Stubborn second gear

[Lumpy Rider]

Hello all. I am looking for some input on a shifting issue with my 2001. When riding, with engine cold, trans is reluctant to shift into 2nd gear. Trans shifts to neutral but will not shift to 2nd or above without shifting down to first and repeating the upshift a few times. There are no problems shifting once engine has warmed up.

My recently acquired Kawi has 30k on the clock, sat for some time, has mostly city miles on it (per prev owner), and had pretty dirty oil in it when I purchased it. I preload my shifts, have bled and replenished clutch with fresh DOT 4, and run Rotella-T with recommended amount of MMO added to the engine oil. Shift issue existed prior to changing the oil.

Thanks for all the help!

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Lumpy, by design you have to have the RPM's up before it will shift into 2nd. I think its somewhere in the ballpark of 3-3.5k, you might be able to get it to shift under that but I've found that it definitely shifts better if you get them up there a tad.

[feenixx613]

I had the same issue this spring I couldn't figure it out neither could the mechanic I thought the tranny was done! It did it once and never again apparently the weight of the oil has something do do with it I had just switched over to the rotella prior to the incident. It hasn't done it since I have been trying to warm it up properly now and shift at 3000 rpm to second and no issues.Its normal.

[Lumpy Rider]

Thanks guys. Shifting at 3k I had not been doing - a carry over from my v-twin. In my Z1 and KZ younger days this was not a problem - they were always run over 3k (except at idle). Hahaha

[Bill O]

Shifting to 2nd when engine is cool can be an issue. This is normal until engine warms up. Just get engine up to about 3K and it will shift fine. This is not a problem but designed into the bike. Part of the positive neutral location in the tranny design. If you try to shift too early when the bike is cold and it stops in neutral, just kick it back down into 1st, get er revved up than shift on up to 2nd.

Bill O

[Lumpy Rider]

Interesting, Bill. I will rev her up from now on. Thanks for the advice.

[archer500]

I agree, being new to the Voyager IIs I also had problems on the 1st to 2nd up shift. I found out by accident that when cold it does better with higher rpm's on shifting. After it warms up mine shifts very easy (95 with 46,000+ on it). I've read on this site that these transmissions are built with square cut gears making them very strong but noisy and not exactly silky smooth. My 05 Sportster is also designed with square gears and it is the same way. Interestingly Harly switched to "beveled"gears in 06 and while quieter they are not as strong when horsepower is increased. Based on that i'll put up with its cold nature to gain longevity. There are some very knowlegible people on this forum and I find it a great source of info. Just about any question can be answered here. Enjoy your new ride these bikes are a blast, I hardly ever ride my Sportster anymore. Robert B.