Yea, i'm sure this has happened to everyone at one time or another. But here's the thing. It happened to me like 3 times at the track last weekend. It wasnt a problem really on the upshift ,the bike would just rev out and I'd slam it back into gear.

Where things got scary was downshifting. 2 times I was going from 3rd to 2nd and it slipped into neutral. Talk about SCARY. I mean, I'm already braking hard for the turn and then the bike goes into neutral, now the engine wont help slow me down cause I'm coasting, it freaked me out. Both times I came out alright, but when you have alot of things going on at once, at high speed with little room for error, thats the last thing I need.

Ever had this problem?

Yeah, the old gen R1's didn't have the best gearboxes. The 02 doesn't seem to have this problem, I have yet to miss a shift. You still have to slam your foot hard down the gears and make sure it sits in. If you feel you hit false neutral, slip the clutch out slightly, pull it back in, slam down again, blip throttle and release clutch. This will help load and unload the cogs and won't lock up the rear (unless you want :))

Originally posted by KneeDragger77
Where things got scary was downshifting. 2 times I was going from 3rd to 2nd and it slipped into neutral. Talk about SCARY. I mean, I'm already braking hard for the turn and then the bike goes into neutral, now the engine wont help slow me down cause I'm coasting, it freaked me out. Ever had this problem?

Can't say I have. Are you using the clutch to downshift at the track? Try doing it without the clutch... just rest your toe lightly on the shift lever (or press up slightly, if you've converted to race shift pattern), not enough to shift, then blip the throttle... it will drop right into gear when the revs match.

Takes a bit of practice, but it's quick and positive once you get it down. :thumbup

thanks RLMEsq, I'll have to try that. I do admit the idea of not using the clutch has crossed my mind, but replacing them has too:lol Anyways, so while applying slight pressure just blip and it will slide down eh? ok I'll give it a try on the 14th.

Maybe I'm not getting it but, dont you have to pull the clutch to blip anyways? I mean, thats how I've been doing it. If I blipped without the clutch it would jerk the bike right? What am I missing here:iamwithst

Originally posted by KneeDragger77
Maybe I'm not getting it but, dont you have to pull the clutch to blip anyways? I mean, thats how I've been doing it.It's a question of learning to coordinate the actions.

I'm assuming you already upshift without the clutch at the track. That takes a quick "reverse blip," if you will, where you slide off the throttle just slightly as you snick it into the next gear. It probably started a little jerky at first, but is now smooth to you.

Same thing with the clutchless downshift... practice off the track, when the bike isn't under heavy throttle. You'll pick it up quickly.

There are also quickshifter kits, which are basically a kill switch that activates for a split second when the shift lever moves.