Slipping out of 2nd gear...

[JustinS]

I just bought my Katana 600 on Tuesday and took it out for the first time today since it's been raining up here in MA for the last several days. First gear is fine, but when I shift into 2nd it only engages up to about 5k RPMs and drops back into neutral. If anyone needs anymore info to help diagnose the issue let me know, but I'm assuming its the gear itself and from my research I've learned I'll probably have to open it up and do hours worth of work myself. Thanks in advance guys...

P.S.- If anyone can tell me which fuse is connected to the headlight and what kind it is that would be great. (I'm new to the world of bikes and this is my first one.)

[poscarguy]

never have done the work myself my friend had a 92 cbr 600 that would do that and the mechanic said it was the dogears. not sure how much work that is or if its something else just something that could be the problem .........


someone chime in that could be more helpful

[Mattaua]

I can tell you this, not by experience, but just from reading tons of other threads of similar content: 2nd gear tends to be the one that takes the most abuse getting jammed a lot on on quick take offs. It's probably a bent shifter fork which some say is majorly expensive work. I've had another friend say its a cheap part...however, requires taking the engine out which is tedious and time consuming (which translates into $$$ when you pay a shop by the hour for labor). Some folks ride for a long time without a second gear, they just shift right up to 3rd, other people seem to have had some catastrophic problems when gears go out....in hindsight my answer may not have helped...

do some searching on the forum search you will find lots of other threads, most likely with much more helpful info than I just gave.

[loudnlow7484]

If the gear is slipping out after it has already been engaged, it's probably the dogs on the gear itself. It's not the kind of job I would undertake this close to riding season. Most people just don't bother, because katana 600 engines are so cheap anyway, it's not usually worth fixing.

If you are a thoroughly experienced mechanic, then have at it. If you aren't, then I would think twice about trying to learn this when riding season is already starting.

[Hegmann1391]

Welcome to the forum!

[KatanaGSX92]

Welcome to KR!

[JustinS]

Thanks for all the info and welcomes guys. Does anyone think I could get it done in one rainy weekend if I worked pretty diligently at it? I could always just skip to 3rd but I'd really rather have my bike at 100%. If anyone's done this or gone through it before I'd love their input.

[poscarguy]

i can really say anything about time wise #1 i dont kno your mechanical abilities and your ability to juryrig tools and afroengineer when called for. but all i can say is get yourself a good in depth manual and follow it

[Ythen57]

I would be more concerned with the person that sold you a bike with no second gear. Or maybe you knew this when you bought it?

[JustinS]

Well he told me it didn't stay engaged unless it was high in the RPMs but I just wanted to know if I could fix it. I'm not mechanically inclined but I pick up concepts quickly and once I know how to fix something it's easy.

[jetmerritt]

If you are not mechanically inclined, I would avoid the internal stuff unless you are really determined and have a good collection of tools. Speaking from car experience, even simple manual transmissions can be tricky and need a couple kinds of snap ring pliers and pullers, etc.
I wish you the best and hope it turns out well for you. I am a journeyman auto mechanic and I would attempt a repair like that, but I have years of experience tearing stuff apart and big snap-on tool box full of goodies.

[JustinS]

Yeah, I think I'll stear clear of the fix for now. I didn't think about the whole aspect of not having the tools. Thanks for the help guys, i'm lovin the community already and I've only been a member a couple days.