False gear indicator

[Soloklr]

Hi everyone. New guy to the forums. I have a 09 VV with about 6000 miles on it. I started having the gear indicator bounce on mine abou 2000 miles ago. I spoke with the dealer and was told that was normal. I have found that with mine when it does this it's right after a shift. If I roll off the throttle and then get back into it, that clears it up right away. Maybe it's just mine that it works for and from reading the posts it probably won't work that way for long.
Enjoy your bikes.

[wbilotta]

Hi everyone. New guy to the forums. I have a 09 VV with about 6000 miles on it. I started having the gear indicator bounce on mine abou 2000 miles ago. I spoke with the dealer and was told that was normal. I have found that with mine when it does this it's right after a shift. If I roll off the throttle and then get back into it, that clears it up right away. Maybe it's just mine that it works for and from reading the posts it probably won't work that way for long.
Enjoy your bikes.

Why not have the dealer replace it under warranty ? Why tolerate it ?

[raw6464]

Hi everyone. New guy to the forums. I have a 09 VV with about 6000 miles on it. I started having the gear indicator bounce on mine abou 2000 miles ago. I spoke with the dealer and was told that was normal. I have found that with mine when it does this it's right after a shift. If I roll off the throttle and then get back into it, that clears it up right away. Maybe it's just mine that it works for and from reading the posts it probably won't work that way for long.
Enjoy your bikes.

I agree with wbilotta... it's NOT normal There is a gear position switch with decremental resistance as you shift up, which the ECU uses to display the correct gear. Your dealer is... well ... lying to you. Call him out or call Kawasaki.

[TheAudiDoc]

mine did the bounce thing a bit today....bike was very hot due to a 90 mile group ride in 85 deg heat at 45 mph...never done this before and once i got out of the crowd and the engine cooled down a bit it went away

[Soloklr]

Have no doubt they will be fixing it. As for temp mine was doing it in 30 degree temps. I just hate the idea of being without my bike for a long time while they work on it. That just drives me nuts.

[raw6464]

Have no doubt they will be fixing it. As for temp mine was doing it in 30 degree temps. I just hate the idea of being without my bike for a long time while they work on it. That just drives me nuts.

I know what you mean. Unfortunately the gear indicator switch is internal and not easy to get to. That's probably why the dealer doesn't want to fix it.

[captgeo]

I have been having the same problem with the bouncing indicator. I had Jacksonville Power sports fix it by replacing the sensor but the problem persists. Hope Kaw is looking into this as I see more and more oweners are having this experience

[ninjarob]

My bike is in the shop today for warranty service on this issue. My shift indicator has been all over the place in just the last three weeks. Been really hot here in NJ and it is doing all kinds of random things, downshifting from OD to 5 puts the indicator at 4, somtimes 3. Shifting from 5 to OD and it stays at 5 and then corrects itself at 2 while downshifting for a stop.

Doesn't the shift indicator data affect what the trip computer displays as far as MPG and range?

[Danh]

During my trip to California the gear indicator started acting erratic when shifting from 4 to 5th gear never had a problem with the cruise but will be taking the bike in to get it checked out.
dan

[ninjarob]

Hey Dan, let me know how yours turns out. They still have mine, no word on it yet. Likely still trying to replicate the problem as it doesn't usually do it when I first start up and go.

[63Biker]

My 2009 does the same thing- indicator bounces around in 4th-5th and 6th. Seems to settle on the right gear so far. Have just rolled over 5000 miles.

[captgeo]

On my 2nd VV and had the same problem with both. The dealer replaced a shift sensor on #1 and the problem re appeared. Same problem with #2, so I just ignore it. Still very happy with the bike. We leave in the AM for upstate NY to watch the leaves change.

[ninjarob]

Shame that the shift sensor is a bad design (my guess) They did nothing about mine as of course it did not do it for the dealer when I took it in. Suprised me as it did it all the way back home

Still does it every ride, I think it should be corrected by Kawasaki. For the time that it worked correctly it was a nice feature. Was helpful to just glance down and see what gear I was in. Occasionally since I am still in the habit I get caught in too high a gear for a slow turn, etc. In my opinion, if it came on the bike as standard equipment, it should work, period. I know some just have a slow indicator but mine is all over the place, I can downshift from OD to 5th and the indicator will go from OD to 3rd.

My hope is that this will eventually become a recall fix.

[David (N. Alabama)]

Occasionally since I am still in the habit I get caught in too high a gear for a slow turn, etc.

You might want to start monitoring the RPMs not what gear you are in. If the RPMs are low, downshift.

For me the gear indicator is just a gadget, but if it is tied to the cruise control I would not be happy if it started to not function correctly.

[Kevin B in Illinois]

Mine does it too , with the lagging indicator display on upshifts and downshifts. I have ignored it, because I usually look at the RPM's. Enjoying the ride, so far and racking up miles easily with the bike. I just changed another rear tire....the Bridgestone Exedra's are not designed to last ..only getting 9,xxx miles top to a low of 5,xxx miles on the rear. I purchased a brand new wheel with a stock Bridgestone and I am sticking that on again. At least I now will have two rear wheels to be able to do quicker tire changes (and have a wheel for the Darkside) as well as one for the dragon.

Kevin Braddy
IPVMC
President

[jhellman]

Hi all,

Took my '09 bike in to the dealer for them to do the KAMS air flow install and also mentioned my gear shift issues. It really hadn't bothered me too much as I also look at the RPM's when I shift. But the other day, when I was in OD and the meter showed 4th, I found that the cruise control wouldn't set. So I downshifted from OD to 5 and back to OD, and the indicator did move from 4 to 5, allowing the cruise to set.

The dealer contacted Kawasaki after determining the internal switch is faulty, and Kaw authorized warranty replacement under my extended warranty. As stated before, this means they have to get into the transmission, but at least I did buy the warranty.

[ninjarob]

Sadly mine is still the biggest (and pretty much only) disappointment in my 2010 VV. This past summer has been the worst, no matter what the temp (last summer it only acted up in the heat), the shift indicator is all over the place. More ominously I had quite the heart skip when on Route 80 with the cruise on in 6th gear (but indicator 5) doing 70MPH it gave a hell of a lurch when the indicator suddenly went from 5 to 6 almost causing me to lose control. In my opinion this is NOT safe but my dealer still refuses to see the issue. I do have the extended warranty so I think I am going to find a new dealer this Spring.

[David (N. Alabama)]

Sadly mine is still the biggest (and pretty much only) disappointment in my 2010 VV. This past summer has been the worst, no matter what the temp (last summer it only acted up in the heat), the shift indicator is all over the place. More ominously I had quite the heart skip when on Route 80 with the cruise on in 6th gear (but indicator 5) doing 70MPH it gave a hell of a lurch when the indicator suddenly went from 5 to 6 almost causing me to lose control. In my opinion this is NOT safe but my dealer still refuses to see the issue. I do have the extended warranty so I think I am going to find a new dealer this Spring.

I am not sure why your dealer does not want to take care of this. It is money in his pocket. Are you talking with the service manager or owner of the dealership? If not, you should. You can also call Kawasaki Customer service yourself.

Mine very rarely misses an indication. Sometimes it is just a little slow to show the next gear and sometimes a little pressure on the shifter gets it to show the proper gear.

[Mapper]

I have a 2011 with 20,00k/12500 miles on it and I have the same issue. The dealer has ordered the parts but I will not be having it done until spring under warranty. They to told me it was a BIG job and they would require the bike for 2 days.

On the upside...new coolant and oil !!

Gary
(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

[ninjarob]

Hey Gary,

I will be interested in an update after you get the work done. Mine still does it and has only gotten worse over time. My bike is still under warranty but after some research on the net, have found that quite a few who have had the repair done have only experienced failure again after some time. I was hoping that Kawasaki would recognize the problem as a defective part? bad design? I wonder if heat has anything to do with it. One thing I have noticed is mine will be messed up from the driveway out on a hot day but will work okay for some time on cooler days.

My dealer that sold me the bike refuses to see the issue but I had the same trouble with the tank rattle and just fixed it myself. I did move to a new dealer who was willing to look but as I said, I heard the part (shift indicator) will fail again until a redesign?