Gen II Transmission

Johnnylane

Johnnylane

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Let's talk about this. I went for a ride today and missed second gear shifting from first. I do that more than I like.

I read that (and maybe this was only for Gen I's) people were replacing the shift lever with R1 levers. The R1 was something like a quarter to a half an inch shorter providing a shorter throw. This made the 1st to 2nd gear change more positive.

What do you guys think? Try to make some sort of change or just get over it?
 
I haven't seen it done on a Gen II.... but yeah... we Gen I folks use the shifter Arm from a R1... not the lever.. I don't think that would help much... I'm not familiar with the shift arm on the Gen 2 ... but I would imagine that something like that should be possible....perhaps post a picture so we can have a look.
 
Ok.... what you're taking pictures of... doesn't show the part that we Gen I folks are replacing... allow me to show you... the circled area... at the very edge of the picture... where the shifter rod connects... that's the shifter arm... that's what we're replacing...
 
Ohhhhhhhhhh...................

I thought it was the lever (obviously).

I'll get my camera back out.

Must be that the shorter the shifter arm, the shorter the shift throw is at your toe. Correct?
 
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Johnnylane said:
Must be that the shorter the shifter arm, the shorter the shift throw is at your toe. Correct?
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yes... that's correct...

it looks like the stock arm on there is about the same length as the R1 arm...I don't see changing to the R1 arm being any significant improvement... as above... I don't own a Gen II.. so... I don't know this for a fact... but that'd be my guess....

what you can do... is adjust the shifter rod a little bit... add a little bit of length to it... and it'll kind of always keep a bit of pressure on the shifter arm... it'll make upshifts shorter, but downshifts a little longer... normally not a problem since you're stepping on it instead of pulling up on it.... play around with that... see what you think.
 
va_rider said:
what you can do... is adjust the shifter rod a little bit... add a little bit of length to it... and it'll kind of always keep a bit of pressure on the shifter arm... it'll make upshifts shorter, but downshifts a little longer... normally not a problem since you're stepping on it instead of pulling up on it.... play around with that... see what you think.
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I saw that too. I recently replaced the counter sprocket and had to remove the shift linkage to do that. A few turns moves the shift lever a lot.

I'll try some fine tuning.

Thanks.
 
I found an article from when the Gen II was first released.... the stock shift arm is shorter than the Gen I.... and supposedly, the gearbox is silky smooth because of it.

Yamahas of yore had long been criticized for clunky gearboxes
and the FZ1 was no exception. It seems the vertically stacked transmission,
a concept that Yamaha pioneered (now standard on virtually
all new high-performance motors), which enables an extra long
swingarm to be fitted without extending the wheelbase, didn’t
splash-lubricate as effectively as the older horizontal layout. This
was cured on last year’s R1 by including a separate oil gallery to
keep the upper shaft slippery, and the new R1/FZ1 motor’s transmission
is now nearly as slick as the very best available anywhere.
The throw at the shift lever, which had been increased to reduce the
higher effort, is now a normal shorter distance, which also helps
make shifting intuitively easy. Any gearbox you notice is a bad
gearbox, and you don’t notice the new FZ1’s. It’s that good.
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When I was shopping for the new bike, it came down to the FZ1 or an S2R Monster. The Duc was perhaps sexier, but did not have the same power and of course more vibration. The transmission on that thing was like a watch. It truly "snicked" into each gear.

The Yamaha just is not the same in this department, but that's what I bought and I love her all the same.
 
I experienced that too, around the 1200 mile mark, thought maybe i should angle it down a bit, but after adjusting the chain it went away, and even improved the remaining up-shifts even the clutchless shifts were buttery
adjusted the chain again @4000 didn't really need it was only off by maybe 2 hairs, It was that initial adjustment that made a huge difference..
 
leo67 said:
I experienced that too, around the 1200 mile mark, thought maybe i should angle it down a bit, but after adjusting the chain it went away, and even improved the remaining up-shifts even the clutchless shifts were buttery
adjusted the chain again @4000 didn't really need it was only off by maybe 2 hairs, It was that initial adjustment that made a huge difference..
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Okay Leo, you got my attention. Believe it or not, today's ride just crossed the 1,200 mile mark. Also, like I have said, I replaced the front sprocket with the 16-tooth. I've never adjusted the chain before on this beast. I sort of aimed for the middle. I think it measures around 1.25-inches at the mid-point of the chain.

Did you adjust on the tighter side?
 
I just re-read my shop manual. I think the chain is too loose.

I adjusted against the mid-point of the chain. The manual seems to really say the travel is measured from the bottom of the chain link to the top.

My chain is too loose by about one chain link height (say 1/4 to 1/2-inch)
 
pushing the chain fully up and fully down,, combined it measured almost 2" adjusted it down to 1 and 3/8"
just make sure you find the tightest spot on the chain to measure
and no I didn't adj. to the tight side,, tried to get it to the minimum side of the spec.
 
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There is a modification that might help your shifts. The footpegs are rubber mounted. When you shift, the footpeg mount flexes, and some claim that is the cause of missing first to second shifts. The flex absorbs some of the leverage.

If you replace the rubber-backed washers that are under the bolts that hold your footpeg brackets on, with stainless steel washers, it solidifies the foot pegs. (Look at post #3 on this thread for pictures of the area.) This gives you more positive shifts, and some feel it results in a more solid feel while riding. I have replaced the rubber-backed washers with stainless steel washers that I bought at Home Depot, and I no longer mis-shift first to second.

It makes the shifts more solid, because your foot is no longer fighting the flex in the mounts when you shift. (When your foot pushes up on the shift lever, the foot peg flexes down.) :thumbup:
 
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Update from the Transmission front:
  • Re-adjusted the chain tension. Once I started measuring it properly:rolleyes: the new adjusted chain is a little tighter
  • Per Guninstructordotcom's recommendation, replaced the rubber backed washers with stainless flat washers.

Together they made shifting more positive and the transmission feel crisper. Don't know what did what for sure, but I do know that I like the more solid shifter feeling with the washer change.

Thanks all.
 
The washer mod is cheap and one of the best mods I have done, changing out the stock rubber pegs to solid pegs made a huge difference in feel and feedback as well. Glad you cured your issue, I have 9000 miles on my 08 and with the synthetic oil shifting is very slick. I love this bike more and more every time I ride it or do a mod. :D
 
Crackerfz1 said:
changing out the stock rubber pegs to solid pegs made a huge difference in feel and feedback as well.
Click to expand...

Look back through my posts, I just made a whole bunch of changes and one of them was to replace those rubber foot pegs with those nice Oberon Touring pegs. I slipped off those puppies twice when they were wet and it could have been real bad:eek:.

New pegs are way better.
 
GunInstructordotcom said:
There is a modification that might help your shifts. The footpegs are rubber mounted. When you shift, the footpeg mount flexes, and some claim that is the cause of missing first to second shifts. The flex absorbs some of the leverage.

) :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Cheers mate! cheap mod makes a clear differance thanks again!:)
 
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