Won't shift down to 1st when rolling.

Hello,

I have the Triumph Rocket 3 Roadster 2018, just broke it in and got it's first service last week with 650 + miles.

Recently, when I try to shift all the way down to first when coming to a red light, rolling about 30mph, the gear will stop at Neutral, with the clutch pulled in. When I try to shift to 1st, I here multiple clicking, it won't go down. When I slow down even further though, it shifts to 1st with a big satisfying CLUNK sound that we all know well.

I wasn't having this problem before. Does anyone know what it is I'm experiencing? I know ideally you gradually shift down, and I do that to. But it's acting like I'm shifting down without the clutch being pulled in.

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Try not to go to first til you are below 20 or even less. it's easier on the mechanism and the gears if you don't force it at higher speeds.

rocketjohn said:

Try not to go to first til you are below 20 or even less. it's easier on the mechanism and the gears if you don't force it at higher speeds.

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Agreed. I can’t give a technical explanation as many others surely can, or know why it seems to have changed for you. As much as I hate to give this answer I’d say, don’t do that!

I’d have to pay more attention to be sure, but I almost never shift down into first above single digit speeds.

The short answer: Don’t go into 1st without rev matching. Just pulling the clutch and pushing it into first is hard on internals.

Make sure you don't have too much slack in your clutch cable

I see. Thank you for that, and that's something I have to look out for now. Thank you for the help thus far.

Just to show you I've uploaded a video from my Gopro. It's a small file through WeTransfer if you want to take a look.

Bike Problem.mp4

@Claviger called it… no rev matching in the video. Nothing seemed strange about the video to me. It if would've shifted, I'd have expected a huge clunk under those conditions and a significant upset to the suspension. Just no need to do it. You're still at 2k RPM in 2nd, so you've got all the torque you need for sudden passing or whatever.

ThisGuy said:

@Claviger called it… no rev matching in the video. Nothing seemed strange about the video to me. It if would've shifted, I'd have expected a huge clunk under those conditions and a significant upset to the suspension. Just no need to do it. You're still at 2k RPM in 2nd, so you've got all the torque you need for sudden passing or whatever.

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My ignorance got me again, and I feel like a total idiot. I got the rocket after riding a Yamaha Vstar 950 for 10 months, so I'm still new in the sense. My down shifting technique wasn't correct at all. All I can say is thank you for taking the time to watch the video and showing me.

When I use to shift down to first doing my method I would hear a big CLUNK. So yeah you're right. It's using the right oil now since I brought it in for it's first service last week. That's the only thing that's changed.

Wouldn't give it a second thought. I'm far from an expert rider. There are plenty of guys on the forum who can ride circles around me. It was a couple years before I realized despite riding somewhat aggressively, I really had no idea what I was doing compared to racers and good sportbike riders. Thus began a whole new era of study and practice.

Hopefully the following is helpful. Just ignore me if it's completely obvious. As far as downshifting, start practicing 5th to 4th and work your day down as they get smooth. 2nd to 1st is the hardest (and in my experience the least used unless you're in some really serious twisties). There's also a middle ground between dropping to idle to shift as in the video, and blipping the throttle to rev match like a racer. Try holding the throttle completely steady. When you pull the the clutch the RPMs of course will rise without the engine load. Shift and let the clutch out in a reasonable time and the revs won't run away on you, and will settle in smoothly.

It's actually one of my favorite techniques to practice just for fun. Rolling down the road at 50 or 60, and in a fraction of a second the suspension hasn't shifted at all, no pause in power… it's just like you're instantaneously at the higher RPMs. Love it. I'll just shift back and forth a few times while I cruise, bouncing the RPMs up and down while feeling no change in the steady cruising.

All that said, I still rarely apply it from 2nd to 1st. But then I don't live around the twisties I used to, where I wouldn't get above 2nd for over 30 miles.

I don’t usually go to 1st at any meaningful speed either. On the occasions you need to, you really need to get a good blip in as the ratios are a good bit apart so you need to bring the rpm up quite a bit.