[ducati_st2]

hello R1 gurus, hope to get some good advice here.

just bought a 2003 R1 with about 5K miles. brought it home on a trailer.

it had sat for a couple months in cold garage, previous owner says it has mobil 1 synthetic in it, does not appear to be thrashed or dropped, mostly stock config as far as i can tell.

i am familiar with lots of sportbikes, but this particular bike seems to shift in a very clumsy way, (or perhaps it is my technique).

the basic issue is that after an upshift the gear change lever does not easily rotate back into position so you can grab the next upshift---i have to play with it with my foot to get it to reset it's position so i can grab the next gear.

today was my first test ride and it was cold (about 35F) outside but the bike was at operating temperature, showed 156F on temp gauge. (i did not test ride the bike prior to purchase, but bought it sight unseen on ebay). it does run perfect in every way except for this shifting issue.

i only road the bike about 15 minutes and the condition seemed to improve after about 15 minutes on the road, but shifting ease is still not so good (like my ducati or hayabusa).

chain slack seems ok and bike has enough oil in it.

any thoughts? or is the thing just cold, and do they all shift clunky with cold?

thanks for any advice!

 

[matthiasR1]

sticky shifter not normal

Hi, I so not think it's normal for the shifter to be this sticky...
Never had any bike do that, and i had some...

my 2 cents... matthias.

PS.: 'm surprised you didn't ride this before you bought it...

 

[AZRider]

MATTHIASR1 pm me some more pics of your ride, im rebuilding my 02 and thinking of that streetfighter style. Also give me the names of those aftermarket parts. thanks, much appreciated.

Ducati st2 the issue you are having might be lubrication issues. In fact try greasing the fittings on the shift rod. Also look at the clearences between the rod and the frame b/c the shift rod actually goes threw a slot in the frame. With the bike parked move all the shifting linkages to make sure theres no binding. If everything is ok, it has to be something inside the transmission. Did the seller disclose any mechanical/cosmetic deffects during the listing? Hope this helps. Late

 

[JAYSTENSEC4CYL]

there is a small return spring thats know to break. Luckly it's easy to get too and cheap. It's under the cover above the front sprocket. Easy fix.

 

[ducati_st2]

there is a small return spring thats know to break. Luckly it's easy to get too and cheap. It's under the cover above the front sprocket. Easy fix.

ok, i'll dig into this. thanks to you all!