Poll re: shifting

[AZJW]

Seeing a perceived (?) uptick in reported shifting issues has me wondering.  It's human nature not to comment how great things are ( i.e. no assistance needed), but negative feedback shows up when owners are reaching out for help with a problem.  We're getting a percentage of owners who are new to riding and this might explain this in part due to not having developed clutching/ shifter techniques over the years.  Interested in owner feedback and please submit year and mileage with comments. 

 

Mine: 2021, 21K miles,  no shifting issues that blip downshifts can't overcome.

[Tenerider]

2021 T7, 18k km.

 

Only issue was temporarily sticky gearbox upon downshifts, only happened between 500-1500 km or so, occured sometimes when shifting down two or three gears at a time and engine break was used.

[Mr. Kwak]

Works fine for me! No issues at all.

2022 15k. 

[BikeBrother]

2021, 39.000 km. Neutral sometimes bit difficult to put in from 1st gear, but not an issue. Shifting gears is smooth from beginning. I use yamalube 10w40, full synthetic.

[RiderEh]

I think there needs to be an additional, "No issues and works fine" selection in this poll. My bike feels great. 2021 and I run Maxima Synblend 10w40. About 10,000 km's on the bike.

Edited September 9 by RiderEh

[Canzvt]

No issues. '21, 35xxx kms. Rotella T 15w40 from first oil change. Almost always clutchless upshifts by chopping throttle. Never had an issue. Notchy from 3 > 2 if going too slow.

[SXXP]

2024 with 1300 miles.   No shifting issues when using the clutch.  The Quickshifter, however, is temperamental about shifting into sixth.

[406T7]

2023, 2600 miles. Shifting is totally intermittent: sometimes smooth, sometimes very stiff - up or down taking a lot of pedal pressure. Often changes during the same ride. Planning a clutch replacement with OEM plates, but will soak them before install. I'll try to report back after the replacement.

[random1781]

Got 2x 2021's with 38k and 34k miles with no issues.

 

Anecdotally from FB and other places, it seems like it's overwhelmingly 2023+ and mostly solvable with soaking the plates. Seems like dealers are generally replacing the whole pack regardless.

[Rider 101]

2020 model; no issues

[mcbrien]

2021 model no shifting issues except I felt foot lever travel was excessive. Same with my FZ7.

[prowlnS10]

2021 T7 with 26k kms, orig owner...shifting during break-in was a little notchy, + clunky going into 1st from neutral, otherwise ok + no clutch issues as noted on more recent models. After break-in & 1st service by dealer, who changed to Yamalube 15/50w full synthetic, shifting improved slightly over the next few 1,000 kms requiring less deliberate/positive shift lever input & easily doing clutch-less shifts without issue with proper rpm matching & non-hurried pace, but started to degrade around 4-4,500 km with that oil (oil service life related)...switched to Maxima Extra4 15/50w full ester synthetic & shifting (+ motor character) improved slightly lasting about another 1,500 km before starting to degrade vs the Yamalube...had similar experience with other full ester oils.  My only 2 issues have been: 1) technique related whereby the T7 will not select the next higher gear until full pressure is released from the shifter...most noticeable when I switched to Alpinestar Tech 7 boots that lack the feel of my previous Forma's; 2) the bike will not shift into 1st gear if the shift is adjusted much below level with the footpeg cleat because of interference with the footpeg mount casting /stop.  Not directly shift related but the Camel 1 Finger Clutch mod reduced clutch effort, improving feel & providing a wider band of engagement .

[CamT]

‘21 T7, 20,000km

A couple of times last year the down-shifting was horrible. Seemed to only happen when heated up. To the point where I couldn’t get from 3rd to 2nd or 1st without coming to a complete stop. 
possibly in the mechanism and not the motor. Anecdotal , but I bent my shifter on a drop and it actually hasn’t happened since .  But last summer it was very annoying. This summer so far so good 

[roygilbo]

'21 with 43,000 km.  No issues.

[DT675]

12 hours ago, RiderEh said:

I think there needs to be an additional, "No issues and works fine" selection in this poll. My bike feels great. 2021 and I run Maxima Synblend 10w40. About 10,000 km's on the bike.

Agreed. Mines been perfect every shift for 10k miles using oem yamaha syn oil and I'm 100% happy with it. 

[Stagger Lee]

2023, 8,000kms, Motul 5100, seems fine to me.

[williestreet]

24000km bike shifts fine.  Any shifting problems I have had were caused by lazy shifting on my part.  

 

I personally feel some of the issues are due to new riders not taking the time to setup their shifter position properly.

A lot of bikes come with the shifter setup too high.  This makes it easy to get your boot under the lever but causes other issues.  

 

I know with my T7 the lever position was high and when shifting up I would run out of ankle movement before the next gear was full engaged.

Moving the lever down ensures you get it fully in the next higher gear before my ankle movement stops.  

Heavier/stiffer off-road boots with less ankle movement make it even more important to have your lever down as much as possible.  

 

Also the T7 footage bracket has a little nub below the shifter that can interfere with down shifting when you lower the shifter.  I have read countless times where riders and unwilling to remove this protrusion for whatever reason.  Removal of this small bump will greatly increase your shifter down travel and help with shifting when you lower your shifter position.  There is no downside to removing this small piece of aluminum.

 

Also the shift lever pivot needs to be greased regularly.  As stupid as this sounds, it makes a considerable difference in how the shifter feels.

 

This is a Yamaha gearbox.  It will never be a smooth or short as a Honda gearbox.  If you came off a Honda and expect to get the same feeling, you will never be satisfied, get used to it.

 

 

[oberon]

I'm an experienced rider who has ridden motorcycle as my main form of transportation for 20 years and does my own maintenance.

 

My 2023 has extremely notchy shifting, frequently becomes stuck in gear, walks with the clutch in, and sometimes walks in neutral. The problems developed incrementally after the first service. It now has 15k miles.

 

I've lubricated the shifter pivot, rerouted the cable, tried different oils and amounts, inspected clutch bearings and plates,  replaced all clutch plates and springs with OEM, installed the camel 1 fingered clutch, taken it to be diagnosed at a shop, and more.

 

The problem persists. I'm going to try an aftermarket clutch kit. If that doesn't work I'm probably going to sell the bike.

[random1781]

52 minutes ago, oberon said:

I'm an experienced rider who has ridden motorcycle as my main form of transportation for 20 years and does my own maintenance.

 

My 2023 has extremely notchy shifting, frequently becomes stuck in gear, walks with the clutch in, and sometimes walks in neutral. The problems developed incrementally after the first service. It now has 15k miles.

 

I've lubricated the shifter pivot, rerouted the cable, tried different oils and amounts, inspected clutch bearings and plates,  replaced all clutch plates and springs with OEM, installed the camel 1 fingered clutch, taken it to be diagnosed at a shop, and more.

 

The problem persists. I'm going to try an aftermarket clutch kit. If that doesn't work I'm probably going to sell the bike.

That really sucks, I know what it feels like to be at the end of the rope trying to fix a problem like that. What kit are you thinking about trying?

[oberon]

1 hour ago, random1781 said:

That really sucks, I know what it feels like to be at the end of the rope trying to fix a problem like that. What kit are you thinking about trying?

 Thanks! It’s kinda of funny on the first bike I’ve bought new. My working theory is that Yamaha put out a bad batch of clutch plates, and I bought a second one when I replaced mine. 

 

I opted for a TRW kit shipped to the states from a company in Germany, based partially on a suggestion made here. There aren’t a huge number of options, but I’ve read a lot of bad reviews about Barnetts and Rekluse seems overpriced. Someone on a different forum had a good experience with a Chinese kit on ebay though, so who knows.

[random1781]

Just now, oberon said:

 Thanks! It’s kinda of funny on the first bike I’ve bought new. My working theory is that Yamaha put out a bad batch of clutch plates, and I bought a second one when I replaced mine. 

 

I opted for a TRW kit shipped to the states from a company in Germany, based partially on a suggestion made here. There aren’t a huge number of options, but I’ve read a lot of bad reviews about Barnetts and Rekluse seems overpriced. Someone on a different forum had a good experience with a Chinese kit on ebay though, so who knows.

Yeah I just looked at the Rekluse clutch and holy cow....$500? And that's the manual clutch, not the slipper.

 

Because of my own idiocy I replaced my clutch pack with OEM, end of 2022 at about 10k miles and it has been fine over the ~25k since. That's in line with your theory, so I hope that's correct! Yamaha really ought to address this outright - normally you expect the first couple model years to have issues, but for the latter ones to have so many with no significant changes to the model itself is odd.

[TéNéRELOADED]

I'm 67; after a 38 years brake I became a rider again mid-december 2022 on the T7. My last bike back in the days was a XT 600 Z Ténéré (model 1983). No shifting problems at all with the T7 so far.

 

T7, Model 2021, 35'000 km

[SlowShmo]

Bought a 23 with 16 miles on it this spring and now have 2K on it.   The only shifting problem I have is an intermittent hard downshift from most gears.  Not, clutch in, shifting down through all the gears at a stop, but rev-matching downshifts through all of them.   At first it seemed to go away after warm up, but it has also been fine and then happened after fully warm.

 

I'm wondering if I'm not hitting the shift lever at a different point/angle sometimes and binding the shift linkage. 

[406T7]

On 9/9/2024 at 10:18 AM, 406T7 said:

2023, 2600 miles. Shifting is totally intermittent: sometimes smooth, sometimes very stiff - up or down taking a lot of pedal pressure. Often changes during the same ride. Planning a clutch replacement with OEM plates, but will soak them before install. I'll try to report back after the replacement.

I've got 25 miles on the new OEM clutch plates I installed this morning after soaking them in oil overnight. In those miles I did interstate, stop-and-go, parked with engine off for a few minutes, waiting at a light clutch out (this seemed to induce the issues before), shifting fast, slow shifting, downshifts, etc. The shifting issues I describe above are gone, and I sure hope they stay gone. The original plates with 2,600 miles on them were in good shape, but noticeably dry. I probably could have soaked them and reused them, but I don't regret starting fresh as long as I had to open the case anyway. I'm a mediocre mechanic at best, and I managed it without much trouble, so if you're having the shifting issues and you suspect the dry plates thing, I recommend giving it a DIY shot (unless you're under warranty and your dealer's decent). I did drain the coolant into a clean container so I could pull the water pump off the engine case and reuse the coolant. I believe the job would have been much more frustrating with the case hanging by the coolant lines.

Edited September 14 by 406T7