[fonzerelli]

Anybody else have this happen? When I'm riding in traffic I often find myself in 4th or 5th and then have to stop at a light quickly. So, I pull in the clutch and come to a stop. I then try to down shift to first for eventual take-off, but I sometimes can't get below second or third. The bike is an S2r1000 with 1,600 miles on it. Is there an adjustment to be made? Any ideas? If I disengage the clutch a bit in third, it then lets me shift down when I pull the clutch in again. This doesn't happen all the time, but enough of the time to concern me a bit.

 

[dan900sie]

Sounds normal to me. Down shift while you're moving.

 

[fonzerelli]

That's normal? I don't recall having this issue with other bikes, but I'm not saying this isn't normal for a Ducati. I'll try to do most of my down shifting before I come to a stop then.

 

[kJackd]

yeah, normal.

sometimes you gotta spin the gears a bit to get all the way down. letting the clutch out a bit is the right thing to do if this occurs

 

[TerribleTabo]

I always try to downshift all the way down to 1st and keep holding the clutch in case a car comes up behind me that can't stop in time. I will shift to neutral & release the clutch sometimes if I feel safe or when I know there is a car behind me that is already stopped.

 

[fonzerelli]

Thanks for the reassurance. I learnt something today. ;D

 

[gordazo]

I always try to downshift all the way down to 1st and keep holding the clutch in case a car comes up behind me that can't stop in time. I will shift to neutral & release the clutch sometimes if I feel safe or when I know there is a car behind me that is already stopped.

+1 same here. Down shifting while you stop allows you to always be ready to take off in case something happens.

 

[hiero]

I wouldn't say it's 'normal' but it does happen

 

[wzuccarello]

Normal to me. Most bike trannies are constant mesh, all of the gears are spinning when the clutch is out and bike is moving. Eliminates need for syncronizers to prevent grinding gears when shifting.
No bike shifts well when not moving. Try rocking the bike back and forth a few inches while holding steady pressure on the shift lever.release and re-apply pressure for each gear change. This works much better if it's possible to cut the engine off. Definitly better and safer to get it downshifted before stopping.
Wayne

 

[TwIsTeD]

+1,down shift while moving and just B4 stoping put it in fisrt. [thumbsup]

 

[reticentregret]

sounds like this is turning into a techniques string [cheeky]

 

[Shooter]

Riding in traffic in 4th or 5th means the traffic must be moving fairly quick or you are lugging the motor.

In traffic I rarely get out of 2nd.

Any case... if you are stopping that quickly that you can not get all your changes down to 1st as you pull up... you are either following to close or going too fast.

 

[Mark1305]

Exactly.

If you are getting caught in a higher gear when stopping suddenly, you really need to work on riding technique. Downshifting as the bike slows, even in a panic stop, should be an automatic response and should result in the bike being in 1st gear when it stops. Worst case scenario, second gear in a real full-on panic stop.

Fourth or fifth? That means to me stopping from 45 -60 mph without downshifting at all.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but keeping the bike under control and rideable/responsive at all times is a life and death matter.