250sx losing gears.

[Furno]

OK so i went out riding with the wife, I was on the 250sx and at one point the sx would not shift into neutral or reverse. I seemed to be stuck in 2nd gear and up, sometimes it would go into 1st. It only happened after it started to get hot riding some slower trails. from what I can tell, when u move the shift lever, it actuates a small clutch to aide in switching gears. My best guess is that maybe the clutch surfaces are binding up when hot? anyone care to drop some knowledge on this one?

For the record, after sitting overnight, it switches gears just fine.

I'd like to get a plan of attack together before I start turning bolts.

thanks in advance.


-Dale.

[fabiodriven]

Change your oil and use and ATV or motorcycle specific synthetic. 90% chance it'll cure your problem.

[tri again]

The search key with the word 'shift' will get you tons of pages.
250 sx shift will be more specific but nothing wrong with learning more than
the minimum since many models are similar.

I have a 110 that goes into direct drive when hot too. Perfect when cold.

Most recommend changing the oil to wet clutch type first as the cheapest, easiest thing to do.
second to a clutch adjustment.

Then it might be tool time, maybe new clutch shoes, springs etc.

Please let us know what you find.

[Furno]

You know, I've no idea what type of oil is actually in it just that its new. maybe the last owner mislead me. I'll pick up some synthetic today and see if that helps.

synthetic eh? any issues to switching back to a fossil type oil if i need to?

[fabiodriven]

No issues at all with switching.

Word to the wise- first thing you do when acquiring a new-to-you machine is change the oil.

[Flyingw]

As suggested, change your oil. These motors and clutches are designed to run on plain ol 10w-30 oil. Adjust your clutch by loosening the lock nut and turning the post CCW until resistance is felt then back it off 1/4 turn and lock it down.

[fabiodriven]

As suggested, change your oil. These motors and clutches are designed to run on plain ol 10w-30 oil. Adjust your clutch by loosening the lock nut and turning the post CCW until resistance is felt then back it off 1/4 turn and lock it down.

I thought it was 10/40, no?

These motors and clutches WERE designed to run on plain old oil, but this is no longer true. You have to run a motorcycle/ATV specific oil due to the wet clutch. The regular motor oils no longer have the additives to support a wet clutch. The previous owner may have used regular car oil which could be causing your problems.

[tri again]

I also bought some neodymium magnets to put on the (outside) of all my drain plugs.
Almost impossible for them to fall off. Just snap 'em on and know they'll attract ferrous metals.

I made a small mistake and had to re-change oil that had been run about 10 minutes.
I was amazed at the sparkles in the oil after a few minutes and I am neurotic about oil changes
and usually change it every 10 hrs or less.


So these magnets are about the size of a pencil eraser, super strong and almost impossible to separate.

Sorry to admit but I use 10 40 for everything on the farm including at least 5 trikes.
Honda 250's we used every day.

The only thing I'm missing is the slip feature when you let off the shifter slowly.
Fabio has the right idea, with all the emission stuff on cars, they keep reducing
the additives to avoid contaminating the catastrophic converters and clean up the
'emissions'.

Best to go with wet clutch specific. and a weight in your owners manual for
temperature.

[Flyingw]

10w-40 is fine. That was suggested for Colder climates. There are a couple schools of thought on the use of synthetics in wet clutch applications. I use castrol MTL (motorcycle transmission lube) in most of my trikes but in my SXs, I still use regular oil with no anomalies.

[Furno]

Royal Purple it is.

[fabiodriven]

Royal Purple it is.

Compatible with a wet clutch?

[Flyingw]

Royal purple does make a line of synthetics for motorcycles

[Furno]

I picked up some valvoline synthetic for 4 stroke atv's. its 10w40. like 9 bucks each.

edit:

Both bikes are draining now, I'm going to hollow out a bit of the drain plug and press in a neo magnet. Figure it'll pick up any glitter floating around in there.

[The_Steve_Man]

Motorcycle oils have zinc and phosphorus additives which is good for bearings, clutches and other metal parts.

Regular motor oils used to contain those additives but due to emissions, they have taken them out.

Synthetic oils will put less strain on the engine because the viscosity is consistent whether it is cold or hot and get in places to lubricate better.

There is not enough difference between 10w30 and 10w40 to matter.

The best conventional oil to use is rotella because it contains zinc and phosphorus.

[Howdy]

I't very possible the shifting tumbler bolt came loose or the shifter return bolt came loose or broke off. All too common on these machines.


http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/133854-ATC-85-250es-Shifter-problem?highlight=250sx+shifter+problem

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/131451-Problem-with-my-250sx-shifting?highlight=250sx+shifter+problem

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/83310-250SX-Stuck-in-reverse?highlight=250sx+shifter+problem

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/55721-250sx-shifting-problem...-aka..-won-t-shift?highlight=250sx+shifter+problem

Do a forum search for 250sx shifter and you should find this has been covered 20+ times.

Howdy