'78 1000 is dangerous if not treated nice..

[arve]

My 1978 GS 1000 has a dangerous habit, during too brisk acceleration it may suddenly jump out of gear all by itself!When I tight-wire it in 3rd it jumps into 4th without any prewarning, something that is quite dangerous because the sudden shock makes me yank the handlebars and cause a wobble. There is also an occasional "knock" from the engine, especially when cold and always at lower speeds. Above 70-80 kph there is nothing, or at least nothing can be noticed. Something makes me tink its the starter kicking in by itself as it did once when I reconnected the battery. Swapped the relay with the one from my Katana 550, no improvement. It seemed to have reduced tendencies at first, but now the problem is even worse. Any suggestions??

 

[Big T]

It's unlikely to be upshifting on it's own

The noise is most likely your clutch hub. Have you narrowed down where the noise is coming from?

Right side - clutch
Left side - starter clutch

 

[arve]

Believe me, it does upshift on its own! I changed the damper springs in my clutch hub last summer when I got the bike, crossed my mind also that the clearance between the springs and the oil pump gear is too small. Since the old springs found their way out the holes in the backing plate this may not hold the new springs like its supposed to.

 

[rapidray]

If it is jumping out of gear when under load, you need to split the cases & send the trans out to have it undercut. You can do this without even removing the valve cover. Ray.

 

[arve]

What do you mean undercut? what is done?

 

[Baatfam]

What do you mean undercut? what is done?

They re-cut the dogs so they get a more positive lock when engaged...

 

[arve]

Wouldnt it be more convenient to get new dogs and change drum?

 

[Baatfam]

Wouldnt it be more convenient to get new dogs and change drum?

The dogs are part of the gears and new gears are costly...
If you can find a good used set, that may work.

Best to open it up first though and make sure what the problem really is...

 

[arve]

Yes. One theory I got is that the spring loaded "roller" holding the change drum(isnt that what the cylindric thingy with all the grooves in it is called?)in place between the gears has a weak spring or is misplaced. Just thought I'd write a thread in the GSR forums first to see if someone has encountered the same problem, or has a suggestion of solving the problem in a simple manner.

 

[SqDancerLynn1]

DO you have big feet? Are you resting it on the gear shift lever ?

 

[arve]

Yes, but in case I was resting my foot on the lever it should self-shift down and not up, or what? Besides, when Im accelerating hard I have my foot UNDER it.

 

[Big T]

Yes, but in case I was resting my foot on the lever it should self-shift down and not up, or what? Besides, when Im accelerating hard I have my foot UNDER it.

There you go.

You're pulling up and shifting

A transmission will pop out of gear on acceleration, but not into a higher gear.

Go out and try some full throttle runs with your toes on the pegs and see if it happens

 

[arve]

Dear sir, I have driven motorcycles since I got a licence in 1992, and this has never happened before!

 

[Big T]

Dear sir, I have driven motorcycles since I got a licence in 1992, and this has never happened before!

Well, I've ridden motorcycles since 1969 and wrenched on them since 1970 and I've never heard of an upshift under power without pulling up on the shift lever

Try doing it with your toes on the pegs as I suggested and see what happens

My theory

1. Accelertion shifts your weight backwards
2. You compensate by pulling yourself forward - mostly with your arms, but also with your legs. Pulling with your legs lifts your foot = upshift

 

[arve]

Sir... The same thing occured to a friend of mine when he was trying my bike. This has never happened to anyone of us on any bike! But that doesnt mean it cant happen, one time must be the first. Have you ever seen a white moose in your life?

 

[hacksaw55]

Thanks for the laughs

 

[tkent02]

Just last week, after I dropped my KLR 650 and bent the shifter just a tad it would pop out of gear after an upshift into second, under power.
Once or twice it actually went into third.
Not sure how but it is possible.
Maybe the popping out of gear spins the shift drum so fast it's inertia keeps it moving into the next gear?
Dunno, but bending the shifter back fixed it.

 

[Turtleface]

Just wanted to say that I can shift my 1100 with barely any pressure on the shifter at all. If you have even a tiny bit of pressure on my shifter, it'l snick right into the next gear with just a little bit of throttle modulation.

 

[pyro254750]

My 1100 is the same way, it takes very little pressure to shift. That being said, It has NEVER shifted on its own, anytime its popped out of gear it was because i didnt get it all the way in gear, and anytime its shifted, its because i accidentally hit the shifter. I would follow the suggestion below of riding with toes on the pegs just to be safe. You dont want to split the case for no reason, thats alot of work. If the problem persists and it turns out you need a transmission, check ebay. I saw some gs1100 transmissions (which are the same if im not mistaken) on ebay for less than 200 bucks a few days ago.

 

[Big T]

Sir... The same thing occured to a friend of mine when he was trying my bike. This has never happened to anyone of us on any bike! But that doesnt mean it cant happen, one time must be the first. Have you ever seen a white moose in your life?

Agreed - you may have a problem that I've never heard of.

But that shouldn't stop you from experimenting

The only solution is to pull the motor, flip it over and remove the bottom case and see what the heck is going on in your transmission and go from there