2ns gear problems

[Quickling]

I have an 06 katana 750 bought new and now it has 7000 miles on it.

Somewhere around 2000 miles it would "grind" going from 1st to 2nd. And only from 1 to 2, never any other gear or from 2 to 1.

It does not matter if I granny shift, speed shift, or what rpm range I shift.. somewhere around 30% of my shifts from 1st to 2nd will sound like they grind and I can feel a vibration in the shift lever accompanying the noise. Sometimes (rarely) it will grind then drop into neutral.

I have had three dealers inspect this problem and all have claimed the clutch is not set.. they set it to how they think it should be and the problem does not improve or worsen.

Suzuki told me that the problem was not covered under warranty (when I had it) and that it would take approximately 11 hours to pull the tranny apart (about 1100 bucks) just to diagnose, without parts.

Anyone have any input on this? I am stumped... and starting to not want to ride her.

[steves]

That's interesting. I've not really read about 2nd gear failures in the 98+ generation of machines.

Are you perhaps not shifting "swiftly" enough? Might also be worthwhile to look into an aftermarket shift indent spring.

[arsenic]

that I certainly agree with, also it's grinding not because of the transmission I don't think, I believe it's more of a clutch issue.

[Quickling]

What is a shift indent spring and where would I find an aftermarket one? Secondly, how much would I expect to pay for said service.

Sorry to seem ignorant, I normally do my own engine work when needed, but transmissions are out of my bag of tricks.

[arsenic]

the indent spring is not a transmission thing. Take the oil pan off, it's right there. The CyberPoet sells the Factory Pro shift kit.

[rexazz2]

Make sure you are firmly shifting
" my neck hurts when I do this " well don't do that

I have a 04 750 and have played around a bit with oil and think that tranny shifts better on mobil 1 mx4t 10w40 it is full synthetic and costs me $14 /lt ,apposed to Belray semi synthetic at $ 24 for a 4.4lt jug that the stealer sells

I like to change the oil and filter regularly but not a fan of the nearly $60 hit to do it

[Quickling]

Thanks for the advice. Gears 3-6 seem to shift beautifully with just a toe...

I started pulling up on 2nd gear and if I pull up pretty hard, then it does not grind.

So then my question is: Why do I have to pull up really hard in 2nd to shift properly while all other gears require almost no effort?

[mrwhipper]

Ok, I don't know if this is helpful or not but I am new to Suzuki and Kats. I have always been a Yamaha person. My 97 600 Kat does bang a bit into first and second,and if I try to shift from netural to 1st slowly it will grind a bit. I went to my local dealer explaining my concerns about this and they informed me not to worry. I am not huting the bike. They told me to pre load the shifter, drop the RPM then shift. It has helped a bit. The point that steves makes is a good one as well. Shift swiftly. Good luck.