Hard gear change on motorbike

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Tue 14 Feb 2006 13:59
Hard gear change on motorbike - Greg R
I have a Honda CG125 and I find it really hard to change gear from 1st to 2nd to the extent that I need to do block gear changes. Obviously, this is no good on such a low powered engine.

Also, gear change from 3rd to 1st or 2nd is really tough.

What could this be? The mileage is 10,000 kms, new oil and serviced.

Any help would be gratefully recieved.

Greg
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Tue 14 Feb 2006 14:10
Hard gear change on motorbike - SteVee
is the gear-change lever returning to the mid-point easily ?
Does it select neutral easily ?
Apart from the gear lever, I would check:

chain tension, making sure there are no tight spots and the chain and sprockets are in good order. Check also that the rear wheel alignment is correct. Is it clean and lubed correctly

clutch operation: is it properly adjusted - there is probably adjustment at both handlebar and clutch ends. There may also be an adjustment to the angle of the control arm at the clutch end.
On my Yamaha, getting the clutch adjustment wrong makes selecting neutral almost impossible.
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Tue 14 Feb 2006 17:24
Hard gear change on motorbike - MarkSmith
I had a similar problem on my Bandit, and the cause was embarrassingly simple: my heated grip had twisted round and the cable was getting in the way of the clutch lever, making it impossible to pull in fully.

Twisted it back round, gearchange was perfect.

-Mark
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Tue 14 Feb 2006 14:30
Hard gear change on motorbike - bikemade3
Thankfully i haven't got a CG125, howver, my Honda ( CBR1000F)has a gearbox that takes a certain knack of changing. If i get caught up in traffic and end up stationary in the wrong gear it doesn't like repatative downshifts unless i let the cluch out a little between each.Honda gearbox's aren't nicest to use and i concur with the above about checking the chain tension/ alignment. Also worth oiling the pivots on the selector.Does it get easier when warm ?
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Tue 14 Feb 2006 16:40
Hard gear change on motorbike - Greg R
Thanks for that.

I will try to adjust the chain as I think this is probably the cause. But they do wear a bit...I really think I should be oiling it a lot more!
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Tue 14 Feb 2006 19:09
Hard gear change on motorbike - Dynamic Dave
Has it only been doing it since the oil change?

I remember a friend of mine having similar problems with his old 50cc bike after an oil change. He forgot to replace the copper washer on the sump plug, which was enough to allow the sump plug to screw that bit further into the engine casing and ended up fouling the gear selector drum.
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