Gearbox

[Paul Bryant]

the only experience i have on the r3 trans is that i have looked at the pictures the guys have posted.
that makes me an expert

Hmmm, me too. Tho' I have pulled mine down once already to replace the 4th gear set.
Now I need to do the 2nd gear set, this does have the later 2nd gear.
This box is not a nice one, when I had it down last I did look closely at the whole unit, all "looked" O.K. but as I'm not experienced with the Rocket box, what would I know !
I've been running Motul oil in the Beast, I think that I will change to Mobil 1 and see if that makes it change better and not do in gears.
I do use the clutch at every change and don't thrash the gearbox.

 

[scot in exile]

No No No according to IMFASTOO you are not changing gear correctly the safest way is to stop the bike each time before you change gear , let us know how it works out.

 

[TURBO200R4]

Hmmm, me too. Tho' I have pulled mine down once already to replace the 4th gear set.
Now I need to do the 2nd gear set, this does have the later 2nd gear.
This box is not a nice one, when I had it down last I did look closely at the whole unit, all "looked" O.K. but as I'm not experienced with the Rocket box, what would I know !
I've been running Motul oil in the Beast, I think that I will change to Mobil 1 and see if that makes it change better and not do in gears.
I do use the clutch at every change and don't thrash the gearbox.

i have used diff oils and have noticed that some have let the trans shift better but i don't know witch
one worked better. i change my oil every 5000 mi. i change it myself so the cost is not to bad and i think u should change every 5000.
as for my opinion i think that the forks wear out first then it pops out of gear (jmo) so changing oil every 5000 might help that. the gears that i have seen i think that they could be reused however if it is wore out where the forks ride then they r junk.
i think that the trans will take a lot of horse power but it is not bullet proof . i can build trans that will take 1500 horse power however if u take the engine up to 6000 rpm and drop the trans in to gear u r going to break the trans.

 

[Paul Bryant]

i have used diff oils and have noticed that some have let the trans shift better but i don't know witch
one worked better. i change my oil every 5000 mi. i change it myself so the cost is not to bad and i think u should change every 5000.
as for my opinion i think that the forks wear out first then it pops out of gear (jmo) so changing oil every 5000 might help that. the gears that i have seen i think that they could be reused however if it is wore out where the forks ride then they r junk.
i think that the trans will take a lot of horse power but it is not bullet proof . i can build trans that will take 1500 horse power however if u take the engine up to 6000 rpm and drop the trans in to gear u r going to break the trans.

Yes, I've always believed that oil is cheap, I do change the oil every 5000 Miles, and do do it myself.
Interesting (and logical) re the forks, I will look closely at the area when I strip 'er down.
The forth gear that I replaced was worn badly on the dogs, both sets as below.

I've worked as a M/C Mechanic, and run my own M/C shop in the past so do know stuff.
But this Rocket gearbox !

I do keep the clutch cable adjusted correctly so am happy with that part, tho' I do wonder if the clutch is not dis-engaging properly so thus causing some drag on the gears at the point of changing.
I've just bought a set of MTC plates as the clutch was slipping.
Hence me looking at a different oil.

Mind you quite possibly Scotty is onto it, next time I'm out traveling at 100MPH, I'll pull over and stop and THEN drop it into top gear that should help, thanks Scotty

 

[albertaduke]

Yes, I've always believed that oil is cheap, I do change the oil every 5000 Miles, and do do it myself.
Interesting (and logical) re the forks, I will look closely at the area when I strip 'er down.
The forth gear that I replaced was worn badly on the dogs, both sets as below.

I've worked as a M/C Mechanic, and run my own M/C shop in the past so do know stuff.
But this Rocket gearbox !

I do keep the clutch cable adjusted correctly so am happy with that part, tho' I do wonder if the clutch is not dis-engaging properly so thus causing some drag on the gears at the point of changing.
I've just bought a set of MTC plates as the clutch was slipping.
Hence me looking at a different oil.

Mind you quite possibly Scotty is onto it, next time I'm out traveling at 100MPH, I'll pull over and stop and THEN drop it into top gear that should help, thanks Scotty

paul as an addendum....
my gearbox is also problematic you probably read about the problem 4th and 5th slapping noise etc etc. anyway this is to say I was using mobil1 full synthetic and it still happened so I do not think oil brand really makes or break that gearbox

 

[leatal]

Yes, I've always believed that oil is cheap, I do change the oil every 5000 Miles, and do do it myself.
Interesting (and logical) re the forks, I will look closely at the area when I strip 'er down.
The forth gear that I replaced was worn badly on the dogs, both sets as below.

I've worked as a M/C Mechanic, and run my own M/C shop in the past so do know stuff.
But this Rocket gearbox !

I do keep the clutch cable adjusted correctly so am happy with that part, tho' I do wonder if the clutch is not dis-engaging properly so thus causing some drag on the gears at the point of changing.
I've just bought a set of MTC plates as the clutch was slipping.
Hence me looking at a different oil.

Mind you quite possibly Scotty is onto it, next time I'm out traveling at 100MPH, I'll pull over and stop and THEN drop it into top gear that should help, thanks Scotty

It seems to me the male ends on the top gear pictured should be slightly longer so as to get full engagement of the gear in the lower picture.

 

[mr hunt]

Hmmm, me too. Tho' I have pulled mine down once already to replace the 4th gear set.
Now I need to do the 2nd gear set, this does have the later 2nd gear.
This box is not a nice one, when I had it down last I did look closely at the whole unit, all "looked" O.K. but as I'm not experienced with the Rocket box, what would I know !
I've been running Motul oil in the Beast, I think that I will change to Mobil 1 and see if that makes it change better and not do in gears.
I do use the clutch at every change and don't thrash the gearbox.

I'm not quite ready to open mine up yet but given everyone else's experience I'm seriously considering swapping all the gear sets for new - though my box failure seems quite catastrophic compared to others...I've already found teeth in the sump

 

[cusso ken]

That's it I am not going to read anymore posts even vaguely mentioning gearbox failures ,paranoia is slowly creeping into my mind and I am now listening to every squeak, rattle, pop ,ping clunk from my Rocket ,I am too old and cranky to put up with failure from my toys ,and as much as I am attached to my R3T if it causes me some doubts of sh***s itself it and I will come to the end of the trail,
I had forgotten how "nice" the big Japanese sports bike gearboxes are till I rode a 2015 Hayabusa on Monday Smooooth like hot knife in butter

 

[mully95]

I have always used my clutch on each gear change. I have however have made a few attempts at changing the gears without the clutch just to see if I could do it correctly. Seems like it changes pretty smooth without the clutch.

I use Mobil 1 all the time now. Switched to Castrol and the gear box didn't like it. Went back to Mobil 1 and could tell the difference. Strange.

I too have the paranoia growing about my gear box taking a crap. Even the thought of the detent spring going bad gives me shivers.

It has been mentioned that most gearbox issues "could" be caused abuse of the rider. What kind of abuse could a rider do to the gearbox if he uses the clutch all the time? I try to take care of my engines internal organs instead of some people who don't know what a piston is but just turn the key and go.

 

[mr hunt]

I have always used my clutch on each gear change. I have however have made a few attempts at changing the gears without the clutch just to see if I could do it correctly. Seems like it changes pretty smooth without the clutch.

I use Mobil 1 all the time now. Switched to Castrol and the gear box didn't like it. Went back to Mobil 1 and could tell the difference. Strange.

I too have the paranoia growing about my gear box taking a crap. Even the thought of the detent spring going bad gives me shivers.

It has been mentioned that most gearbox issues "could" be caused abuse of the rider. What kind of abuse could a rider do to the gearbox if he uses the clutch all the time? I try to take care of my engines internal organs instead of some people who don't know what a piston is but just turn the key and go.

I've never missed a gear on the rocket, clutchless shifted at low speed/rpm MAYBE half a dozen times in 45k km and done approx 300km flat out on track days...I've literally done thousands of km's racing track days on Japanese in line fours - never even had to adjust a clutch cable...