[afulldeck]

I bought a new, er well used 2007 DL. Only 12,000Km so I would think that its new. :thumbup: Its an outstanding bike on all front and other than three small niggles: a scratch on the fairing, slightly messy installation of a grip heater and a clutch noise --- I'm all smiles.

The niggle around the clutch is what I am trying to track down. Shifting is smooth and quiet through all gears except for shifting up from 1st to 2nd. When I shift from 1st to 2nd, I hear and feel a bit of a klunk. Now I come from a dry clutch bike, so I am used to hearing a noise clutch, but this is a wet clutch and all other gears are quiet and smooth. Should I be worried or is this common with the DL?

 

[BurnieM]

I bought a new, er well used 2007 DL. Only 12,000Km so I would think that its new. :thumbup: Its an outstanding bike on all front and other than three small niggles: a scratch on the fairing, slightly messy installation of a grip heater and a clutch noise --- I'm all smiles.

The niggle around the clutch is what I am trying to track down. Shifting is smooth and quiet through all gears except for shifting up from 1st to 2nd. When I shift from 1st to 2nd, I hear and feel a bit of a klunk. Now I come from a dry clutch bike, so I am used to hearing a noise clutch, but this is a wet clutch and all other gears are quiet and smooth. Should I be worried or is this common with the DL?

It is a standard Suzuki gearbox. I have had a Cagiva Raptor 1000, SV1000 and DL1000 and they all do it.
Preload the lever and flick it thru. Don't hestitate and you will have no problems
.

 

[SCraig]

Live with it. Or use the search tool to read all the other posts about clunky shifting.

 

[stratlanta]

Mine does that. A bit alarming at first but I'm used to it and I don't even think about it now. There are a lot of little Strom idiosyncrasies like this... A while back I just had to make a decision regarding the Strom: less internet, more riding.. :thumbup:

 

[afulldeck]

Thanks guys, if this is the way it is, then again I'm all smiles. I will not worry about it.

 

[obstacle]

I find that it makes a lot of difference from 1st or N to 2nd what your RPM as well as speed is. If they are mismatched there can be clunking or horrific grinding. If done right it can be as smooth as other gears.

 

[gryphon51]

kind of common in a high torque V twin.... in a Suzuki, it is factory spec.....nice thing about the 1000 though... if it really bugs you... you can start in 2nd...... all day long... :thumbup:

 

[sandman66]

Wind it up a bit....shifts nice....
:thumbup:

 

[marshallnoise]

Good thread. I was wondering this exact thing as I am a new owner as well. Coming off a Yamaha, it concerned me greatly when I heard that awful sound.

But if it is standard issue Suzuki, I will roll with it. Keep the oil fresh and just rock it, right?

 

[stratlanta]

Keep the oil fresh and just rock it, right?

I'd say this is accurate! :green_lol:
I can see how it can get your attention at first though. I remember emailing the person I bought my Strom from and basically saying "umm, what's up with 1st to 2nd?" Never had any issues with it though. LOVE the bike.

 

[Starfleet]

I bought a new, er well used 2007 DL. Only 12,000Km so I would think that its new. :thumbup: Its an outstanding bike on all front and other than three small niggles: a scratch on the fairing, slightly messy installation of a grip heater and a clutch noise --- I'm all smiles.

The niggle around the clutch is what I am trying to track down. Shifting is smooth and quiet through all gears except for shifting up from 1st to 2nd. When I shift from 1st to 2nd, I hear and feel a bit of a klunk. Now I come from a dry clutch bike, so I am used to hearing a noise clutch, but this is a wet clutch and all other gears are quiet and smooth. Should I be worried or is this common with the DL?

Like the guys are saying, it's normal. But you can virtually completely eliminate it, as has been said by just lightly pre-loading the gearlever to second gear (this just really means taking out the slack in the change) with the clutch still engaged, and then making the change in the normal way. It makes a huge difference. But you need to experiment to get the best way to do this...everyone does! Once used to it you will get quiet changes. Enjoy the bike.

 

[bwringer]

I installed a new shift lever from Touratech that eliminates the sloppy stock linkage and mounts directly to the gearshift shaft.

Much improved feel, IMHO.

But yeah, the clank is just standard.

 

[afulldeck]

I installed a new shift lever from Touratech that eliminates the sloppy stock linkage and mounts directly to the gearshift shaft.

Much improved feel, IMHO.

But yeah, the clank is just standard.

When you say the stock linkage is sloppy, what does that mean? There was play in the gearshift lever?

I do like the idea of getting rid of linkages just because that means there is one less thing to break....

 

[afulldeck]

Like the guys are saying, it's normal. But you can virtually completely eliminate it, as has been said by just lightly pre-loading the gearlever to second gear (this just really means taking out the slack in the change) with the clutch still engaged, and then making the change in the normal way. It makes a huge difference. But you need to experiment to get the best way to do this...everyone does! Once used to it you will get quiet changes. Enjoy the bike.

I don't preload, since there doesn't seem to be any slack in the gear lever. At least for now.

 

[adh6501]

I remember emailing the person I bought my Strom from and basically saying "umm, what's up with 1st to 2nd?"

Too funny - I sent the exact same e-mail!

 

[1 Wheel Drive]

It seems to me that the big issue here is having to go through neutral. If you're being at all tentative it will find neutral in between.

A big part of avoiding it (for me) is getting the angle of the shifter set right for the boots that you are wearing. Yeah, the boots make a big difference in your toe angle and how easily and deftly you can jab the shifter into second.

Try messing with the shifter angle and see if you can make it more natural feeling and the missed 1-2 shifts may go away.

 

[Scott E. Bonds]

Its normal or my bike is F'ed-up also.

I really shift fast and hard from 1 to 2, the rest of the gears are better but not all that great either. I have started to preload my shifter also when my brain is functioning correctly...with better success.

 

[amangia]

Same thing here. I do the pre-load and it pretty much eliminates it. One thing I have noticed though is that when I go from 1st to 2nd while leaning through a turn without even pre-loading it is smoother than any other shift. I don't feel it nor hear so much as a click - more so in a left turn.