NC700X smooth shfiting

[Sol B]

Hello all, I need your help and input. I logged 1k miles on my daily commute these last few weeks. The bike is brand new. Now before I start I have been riding on off for 10 years. Started with a Suzuki katana, moved to. a R6 (which was stoles after a few weeks), then to a FZ6 for a few years, then a BMW F800R which I crashed a few months ago (guy made an illegal left turn in front of me ) and now got a NC700X for commuting purposes only. So onto my problem....
I am completely embarrassed to say that I have not been able to smoothly shift in the lower gears and I can't imagine what I am doing wrong. I have been attempting everything I know. I understand I am coming off high rpm performance bikes and this is a tamer low RPM bike. I know how to pre load the shifter and I never had these problems in over 10k miles of my other bikes. Clearly, I have lost my ability to shift smooth and its driving me nuts.
I read some of your posts on where your shifting points are (rpm wise), but I just can't get it right. I'm slowing down, lurching , and not being able to match my rpm's to make the shift smooth. I'm commuting to NYC and mostly during very heavy congestion causing me to constantly shift. It seems the bike likes to shift to 2nd at 12 mph, 2nd in the low 30's and 3rd by 35. The rest of the gears not having issues with. I don't think it's the bike. I think it me.
I would love to hear from you any tips and or advice to try and figure out what the heck I am doing wrong.

 

[SergeantChuck]

Hopefully someone else will add some advice because I'm terrible about getting my thought across. I too have stepped down from riding only sport bikes so it took me minute to get used to the NCX. It has been talked about in a couple other threads about the fuel injection of this bike at low speeds can be a little jerky.

http://nc700-forum.com/forum/nc700-technical/4028-herky-jerky.html

I would say I typically change gears somewhere in the 2200-2500 RPM area. Like you the only time I was having problem was in 1st and 2nd. I would just play around with your shift points until you get comfortable and find the sweet spot.

 

[n30r3l0ad3d]

I usually take the bike up to 4k RPM before shifting. 4400 is peak power, and anything after it is just noise.

 

[what next]

I like to keep it around 2500 rpm in town never let it get below 2000.

 

[eander4910]

I've found that if you take it up to 3000 rpm, shifts are pretty smooth.......

 

[Naked_Duc]

I am guess your problem might be the fact that you ride the NCX like it's a sports bike. It's not even a sporty bike. You can't ride it like a FZ6 by rev'ing it up close to redline, shift up, and drop the clutch lever. Ride it like a diesel truck and you'd fine.

I usually stay in as high gear as I can and shift by 3000rpm. Shifting up to 6th, I would stay in 5th a bit longer.

 

[Daniszeman]

From my experience, I take sometimes a full second to actually do the whole shifting process and the bike seems to like that, in comparison to treating it like a sports bike and doing it as quickly as possible.

 

[PJM]

I find the bike likes to be out of 1st as soon as possible, I often upshift by 10k.

I also find that in heavy traffic driving, I don't usually go below 3rd, and slip the clutch. Unless I stop at lights that is. The bike has so much torque she pulls from pretty much zero in 3rd with just a tiny amount of clutch.

 

[n30r3l0ad3d]

I often upshift by 10k.

Your NC goes up to 10k?

 

[Sol B]

Hello all, I need your help and input. I logged 1k miles on my daily commute these last few weeks. The bike is brand new. Now before I start I have been riding on off for 10 years. Started with a Suzuki katana, moved to. a R6 (which was stoles after a few weeks), then to a FZ6 for a few years, then a BMW F800R which I crashed a few months ago (guy made an illegal left turn in front of me ) and now got a NC700X for commuting purposes only. So onto my problem....
I am completely embarrassed to say that I have not been able to smoothly shift in the lower gears and I can't imagine what I am doing wrong. I have been attempting everything I know. I understand I am coming off high rpm performance bikes and this is a tamer low RPM bike. I know how to pre load the shifter and I never had these problems in over 10k miles of my other bikes. Clearly, I have lost my ability to shift smooth and its driving me nuts.
I read some of your posts on where your shifting points are (rpm wise), but I just can't get it right. I'm slowing down, lurching , and not being able to match my rpm's to make the shift smooth. I'm commuting to NYC and mostly during very heavy congestion causing me to constantly shift. It seems the bike likes to shift to 2nd at 12 mph, 2nd in the low 30's and 3rd by 35. The rest of the gears not having issues with. I don't think it's the bike. I think it me.
I would love to hear from you any tips and or advice to try and figure out what the heck I am doing wrong.

I just want to say thank you all and keep it coming! I love to hear all your input and I will try each persons advice until I find a happy medium. I know I'm coming off such different bikes and I feel like I lost my ability to ride... Hopefully I will get it perry doom. Thank you again!

 

[nycncx]

Same here, it takes some getting used to... Just traded in my 04 VTX1300 C (3 weeks ago) after 9 years. The NC700X felt great, nice change of pace - wanted a good city bike (NYC) and something to get to Boston suburbs on the weekends via - more back roads.

Where I used to shift on the VTX (shaft drive) at a high RPM and quickly (harder) it took some getting use to the chain again and the low end torque of the NC. As others stated shifting at a lower RPM (although you don't have to), keeping your toe under the peg earlier and a smooth slower clutch release I'm finding the smooth spots. Also as Naked_Duc posted it needs a little more RPM going from 5th to 6th.

Only 500 miles so far but cant wait to add on some miles, incredibly fun bike!

 

[JamesD]

Mine has started shifting hard between 2nd and 3rd. I think it's temporary but we'll see.

 

[anglachel]

Your NC goes up to 10k?

Must be some sort of metric rotations per minute.

 

[happy]

I would first check the free play of the clutch. If this is ok, then you must be speed-shifting. (aka too quick).
Slow down, pull in clutch and then with a small delay, shift (while still holding in clutch-lever fully).

I am aware some racers do not even bother using the clutch when they can time their shifting.

 

[PJM]

Your NC goes up to 10k?

OK, 10kph
Typed it as I say it.

 

[johnakay]

mine is smooth as a babies bum,its been 8 months now since I shifted any gears

 

[max cooper]

I have about 4k miles on my NC700X now. I still have a little trouble shifting from 2nd to 3rd.. BUT-- I have found if I concentrate a little harder when shifting, it goes smoothly. Most of my prior bikes have been european from the old 2 stroke days . LOL ! .They all had more travel at the shift lever than my NC700X . So the NC feels better in that regard even with the occasional 2nd to 3rd hang-up. It does not happen every time. Just ever -so- often. I have noticed my left foot being in a different location on the foot peg after shifting from 1st to 2nd. So in my case, I feel as though my foot position on the peg is the cause. So I just pay a bit more attention to where my toe is during upshifting. And it works very well. It does not worry me at all. I'm old enough to have owned many European 2 stroke motocross bikes in years past. If you think the 700x is fussy about shifting, you should try a 250cc CZ ! The amount of shift lever movement to go from gear to gear is so much longer than todays gear boxes it is really comical ! So from my perspective of yesteryear, the gear box on the 700x is pure paradise ! LOL ! Really , the more miles you put on your bike the better it will feel and the better it will shift. You both just require a little time together and all will be fine. The 700x is a great bike, and is so much fun to ride. To me, fun is the key factor here. And at my age, fun is a really good thing. I've been riding with some younger fellows lately that got back into riding after a 20 to 25 year lapse just like me. Except mine was 30 years at least. They all went to a big cruiser with front controls and huge engines and mammoth weight. I am able to maneuver the quiet back roads easier than they can due to a lighter and more maneuverable bike. I do wish folks getting back into riding after many years of not riding, would opt for a more relaxed and controllable design of bike. Something more like the 700x or a Triumph Bonneville style. The transition from having the foot pegs under you VS. having the foot pegs way out in front of you , can cause some very harsh transitional problems. I'm no expert on this subject by a long shot. I'm still in transition myself. From dirt to asphalt. Some of you other old farts are welcome to chime in here ! Max

 

[macosxuser]

My 2013 with 2000 miles on it is the same. Jerky a little when cold, when it's warming up the trans is stiff as crap, but once all the way up to temp, it's smooth as butter. I'm hoping it gets better as it breaks in more? I find that above 3000 and below 4000 is the best time to shift. I tend to short shift 3rd and 4th, leave it in 5th sometimes, or continue all the way up depending on speed limits.