My 2006 zx-14 will clunk and jerk whenever I engage 1-st gear from neutral. My old Suzuki Bandit dosen't do this ,never has. What's going on? Thanks

Mike S.

I'm not HUB.But just to put you at ease-THEY ALL DO IT!(least I've never heard of one NOT clunking).My zx12 used to do it-but if I held the clutch in,popped the throttle(to about 5-6,000 rpms)and let it come back down-and IMMEDIATELY(at about 5 seconds) shifted into first,it was smooth as silk.Tried this on my 14-Didn't work. Installed a factoryPro Evo shift star.Cluncking is still there-though I must say,not near as pronounced.Not getting any missed shifts either,and clutchless downshifts(or upshifts) can be made at any speed.Very nice mod. And yes-I do believe SUZUKI solved this problem VERY WELL-It's hard to imagine Kawasaki Industries not correcting this-but apparently they haven't ridden any Suzi's .(ARE YOU LISTENING KAWI!!!?)

* Last updated by: blue07 on 4/24/2009 @ 2:37 PM *

Thanks blue07 that kinda puts my mind at ease. Knowing that they all do it."Clunk" zx-14 s that is. Have had this bike for almost 2 years. Just love it in it's stock form. Have considered slip-ons but I fear lean / rich issues with the engine.

You might try the throttle blip technique.Try it at different "wait" periods.My 12, I had to wait approx.5 seconds after closing the throttle,then it would pop right in easy.I'll experiment more with my 14 as well.Really surprised Kawi didn't get this one right after all these concerns(worldwide).Ride safe-Have fun!!And you've got stock pipes?I'm running a PCIII with "secondaries removed"-stock pipes.No leaning issues at all.You should be able to install slip-ons no prob if you go with a powercommander(maps set up for various mods).Just make sure you order(if you do)the RACE VERSION ONLY.The "ex" model WON'T ALLOW remaps of the low end-5,000 rpms and down.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 4/24/2009 @ 2:39 PM *

I just joined this site today(makes me a newbie I guess) and I am seeing that there is a lot of zx-14 tech jargon that I must learn. i.e. "maps' flies'"secondaries" "cans" etc. but hey ,that's all part and parcel to anything in the beginning. It's nice to have this place where like minded motorcyclist can swap info realated to our particular model of motorcycle. Just got through reading about removing "flies" from my 14.Photos and all,looks pretty easy ,even for an avg. wrencher like myself. thanks for tips on slip-ons. Mapping.

leanknife:

Try the first 2 messages here for some help with the jargon.

-bg

* Last updated by: bgordon on 4/24/2009 @ 3:58 PM *

I've had this on a few different bikes, but not all do it. Dunno why that is. Mine (08) seems to do it less when the idel is low. My theory for the clunking goes as follows:

There are 3 shafts in the bottom of the engine, The crank (1) that is connected to the 1st gear shaft (2) via the clutch that is connected to the final drive shaft (3) by the gears and finally to the rear wheel by the chain. The front sprocket is bolted to the end of the final drive shaft.

When you are stationary in 1st gear (clutch in) the crank is separated from the 1st gear shaft by the clutch. The 1st and final gear shafts are connected by the 1st gear combination that you already selected and are therefore stationary but 'joined'. You know the rest (engage the clutch and throttle and away you go).

When you are stationary in neutral, (clutch out) the crank is CONNECTED to the 1st gear shaft by the clutch. The 1st gear is separated from the final gear shaft by the fact that there are no gears selected that connect them. So at this point, the 1st gear shaft is spinning with the crank and the final gear shaft is stationary as it is connected to the rear wheel by the chain.

When you pull the clutch lever, there remains a little bit of friction in the clutch basket, enough to keep the 1st gear shaft spinning with the crank. When you then engage first gear, the clunk results from the sudden stopping of the 1st gear shaft by connecting it to the final gear shaft with the first gear. Blipping the throttle (with the clutch in) seems to break the grip between the clutch plates and allow the friction within the gear box to slow the spinning of the 1st gear shaft enough so that when first gear engages, there is not such a sudden deceleration of the gear shaft.

I can't explain why some bikes don't do it at all. Blipping the throttle is second nature to me now. But then so is leaving it in 1st gear at the lights in case I need to scream away in a hurry due to some fool not seeing the bike directly in front of them as they approach the big shiny red light, what does red mean again? Now I'm ranting, sorry.

HTH - Russty

Apparently KMC did some tweaking in this area and '08 & '09 clunk into 1-st is almost eliminated over '06 & '07 models.

* Last updated by: Steven14 on 4/25/2009 @ 6:50 AM *

^^^not my 08. it clunks. Not bad at all if dropped into gear soon after the fast idle shuts down. That's your last chance for a clunkless switch out of neutral until the motor cools down again.

Rook

Steven14, Do you know what that fix was?

Russty kaw changed the clutch basket gear. The 06-07 had a spring loaded two piece ring gear and the 08-09 doesn't. Some are less clunky then others,but with all the racing 14's that come threw here not one has had any kind of tranny or clutch problem. Before you ask the answer is no' they are not interchangeable. The pitch is different on the two gears so they won't mate without changing the crank. I wouldn't let this worry you at all, its not going to damage a thing..................Hogs14

Just a little update-sometimes it's THE SIMPLEST THINGS.Geez-lowered my idle speed to a tad UNDER 1000 rpms(around 9ish).VERY LITTLE CLUNK NOW-SHHWWWWEEEEETT!

I had a KX1000, did the same thing.
russty's answer seems logical.
I read Hub's answer but all I can say is ....What?
We're obviously not using the same drugs. ( )

this happens because oil is forced from between the clutch fiber friction plates and the steel plates. you pull in the clutch lever and come to a stop and if even one clutch plate is making contact with another , the gears in the transmission continue to spin.then when you push the shifter down into 1st gear you hear and feel the dogs on 1st gear slam violently into position sending a shockwave throughout the entire motorcycle and your body. i have seen people take the clutch plates out and sand them on a flat surface such as a piece of glass aand it did help but only temporarily. as far as how good this is for the transmission and the rest of the driveline, common sense tells me it couldn't possibly be good for it. to me it's embarassing to have my bike slam into gear and jerk forward when i select 1st gear at a traffic light. seems like kawa could put some wave washers between the clutchplates to force them apart since they don't want to seperate otherwise.

Good info Smoke.Like I said,I lowered my idle rpms to about 950-made a BIG difference.IT STILL WILL CLUNK-just not near as sharply.

blue o7;
i haven't tried that yet but i will.

Like most, mine clunks. That was my first question to the dealer and he said that's the number 1 complaint. Mines an '07.
I've always had my idle set at 1,000. Exercising the clutch a few times before actually tapping into gear seemed to help but not always. I found applying a little more pressure to the front brake helps. Still get a clunk but very little forward lurch.