To Clunk or Not To Clunk

[TheKid]

Thats good to know

 

[Evil Mitch]

mine clunked until i had my gear actuator replaced under warranty because i was having trouble getting neutral and now its smooth as and never clunks

I do still let my clutch out a little before selecting 1st just to make sure it is in gear properly had a couple of incidents in the early days of ownership where it would pop out of gear otherwise .
Not sure if it happens with the new gear actuator because i always use this method to select 1st now just incase.
Nothing worse than leaving a servo and the thing pops out of first while leaned over it tends to re introduce gravity back into the situation real fast
But she definatly does not clunk anymore with the new actuator she is very smooth

 

[stepnet1983]

Thanks for all the great info guys - ya'll are a great source of knowledge. From all I am hearing thus far it sounds like all is well - I'm having the time of my life aboard my "rocket ship".

 

[CanberraR3]

If it doesn't clunk into 1st you run the risk of it popping out on acceleration. I avoid the problem by ALWAYS letting the clutch out in neutral after starting and before engaging 1st. Klunks every time and never pops out.

 

[hooky]

they told me at the dealers the gear box will free up after you put a couple of thousand miles on her and it has, also notice it gets better once the engine is up to woring temp. But i like the clunk in first gear , it sort of fits with 2300cc of bloody big engine and the monster motorcycle your sitting on if you know what i mean.

 

[Power-Tripp]

More R3s tend to have the trans smooth out after around 2500 miles.
We've found that the oil used has a large impact on how smoothly the trans shifts. The AliSyn ProDrive 21 15w-40 Type 3 has a GL-4 and GL-5 gear rating, and is all we use in R3s. I can't say enough about how well this oil works.

I have ordered a batch of newly designed star shifters that will work much more smoothly than the stock units. These have a different profile than stock. We use these on many other bikes that have similar clunking into gear, and notchy shifting - with good results.

We should have these in our hands in 4 weeks.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

I noticed mine shifted a lot smoother after I switched from Rotella synthetic to Mobile 1 full synthetic motorcycle oil.

 

[HellFire]

Mitch what are you referring to as the "actuator"? Are you talking about the Gear Position Sensor (GPS), or is there something else?

 

[Sidecar Flip]

All my machine tools clunk when you change gears so it don't really bother me. My KLR clunks and so does my Bonnie.

 

[gwilliams290]

I've noticed something that I just chalked up to being me. I have an 06 Classic and it has a heal/toe shifter. Almost all my previous bikes have been Japanese (mostly 4's) and I've never had a heal shifter. I've ALWAYS used the toe lift to upshift, and it's been "clunky" on my Rocket. I felt that maybe Triumph was staying careful and building trannies that were hell for strong, and the clunkiness was due to "strong" engagement of the gear teeth during changes. One day I made a quick run to the store and went in my tennis shoes. I used the heal shifter and the engagement was MUCH SMOOTHER. I've tried it since and the heal shift is smoother than the toe lift method, on my bike. Now I've got 12 1/2 size shoes so I don't think it's an issue of not enough foot length for the shifting. I was surprised and am now almost always using the heal method for upshifting. Could just be me but has anyone else noticed this?