Pretty often when I'm upshifting, the bike won't go into the next gear easily. It seems to stick just short of going in. Most of the time, if I keep picking up on the shifter with my toe while letting out the clutch, it'll pop in, but sometimes it just stays in the lower gear (most embarassing when trying to impress the rest of the riders) :eek:

Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas what it might be?

Are you sure you are allowing the lever to fully return to its "normal" position between shifts? Some people don't notice they left their toes under the lever preventing it from coming back all the way down, making the next shift difficult.

Make sure your foot/toes are out of the way between shifts. Before you shift put your toe in position and apply a little pressure up on the lever. As soon as you pull the clutch in, the lever should snick into the next gear.

Gustavo

I had exactly the same problem that Gustavo mentioned, but after a little adjustment of the shift lever I almost never have the problem anymore. Just needed a little more room for my big ole feet!

You definitely need to have that checked out. Your clutch cable might need to be adjusted to allow the clutch to disengage.

I can run the entire gear range both up and down without the clutch as smooth as silk. I don't do that all the time, but sometimes my toe shifts the gears before I can pull in the clutch.

I am getting used to the new bik eand shifting although my problem is more downshifting and not letting the shifter return fully. I personally wouldnt adjust anything until you have ridden for a little bit as with each bike I have owned I break in to it and then fine tune.

It sounds like you have too much slack in your clutch cable. Thus, the motion of pulling in the clutch lever is not disengaging the clutch, it's just taking up all the extra slack. Remember, there are two places to make adjustments, one by the clutch cover on the engine and one at the lever.

A quick way to test is to try shifting without the clutch a few times. If it's the same, the clutch is not fully disengaging and it need to be adjusted to the proper play (2 - 3 mm at the end of the lever)

I found the clutch lever to low on my bike when I first got it and my shifts were terrible. I had to try several different adjustments until I got it they way I like it. Then I had to untangle my clutch cable to keep that from binding up. Now the shifts are smooth.

This bike begs to be played with and adjusted to your liking.

Thanks for the ideas guys (or gals?). I have made sure that the shifter fully returns to normal between shifts. At first I didn't sometimes and adjusted the shifter a bit. I'm going to try the clutch cable adjustment. Right now it doesn't begin to get friction until it's almost fully released. I know that's the opposite of not fully disengaging, but it means the thing is out of adjustment so I'll go there next. At least I know it's not a common ailment of the bike like the buzzing.

Check the tension. I had mine dialed in, noticed these past few days it's slipping more, double checked the lever play and found that my cable has stretched, requiring another adjustment.

About the shifting, the V isn't the slickest out there, but you'll get used to it and master it's few quirks. :)

Check this thread, or your service manual (available via free download....somewhere). (http://forums.kawasakiversys.com/showthread.php?t=800)