Not staying in gear issues

[Morecoalmole]

Hi, I’ve a 2021 year model Z900 bought from new with zero miles, I’ve had it not quite a year and cover 1100 miles so far. When I first got it I had new boots n riding clothes and everything was a bit stiff, the bike is a toy, I’m 50 and have owned a fair few bikes over the years, mostly Kawasakis, but I’m just getting back after an 8year break from riding. I had a few incidents where the bike dropped out of 6th into a false neutral whilst riding along the first few times I went out on it when I was running the bike in and figured rider error, stiff boots etc might be me not selecting up properly although it wasn’t straight away like I’d select 6th n it would not go home n rev n clatter but like I’d be riding along n it would just drop out of gear.. anyway I’ve been out on the bike about 15 to20 times over the summer and I noticed it would happen at least once every time I go out, sometimes 2or3 times and I’m now convinced it isn’t me but the bike. It has started happening in lower gears now too like 3rd and 4th if I go over a bump it’s also happened during hard acceleration but not when changing up it like half way up the rev range n bang it jumps out and the bike hits the rev limiter..I was wondering if anyone else on here has had any similar problems or experienced it before I take it back to the shop like I said I’ve ridden and owned lots of bikes zx6,7 n 9s zxr 750’s, zzr’s, 350 power valve’s and a1250 bandit n never had any of these problems?? Sorry this is so long but I’m trying to be thorough. Cheers MCM.

[Cazzy_R]

Originally Posted by Morecoalmole

Hi, I’ve a 2021 year model Z900 bought from new with zero miles, I’ve had it not quite a year and cover 1100 miles so far. When I first got it I had new boots n riding clothes and everything was a bit stiff, the bike is a toy, I’m 50 and have owned a fair few bikes over the years, mostly Kawasakis, but I’m just getting back after an 8year break from riding. I had a few incidents where the bike dropped out of 6th into a false neutral whilst riding along the first few times I went out on it when I was running the bike in and figured rider error, stiff boots etc might be me not selecting up properly although it wasn’t straight away like I’d select 6th n it would not go home n rev n clatter but like I’d be riding along n it would just drop out of gear.. anyway I’ve been out on the bike about 15 to20 times over the summer and I noticed it would happen at least once every time I go out, sometimes 2or3 times and I’m now convinced it isn’t me but the bike. It has started happening in lower gears now too like 3rd and 4th if I go over a bump it’s also happened during hard acceleration but not when changing up it like half way up the rev range n bang it jumps out and the bike hits the rev limiter..I was wondering if anyone else on here has had any similar problems or experienced it before I take it back to the shop like I said I’ve ridden and owned lots of bikes zx6,7 n 9s zxr 750’s, zzr’s, 350 power valve’s and a1250 bandit n never had any of these problems?? Sorry this is so long but I’m trying to be thorough. Cheers MCM.

  Take it back to the dealership mate. Something is wrong.

[zed9]

That isn’t right. You made a good point about your stiff riding boots so you’re sure you’re not covering the shift lever when it pops out of gear?
That’s the only thing I can think of and I don’t want to sound insulting to an experienced rider.
Have you tried to move the shift lever down a bit?

Also, at least with the earlier models, there were a lot of complaints about the bikes coming from the dealers with not enough free-play with the clutch lever adjustments. This caused a few clutches to prematurely wear out. So check that.

[Morecoalmole]

Hi thanks for the response, I've not had any clutch slip but I will check that now it's brought to my attention, thank you, I have also toyed with the idea of moving the selector arm down a spline or two but wondered if it was a common issue and was just as well getting the dealer to check so im not masking a major problem inside the gearbox...I will try that 1st before I go back to the dealer n see if its any better. Thanks again for you input. MCM.

[zed9]

The clutch slip from the maladjusted clutch doesn’t show up for a few thousand miles.
My clutch slipped at around 5000 miles and that was with a properly adjusted clutch, which I did when I got mine back from the dealer.
I blame the three weak springs Kawasaki has installed in the slipper/assist clutch. You cover the clutch lever while riding and the least little pressure from gloved hands at speed and you’ve pressed the clutch.
I immediately installed the Brock’s springs and the problem went away plus it gave more feel to the lever. The clutch pull still remains ridiculously light compared to older bikes.

So compared to the older bikes you describe in your first post maybe it’s just getting used to this super light clutch?

[TonysMate]

That definitely sounds like a gearbox issue.

For what it's worth, a few years ago I got a new ZX-6R and a couple of times (at around 800 miles and again around 1400) it went straight through 4th into a false neutral on upchanges.  The second time it happened I got the dealer (OnYerBike near Aylesbury) to collect it without trying to rectify it myself, so they could see the problem.  They rebuilt the box and said the only thing they found was some stiffness in the selector drum, which meant the selector fork would stick and then jump forward beyond the gear.  It could be a similar issue, i.e. a sticking selectordrum or fork, for your box.

I'd certainly be looking to get the dealer to sort it out, or give you your money back.

[Morecoalmole]

Yes I may as well get them to look at it so as not to mask a problem that could be catastrophic later, thanks for your reply. MCM.

[P.G.Smithy]

Originally Posted by Morecoalmole

Hi, I've a 2021 year model Z900 bought from new with zero miles, I've had it not quite a year and cover 1100 miles so far. When I first got it I had new boots n riding clothes and everything was a bit stiff, the bike is a toy, I'm 50 and have owned a fair few bikes over the years, mostly Kawasaki, but I'm just getting back after an 8year break from riding. I had a few incidents where the bike dropped out of 6th into a false neutral whilst riding along the first few times I went out on it when I was running the bike in and figured rider error, stiff boots etc might be me not selecting up properly although it wasn't straight away like I’d select 6th n it would not go home n rev n clatter but like I’d be riding along n it would just drop out of gear.. anyway I’ve been out on the bike about 15 to20 times over the summer and I noticed it would happen at least once every time I go out, sometimes 2or3 times and I’m now convinced it isn’t me but the bike. It has started happening in lower gears now too like 3rd and 4th if I go over a bump it’s also happened during hard acceleration but not when changing up it like half way up the rev range n bang it jumps out and the bike hits the rev limiter..I was wondering if anyone else on here has had any similar problems or experienced it before I take it back to the shop like I said I’ve ridden and owned lots of bikes zx6,7 n 9s zxr 750’s, zzr’s, 350 power valve’s and a1250 bandit n never had any of these problems?? Sorry this is so long but I’m trying to be thorough. Cheers MCM.

Hi there, I'm glad it's not just me having this issue. Brought my z900 with around 4500 miles on it and I've managed to get it up too 9000 miles and it's been serviced to kawasaki specs with the last one being the big one.  I've been getting the same issue with the gears popping back down and bouncing off the rev limiter, it mostly happens under heavy acceleration. I thought it was me as I'm a new rider and this is my first big bike.  I was wondering if your also getting a burnt plastic smell after riding for a while?

[Morecoalmole]

Hi, no burnt plastic smell for me, I've had the bike in the shop and the mechanic took it out for a long ride, I think he did about 10miles??? He had absolutely no problems.  I'd encouraged him to ride it enthusiastically as that's when the problems seem to arise... the issue from their perspective is me and my new boots didnt help so I have bought some alpinestar riding shoe type ankle boots, they look a bit like formula one drivers shoes and they give excellent feel on the pegs and gear lever, I'm still under warranty as I have the two years extension from purchase, so I'm going to run it this year and see how it goes if the problems still exist then they can have it back again and again until I get a satisfactory resolution. I'm not sure what the plastic burning smell could be have you got a standard exhaust system??

[Cazzy_R]

 Is it popping out of any gear in particular?
 4th gear has been a weak point on earlier iterations of this engine (Z1000).