My First Ride Part Deux
 

Sorry to repeat myself but I originally posted this just before "General" crashed on Tuesday, just in time for Fordie to accuse me of getting in some illicit practice for the rideout on Sunday:lol:
I took the new bike out on Monday night for a quick blast and found that I was unable to downshift approaching a hazard (made for an interesting roundabout manoevre in 4th) and the engine seemed to want to stall at low revs. The gear shift selector is also incredibly stiff.
Are these all features of the R or do I need to get the gear selector checked out and the tickover adjusted. The bike felt very industrial compared to my last bike (R6) but exhilarating with great sound effects at the same time. Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks
Mike

[Edited on 19-2-2004 by Michael J]

Have you checked the chain tension?
Failing that it could be a bent selector fork, is the bike new or did you get it second-hand?

ooooh yes, it sounds like a tractor and pulls like a train ....

with the R being a racebike driviative it was never set up for low speed pottering about, wring its neck, far more fun ... all the R's are like that I'm afraid ....

Its far more fun than the R6 when you get it "right" ....

Just check the gear selector hasnt seized anywhere, they do take a "positive" action to move ...

Have fun and stay shiny side up mate ....

DJ, I bought it second-hand from JHP - it's only done 1800 miles (2002 bike).
Dibble, thanks-I'll do me best!;)

Call em up then, I'm sure they'll help you out!

Sounds like a slipper clutch prob to me.

MIke - get it checked out. You should find the shift on the Duke much smoother than the R6, I reckon.

I have a new FZ6 - the engine unit on that is an R6 derivative and gear shifting, although OK, is lumpier than my 996.

Chris.

Also should have mentioned two false neutrals but won't go into neutral when you want it to. WTF! :lol:

mine gearbox was orrid til i bled the clutch through
give jhp a call he'll sort it

Mines a new 748s and from new the gear selection has been excellent, compared to the hornet before, even new all the joints had a lot of play, the duke has i think they called rose joints very positive.

All though i guess the R is a lot different

MJ, I would remove the clutch cover, the six springs and the pressure plate and check that the center nut is not loose.

The reason I say this is because my nut came loose on my slipper, I could change up easily enough but had great difficulty in changing down. Also while at islands or junctions, bike would labour because clutch was not fully disengaged.

The tickover is fairly easy to adjust.
As for the gearbox,Dukes have pretty good gearboxes in general.They can be pretty stiff when new,my 998 was the worst,but loosen up as the mileage goes up.
It sounds to me that you may have a clutch problem.

Jon that happened to me, except the nut decided to liberate itself, needed a whole new clutch, thankfully at Ducati's expense!

Thanks for all the replies guys. I phoned service dept at JHP (Geoff I think) who was very helpful. He doesn't think there is a problem because I don't seem to have a problem changing up. He said with the R, you have to almost stamp on the lever to change down. It's just part and parcel of the bike! Ditto the low rev missing. If that's so, I might think about changing to an S which is maybe a more forgiving roadbike!
Mike

sell the motor n put a 998 lump in ;)

Ya all wimps, in my day changing gear on my Gold Star with its RRT2 gear box..............blah blah blah..................................and it had a Norton clutch!:lol::lol::lol:

Kids today don't know they're born lad. Sheer Loooxury!
On a serious (for me) note, the bike is out of warranty end March so if anything needs fettling, now's the time!

BSA Goldstar DBD34, RRT2 gearbox-aaaah the smell of castrol 'R' and burnt cork-takes you back eh Rob??:lol:

John

Monty you would have loved the Brough Superior that was at Coombe, castrol r smells luvvverly :lol:

I'd consider changing to a race shift pattern where the lever bolts directly to the gear selector shaft. It'll provide far more feel and smoothness when shifting up or down. It'll "snick" into gear. I'd strongly disagree with the service guy's statement that all R's are like that.

But before changing anything, I'd definitely have the clutch operation checked thoroughly: air in the line, stack height, basket wear, friction plate wear, push rod bearing, etc.

Thanks Felix. Guess the down side is that the clutch is a wear and tear item guv!

Michael,

On my 2002R the gear selection both up and down the box feels no different to any other duke I've ridden so there is certainly something amiss.

Have you tried changing the span adjuster, if its in the nearest position the clutch can sometimes not free completely
and make changing a little notchy.

As for the stalling, yep they do catch you out occasionally:(

Pete

Hi Pete, to be honest, I'm no fettler. Engineering and I don't mix so I think I'll take some advice and get it seen to. Thanks for all the replies guys.
Mike

hey mike i can pick it up for u on sat if you want ! i'm on my way back from london can do a detour if you sort it with jhp regards mav:lol:

Thanks a lot Mav...........you have a u2u
Mike