give a nice loud clunk when shifting from neutral to first even with clutch all the way in)

But if you have adjusted the clutch cable to minimum, or zero, slack and are running thin oil I guess you can get to a point where in a hot engine the gears completely stop when clutch is pulled in in neutral.
Instead of pushing the bike to make gears engage, let out the clutch just a tiny bit to get the gears slightly turning.

BMW bikes with dry clutch (zero drag) quite often require that slight feathering of the clutch to make the first gear to engage when sitting at stand still.

--
Mikko

 

Sweet, I learned something new today. I consider myself a pretty technical guy working on cars and bikes for 20 years but I never knew that about bike trannys. I never ran into this problem with my now gone CBR600F4i, Brutale, Z1000, or Minitrails.

I actually don't know what oil the Kawi dealer put in other than it is a semi-synthetic. They don't sell full synthetic here at the Bangkok dealer which is weird since they sell the ZX10R here. Maybe I'll change the oil to a thicker weight so I can have it spin those gears more in neutral.

Tomorrow I'll try a double clutch action and see if that works, but if anyone else has ideas please throw em out. You know I don't want to pay to rip a tranny apart at the Kawi dealer.

 

I agree with the slight release of the clutch lever, to get things "moving". I have to do that on my CB 919 at times, too.

One other thing...I NEVER sit at a light in neutral. I'm watching all directions ready to lurch out of my spot if need be due to a wreck, or someone running the light, etc. Never do I sit in neutral on the road....

 

Solution! You guys were right, I couldn't wait so I rolled out for a 30 minute ride and its clearly the oil that's the problem. If I pull the clutch in and out right before I shift, it clunks into gear. You'd think since my bike is actually manufactured in Thailand that Kawi's largest dealer here would know the oil they sell is crap in my bike. Morons.

So now the question is what brand and rating of oil are you guys putting in your engines to avoid this problem? I suppose this is directed to people in the southern States as its always 90 degrees here.

I hear ya Blackheart, in the US I usually stayed in 1st gear at lights but Bangkok is too different to do that. The shortest lights are 1 minute and many are 3+ minutes long. They have countdown timers so I'm not exaggerating. There's just no way I'm going to hold a clutch that long. It's also very unlikely a car will run a red light quickly here as there's too much traffic to go anywhere fast and there's a police station at every major intersection here. Besides all the traffic, most cars in BKK drive very slow and cautious because cars are relatively very expensive. The average Thai, whose average household income is $5000 a year, treats a $20K Honda Civic like you would a Rolls Royce. Imports are ridiculous with 200-300% taxes. A Nissan 370Z is $180K here and even a Mini Cooper is $70K. Plus all the locals have grown up looking for bikers. So although its crazy congested and people stop and switch lanes everywhere, they generally do it very slowly. My 135cc scooter is always faster than most cars here.

 

Quote "So now the question is what brand and rating of oil are you guys putting in your engines to avoid this problem? I suppose this is directed to people in the southern States as its always 90 degrees here."


For what it's worth.
I have the 09 KLXs and use the Castrol Power 1 GPS 4t.
I was unsure what to use so called KAWASAKI NEW ZEALAND and this is what they recommended.
Kawasaki in Thailand will probably have their own ideas however I believe the Castrol GPS 4T oil is good.

 

FWIW, my bike does it often (doesn't want to go from neutral to first), I've never been concerned by it. Slight release of the clutch lever is the technique I use.

Same thing if I try to downshift multiple gears while the bike is not moving fast enough: for example, approaching an intersection in sixth speed, and trying go reach first only when speed is 20km or less: sometimes it will stick in a gear and I have to release the clutch shortly to pursue down gearing. This seems normal to me.

I've had street bikes long time back, some of them doing that also, and no tranny problem in any of them.

 

My bike does that almost all the time. My ninja does it occasionally, my old R6 the same, and every dirt bike i ever owned did it just as much as my KLX.

Nature of the beast i always thought.

 

Glad you've figured it out. Rotella 15w-40 is one of my favorites, BUT, when I find ANY synthetic 20w-50 on sale, I buy it. I've not yet found one that has friction modifiers, so, they run fine in a wet-clutch system. I don't try to extend the oil change interval, though....

 

I would never be in neutral at a stop light. As you roll to a stop you should be quick shifting down into first from higher gears. But in case you forgot, just hold in the clutch and put your foot on the shifter and release the clutch half way and it will pop right in. It just takes some practice. I had to tell a gal that borrowed my wife's bike last weekend not to sit there pounding on the shift lever, once I showed her how effortless it was to do this procedure she was amazed.