Preventing the dreaded second gear problem

[James t]

Hey guys I was wondering on my 85 I know that there are problems with the second gear and it's quite a job to fix, so my question is is there anything I can to prevent it from happening on my 85 with only 5,000 miles I don't slam it in the second gear, I never shift without the clutch and I keep my oil clean anything else I can do out there to prevent it down the road thanks all happy riding

 

[Radioguylogs]

Pulling in the clutch and shifting firmly like you mean it should prevent any trouble.

I imagine most trouble might be caused by soft shifts that let the dogs bang around the slots before they engage, or by folks that wind out first gear WOT to the red line then make a sloppy shift to second.

 

[Redrum]

Keep your buddies from riding it. Pretty well all the damage on my 4 wheeler has been caused by others.

 

[James t]

Nobody! but me rides my VMAX it's sacred ground, just like I don't let anyone else ride my wife

 

[Redrum]

Just like I don't let anyone else ride my wife

Party pooper

 

[PATMAX]

Isn’t there an “improved” shift segment. Back cutting the trans is sorta after you mess things up unless you got the cash to do it proactively.

 

[marsmax85]

Also your shift segments are known to get weak and fail also you may want to upgrade to a newer style ..

 

[James t]

Also your shift segments are known to get weak and fail also you may want to upgrade to a newer style ..

So what segments do you suggest

 

[flydood]

Keep your buddies from riding it. Pretty well all the damage on my 4 wheeler has been caused by others.

Ha! That's exactly how mine happened. He still denies it.

 

[CaptainKyle]

So what segments do you suggest

I don't even believe they make the old style ones anymore but just to be sure order one for a 99 or up

 

[MaxMidnight]

Rather than buy the parts, strip it down only to find it has the later parts fitted I'd continue to ride the bike.
If it's going to happen it will but given the age of the bike may well have been sorted before it came into your ownership.

IMO the old adage 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' applies here so just ride and just ride and enjoy the bike. Only if it starts to jump out of gear should you fix it.

 

[Redrum]

A friend of mine asked if it was a 5 or 6 speed. I told him it has first gear and fifth gear. There are a bunch of gears in-between but I don't know what they are for.

 

[James t]

Thanks guys for the reply , the bike shifts perfect I'm not tearing into it, until or if it has the problem I just wanted to know if there was anything when performing maintenance to prevent it from wearing out or breaking like I said I keep my oil real clean, do these 85s like synthetic oil or should I stick with the dino

 

[Zeus36]

Mine was going out and is pretty much gone on my 1997 model. I can downshift to second no problem, but upshifting from 1st to 2nd can only be done with a light throttle. As soon as I twist that throttle, it jumps out. I just bypass second gear when I am getting on it, winding out 1st more than I should and double clutching into 3rd. So I'm either screaming around town with unrestricted mufflers in 1st or cruising around in 3rd or 4th. I really should send the motor in and get second fixed...

 

[Redrum]

First gear wide open til 60, move to 5th. Then stop, rinse and repeat.

 

[Redrum]

.

 

[sdt354]

Liking the Dino oil, for the transmission especially. Rotella 15w-40 is popular here. Synthetic can cause slipping clutch issues. I'd ride it as is until you have to service it. Later model gears and, like mentioned, later segment are the way to go. The segment is a quick install.

Thanks guys for the reply , the bike shifts perfect I'm not tearinLater g into it, until or if it has the problem I just wanted to know if there was anything when performing maintenance to prevent it from wearing out or breakintil you have g like I said I keep my oil real clean, do these 85s like synthetic oil or should I stick wit

 

[Fire-medic]

If the cases get split, I have my machinist undercut the transmission. Assuming I'm keeping the bike.

 

[maleko89]

The newer shift segment won't make 2nd gear failure any less likely. The new design just prevents the pins from dropping and thus not allowing shifting gears...but depends on which pins fall out.

 

[Ross L]

It’s weird. I had a bad habit of missing second on my first VMAX. So I let my friend run it at the track to minimize the risk. Lol. NEVER jumped out of second though.