When upshifting, try squeezing up (not bumping up) until you feel the upper stop. This clutch is a dry single plate, car-like, clutch. It does not behave like a oil-bathed multi-disc clutch of most other bikes.

Other than that, if there's no solid service history behind it, change the gearbox oil and ensure it is properly filled as per the manual: bike upright and fill the gearbox slowly until it starts dripping oil from the filler hole, 700ml should do it.

I'm attaching the instructions for the GB oil change.

 

Interesting!
In my experience so far with R9T, I have found this bike to have the most well behaved neutral.
It’s always there when you want to find a neutral and never there when you don’t need it.
I still remember, the bike dealer was counseling me about being patient in finding the neutral and if you don’t get it, try to rock the bike forward and backward to find neutral, made it seem like the neutral would be like finding hen’s teeth. Never had issues with it

 

@laalves
Care to educate me and elaborate on this clutch?
What do you mean by squeezing vs bumping and what do you mean by upper stop
Who knows maybe I already do it the way you are telling me but can’t seem to understand it.
Perhaps it would be like countersteering, we all do it and only few or maybe just me who never understood it
It was hard for me to wrap my head around it when someone explained it to me for first time

 

Welcome Lukas!
As I see in your other post ...

The R9t is also my first bike after getting my license this spring.

... get slowly used to it as you're a rookie on motorbikes at all, so probably hard for you to compare shifting habits.
Try different shoes may giving you a better feeling for the lever play and/or adjust the gear lever position to suit your foot angle. And check the above said.
On the other hand, squeezing (to find the point for the next gear) or bumping the lever depends a bit on the driving situation. Try out what works best for you. You can even shift without the clutch - the ninetee is very agricultural

 

Have all your other bikes been chain drives?

As already said big old dry clutch, generally shafties tend to have poorer shifting compared to chain drive and multiplate wet clutch bikes...................At least until you become familiar with their idiosyncracies.

Perhaps I'm wrong but I believe what's being written about slow and patient with the lever is what I know as preload. Just apply a bit of movement on the lever and wait a second before fully engaging it, big flywheel and clutch take a bit of time to slow down, so there can be a mismatch in engine and wheel side shafts. Rushing it will just make it worse IMHO.

If you want an education into how bad it can be try an old BMW or 5 speed Guzzi.

I think my R9T box is llike a knife through butter compared to the Guzzis, whose boxes can make noises that turn heads if I get it even slightly wrong.

 

Great advice given above.

Firstly check the oil levels, or better still change it so you absolutely know it's fresh, and of the correct grade and amount.

Next I recommend you check/lube the gear linkage bushes/rose joints etc.........to make sure it's all shifting slick and smooth.

When those points are ticked off, the only thing left is your actual gearchange technique..........

As said this is a quirky old skool design.......a deliberate lift of the gear lever (not a quick nudge), held in the upward position until you know the next gear has fully engaged before releasing, works well for these bikes.........it certainly ain't no racing box that's for sure!!!

 

Thank you all, these are good tips!!!

Best regards Lukas

 

Please don't forget to let us know how you got on with solving the issue @Lukas vdh

 

There is a common error everyone makes. Always HOLD up on the shift lever until you release the clutch. Do no let the shift lever relax until you have fully released the clutch and are under power again. What happens is that the transmission clutch dogs are not properly aligned and when you shift up and release, you have only made HALF the shift. The dogs hit each other and did not mesh to allow the shift selector barrel and shift fork to slide the dog collar in to engage the next gear.

This is more prevalent on the dry clutch because it had less drag and its easier for the internal parts to stop rotating as they need to for the dogs to mesh.

 

There is a common error everyone makes. Always HOLD up on the shift lever until you release the clutch. Do no let the shift lever relax until you have fully released the clutch and are under power again

Mind blown! I guess I've been shifting wrong almost 50 years. 😆 I tried your method several times today and only got it once... I'll admit it DID feel like it engaged differently... More solidly...I think.

Ride on!

 

So if I have to summarize the shifting process:
Step 1: preload shifter (pre-mesh gears)
Step 2: clutch in
Step 3: deliberate lift shifter up position (mesh gears) and adjust throttle
Step 4: release clutch
Step 5: relax shifter (after-mesh gears)

Brilliant! They don’t teach this stuff when getting your driving license on a Yamaha MT07.

I think with some training I can get this in my mussle memory!

Thanks for the tips. I will let you know how it goes.

Greetings from Holland

 

So if I have to summarize the shifting process:
Step 1: preload shifter (pre-mesh gears)
Step 2: clutch in
Step 3: deliberate lift shifter up position (mesh gears) and adjust throttle
Step 4: release clutch
Step 5: relax shifter (after-mesh gears)

That sounds like a pretty accurate summary for smooth, fast shifts on our bikes. It sounds overly complicated but once you get the hang of it it’s actually quick and simple.

I would say that you shouldn’t need to be nailing this exact technique to be getting from 1st to 2nd. If you’re giving the gear shifter a solid push all the way up it should shift gear and not find a false neutral regardless of your clutch technique.

Other members have already given you some good advice for servicing the gearbox. I’d also add that the shift lever is adjustable and if you find it hard to push it up far enough it can be repositioned so it sits lower at rest. It’s mounted on a splined shaft and is easy to DIY but you will need a torx socket.

 

Hi all,

Had a nice ride out on the R NineT yesterday. Only one or two false neutrals. Keeping the shifter up until after releasing the clutch did the trick.

The one or two false neutrals where when I was not concentrating.

Tomorrow I will mount the Wunderlich peg lowering kit, then I wil also loook into the shift lever placing if it needs adjusting.

Thanks for al your tips.

Best regards Lukas

 

Pleased to hear you have found an improvement @Lukas vdh.

Things can only get better, especially when you get the peg/lever positions more to your liking.

 

This morning adjusted the lever, zero false neutrals. I’m still holding the gearlever up till after I let the clutch go, it has become a bit of a habit already. I could move to the front of the traffic lights and take off with confidence. What a joy to ride!!!

thanks all!

best regards Lukas

 

I have a 9T and an XSR900 and the difference in gearboxes is quite noticeable. As Weegie and others have pointed out its a big single plate dry clutch with a separate gearbox in the BMW. The MT07 you learned on has a clutch sitting in the engine oil. They are a lot easier shifting in my experience and can tolerate lots of abuse. For what its worth I would definitely follow Gambo's advice and change the gearbox oil. It doesn't take much (0.7l I think) so its a cheap fix. I changed mine out well before the normal chnage interval and it was a lot nicer shifting afterwards (but still not as slick as my XSR )

 

Changed the gearbox oil today, the box is pretty smooth now. With my improved shifting technique (preloading) I never have false neutrals now. Riding fun is skyhigh at the moment!!!!