Trans slips out of 2nd gear

[mhuddle8]

I have a 91 kat 600 pretty much stock. So the problem is the bike likes to slip out of 2nd gear randomly. Most of the time it shifts up to 3rd. Sometimes down to nuetral. It does it when I am riding really easy and when i ride a little harder. Sometimes it does it when i am turning and it is a sketchy feeling. There is no pattern to it. I am in the process of putting some money into the bike and making sure things are safe. I guess i am just wondering if I need to rebuild or if I need to start checking ebay. Thanks for any tips on this. You guys usually give some awesome advice.

[Stumpy]

Transmission problems like that are out of my experience range to help you I'm afraid - but good luck and hope you get it fixed!

I'm only about 30 minutes away so if you need help implementing a fix some weekend - I will see what I can do.

[Kreylyn]

Your going to need pull out the transmission and inspect/replace worn/bent/damaged parts.

This can be done with out a full engine tear down despite what prior posts have stated. Several people recently tested that and even posted pics of them doing it with out complete engine tear down.

So... yes, it's fixable, and yes... it's complicated but you could do it with careful attention to details.

Or... buy a known good engine and swap it in.

You don't want to consider having a "shop" do this for you do to the labor costs associated with the fix. It will quickly be much more than the replacement engine or even the whole bike value for labor alone to do that.

Krey

[41 Redhawk]

This can be done with out a full engine tear down despite what prior posts have stated. Several people recently tested that and even posted pics of them doing it with out complete engine tear down.
Krey

I'm curious as to what you are referring to here Krey? Can you get the tranny out without splitting the cases or are you referring to the fact that the topend doesn't have to come off to get the tranny out?

Thanks

Terry

[Kreylyn]

I'm curious as to what you are referring to here Krey? Can you get the tranny out without splitting the cases or are you referring to the fact that the topend doesn't have to come off to get the tranny out?

Thanks

Terry

Prior posts...

http://katriders.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2236295&postcount=8

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=124517

Krey

[41 Redhawk]

Thanks Krey, I didn't think there was a way to get the transmission out without splitting the cases.

[Kreylyn]

Thanks Krey, I didn't think there was a way to get the transmission out without splitting the cases.

That has been a pretty commonly accepted situation previously... but several people have figured out a way it can be done.

I've seen the bike after the fix for the links I posted. I've ridden it, and can say truly that the trans was repaired with out splitting the case.

krey

[mammut89]

which part was broken ? the parts in the pics looked good

[41 Redhawk]

Perhaps I am reading impaired. The way I read it and looking at the pictures the cases are/were split although the top end was not touched.

[Kreylyn]

Perhaps I am reading impaired. The way I read it and looking at the pictures the cases are/were split although the top end was not touched.

If your pulling and removing the gears, the lower case does need to be split. Previously it has been stated and believed that the entire engine would require disassembly to do this. That is not the "case" as it were. The bottom can be pulled off with out touching the top end at all.

There are a couple of other posts where some parts were removed with out pulling the lower case. The shift forks for example... can be swapped out if they are the problem with out splitting the lower case.

The lower case does not use a gasket... it's machine fit. The only gaskets to consider for this are the side case gaskets, and oil pan gasket, and finally some minor misc parts that may or may not need replaced like an oil seal or 2.

So it depends on what is wrong and how far you need to go.

The primary point is that previously it has been stated many times a trans issue on these engines = entire engine rebuild. That is not true.

KRey

[41 Redhawk]

Ah, we are on the same page Krey. Back in the day when I turned wrenches we did many transmission repairs without a complete engine rebuild. We simply flipped the engine over and pulled the lower case half off. I can't say we did many Suzuki transmissions as they tended to be pretty solid. There were the 2 GS 1150s that blew up the output shaft bearing under the sprocket though. Those required replacing the cases. I also don't recall every changing a shift fork that did not require changing the corresponding gear and it's mate.

We did enough first year Yamaha Ventures and V-Maxs to get good enough at it to make warranty flat rate though!