'82 GS650G Pops out of second gear

[oode]

Well after many years away from GS s, having had a 750, 550 and 650 (in that order), after 10 years without my wheels I found a nice 650, shaftie, 18K miles on it, in good shape, so I couldn't resist.

I took a short test drive and it did nicely, I could tell the carbs needed a little attention as one cylinder would misfire until you wound it up a bit, but everything else seemed fine.

I get it home and tonight I take a little cruise around and find that accelerating up hill in second (above 4krpm) in the torquey band it pops out of gear. A little tap down on the pedal brings it back, but it's a little disconcerting, esp since I don't quite have my momo reflexes back yet....

I've never heard of GS bikes having tranny trouble, but I guess anything can happen. Have I just purchased a bike to part out, or do I just need to adjust/jiggle something.....

For reference, I had my last 650 for 5 years or so and had everything but the cases apart, so I know it pretty well.

Any help greatly appreciated. It's great to be back :-)

[waltfen]

My brothers Katana 650 does the same. Talking to an expert at a show I was told that it's a common problem as 2nd gear is on the same spline as top gear so gets more use?
Whether this is correct or not I don't know. He advised regular oil changes (remember there are 2 drain plugs), check the gear linkage as it may have worn oval and he also advised to adjust the clutch with less free play then Suzuki suggest.

[GS700E Lover]

Make sure the clutch is adjusted properly. See if it still pops out on acceleration or strain. Usually when it pops out of gear (and it is 2nd gear) that could be a sign the engagement dogs are going.

[roscoe G coltrane]

I've got the same bike as you and mine pops out of 2nd only when its wound out to 9K or above. shift at 7-8500 and its fine. I asked the same question on here a few months back and was told it may be bent shifting forks, which means splitting the cases.As long as it doesn't get any worse,
I can live with it. Hope you can get it fixed with just a clutch adjustment.
18K isn't very many miles for a GS. Mines got close to 40K, So a little wear on the tranny is expected.

[SqDancerLynn1]

It is an often debated trans problem. Some people say clutchless up shifting is fine - those are the people that end up with 2th gear problems
at 15-20K miles. Then their are the people that use the clutch as it was designed and they go 50-60K or more without trans problems

[chef1366]

Are you getting a good and true shift?

If that's not your problem your dogs are worn and the tranny needs pulled and second gear replaced.

[mushman]

When mine was popping out of (second) gear I eventually removed the motor and split the cases in search of a bent shifter fork. No bent fork but what I did find was a broken cam stopper. The only way to know is to disassemble and look around in there. Replaced that and since it was all apart, for good measure had the gears undercut by Fast By Gast. The culprit was the busted cam stopper though and since then there have been no problems.

mushman

82 GS1100EZ
95 Daytona 1200
05 KLR 650

[oode]

How does the shifter work??

So, this begs the question, how exactly does the shifting one these things work??? I know in cars how the shafts mesh with forks and move the right gears around, but how does popping that little foot peg up and down move the gears through their sequence???

Also, update on the problem, after it pops out of second if I rev back down without touching anything it auto shifts to third, didn't know that could happen???? Does this also point to "cam stopper" problem????

(Not looking forward to dropping the engine solo, so trying to get my self psyched up for and easy fix of some sort :-)

Thanks

[chef1366]

Get a maual or go to a site with a microfiche and have a look.
The shifting to third is a new one on me. Maybe you have bent shifter forks. Ever have it stuck in neutral and slammed on the shifter until it went into first?

[hampshirehog]

First thing to do is change the oil and give it an oil flush - a small chance that it could be some crud in there that's causing the problem and , although you'll be lucky if it is, it's always worth trying this first before going to further expense / time. (Some Hondas respond very well to this by the way).

I'm not familiar with the 650 but I'd guess that you could also remove the stopper cam & spring without too much hassle. (nos 18-20 on attached). These can get worn / crudded up but are easily salvageable with a clean and smooth off.

After that it's delving in to the box itself with the engine out and split. Part no 16 on attached can play up so check that very carefully - sometimes they look fine but aren't so you have to test them.

[Nessism]

Behind the clutch hub on the left side of the engine, you will find the shift drum star wheel and the detent wheel. On one 450 I had the detent wheel came loose and the bike shifted poorly. You need to pull the clutch hub off to access the parts.

Other possible causes for this problem could be either worn engagement dogs on the gears or a damaged shift fork - the engine cases need to be split to make this type of repair. Popping out of second gear under hard acceleration is a common issue on many motorcycle models but the GS line has been pretty solid. As others have mentioned this is typically caused by incomplete shifts up through neutral and into second resulting in worn engagement dogs on the gears. Bent shift forks can also occur if the rider forces the shifter too much.

Good luck and hope it's just the star wheel.

[oode]

First thing to do is change the oil and give it an oil flush - a small chance that it could be some crud in there that's causing the problem and , although you'll be lucky if it is, it's always worth trying this first before going to further expense / time. (Some Hondas respond very well to this by the way).

I'm not familiar with the 650 but I'd guess that you could also remove the stopper cam & spring without too much hassle. (nos 18-20 on attached). These can get worn / crudded up but are easily salvageable with a clean and smooth off.

After that it's delving in to the box itself with the engine out and split. Part no 16 on attached can play up so check that very carefully - sometimes they look fine but aren't so you have to test them.

I assume these can be gotten to from the side case??? remove clutch and dig in??? I'll check my manuals. They are really confusing though as it assumes any tranny work you do is with the engine apart and upside down. Even Clymer doesn't reference any on bike shifting stuff. I'll take another look at the cam stopper and see if I can get to it, it's been mentioned twice now, that's a good indication:-)..

[oode]

OK,
so I 've searched and studied the manuals and pictorials and I can sort of see how things work. One thing I can't figure out is how my bike can auto shift up from second to third. The cam stopper would explain in partly, but wouldn't that effect all gears??

I also cant' tell exactly how much of this I can get to from the side.

Anyone dealt with this before?? I"m all ears....

Thanks in advance......

Don

[Nessism]

You need to pull off the RH engine cover over the clutch, remove the 6 screws holding in the clutch plates and remove the inner workings, remove the large nut holding the clutch hub on (an air impact gun helps a great deal with this), and lastly remove the clutch hub. Once all this is off, you can see the star wheel and detent arm which controls the shift drum rotation. Hopefully, the detent arm is loose or something to this effect.

Good luck.