The wife was mentioning some shifting trouble with her Ninja 250 this weekend ('09 w/800 miles - new rider), so I checked the clutch cable adjustment (little bit loose) and also the shifter and linkage. All seemed OK, so we'll see - I've read a few forum posts on 250 shifting issues.
Anyway, I decided to lube my clutch cable and check my shift linkage and shifter. I've always thought my bike to be a little bit "crude" shifting, but just passed it off as a "Harley thing". Her 250 shifted like a typical Jap bike - quite nicely.
Well, after the clutch cable was lubed and adjusted, the feel and effort improved quite a bit. I then found the shifter pivot bolt to be overtightened. I backed it off 1/4 turn so there was a bit of play on the shaft and hit it with some lube. Holy Grinding Gears, Batman! It totally (well, almost - it's still a Harley design...) transformed the shifting. Less clunky, much less effort, overall just more pleasant to shift, not like I need to shift that often anyway.
Too bad I didn't figure that out a week ago after dropping my welder on my left big toe while wearing sandals! It wasn't real bad, but it was enough to make shifting a little painful.
Chris
A tip I got from another board member when my linkage fell apart on me - make sure the bushing is in there as well. Thought I had it fixed with a bit of a tightening but didn't realize there was a bushing to hold everything in line. Obviously a huge difference.
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