Talked to my Kawi Dealer Tech!

[seagiant]

i,
     I thought I would pass this on. I have a 2012 C14 and bought it with 1900 miles on it. As soon as I got it, I lowered the shift lever to fit my ride position better. I'm 6'8" so maybe a little different from someone 5'10"! Since day one I had problems shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. Third always seemed like a problem. I noticed as I lowered the shift lever things would get worse and now 4th gear would hang up sometimes.

   I went to the Dealer where I bought the bike and talked to the Techs there and gleened a little surprising info. I was told that Kawasaki said that for the gear shifting to work correctly that the flats on the gear shift lever and the flat on the coupling that attaches to the shift rod have to match and be horizonal with each other! If you look at the coupling on the shift rod and the end of the shift rod they are ***** punched and thats where they are suppose to stay!

   Soooo.. all that tells me is that there is really NO adjustment on this! I'm now looking at making a homemade shift lever where the up and down adjustment is in the shift lever it's self. Oh yea, I followed the Tech's advice and readjusted like he said and the problem with 3rd gear is gone?

[stevewfl]

[TRBN]

I am trying to picture what you are describing.  Could you take a pic and point out the pieces that have to line up?

I appreciate it!
A

[Riverszzr]

 You have a threaded rod with locknuts to adjust the shifter pedal height.

How is it non adjustable?

One thing that does typically help some riders with issues- remove the shift lever rubber-slide a piece of fuel line on then reinstall the shift rubber. now it is significantly fatter and the reach is not as much up or down.
 Another option-there are a couple bikes (I do not know which ones off hand right now) that have thicker oe rubber that goes over the shift lever, you could always just buy one of those.
 Some riders either have the lever really low for better upshifts or really high for better downshifts, doubling up the rubber adds girth making for easier up and down simutaneously.
 Girth is good, and not just for motorcycling.

[seagiant]

Hi,
     Yes it is hard to describe! Supposedly from what I was told the adjustment rod is NOT for adjusting to your boot or foot but to adjust the lever with the coupling on the shift rod  at the other end of the adjusting rod?

  If you look at the coupling which goes on the shift ROD coming out of the engine,it has a ***** punch mark on it and the shift rod has a ***** punch mark. These marks are to STAY together where they are set at the factory! No supposedly adjustment there. This is completly opposite of what I have seen before. Usually this is the main place to adjust and the adjusting rod is the FINE adjustment???

  Please keep in mind that this was all strange to me and I actually think by using the adjuster ON the shift ROD that I can place the "throw" in the same spot and make this work,no matter what I was told!

How To Set Your Motorcycle Controls To Fit You

[stevewfl]

Tell your friend at the dealer I adjusted mine to best fit me....    >84,000 miles ago 

[stevewfl]

The shift LEVER yes,  uses the punch marks.  The shift PEDAL, adjust best for you. You don;t have to invent anything.  Be careful talking to stealerships.

Thats per service manual. 

[stevewfl]

No need to invent anything new 

[BudCallaghan]

i,
     I thought I would pass this on. I have a 2012 C14 and bought it with 1900 miles on it. As soon as I got it, I lowered the shift lever to fit my ride position better. I'm 6'8" so maybe a little different from someone 5'10"! Since day one I had problems shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. Third always seemed like a problem. I noticed as I lowered the shift lever things would get worse and now 4th gear would hang up sometimes.

   I went to the Dealer where I bought the bike and talked to the Techs there and gleened a little surprising info. I was told that Kawasaki said that for the gear shifting to work correctly that the flats on the gear shift lever and the flat on the coupling that attaches to the shift rod have to match and be horizonal with each other! If you look at the coupling on the shift rod and the end of the shift rod they are ***** punched and thats where they are suppose to stay!

   Soooo.. all that tells me is that there is really NO adjustment on this! I'm now looking at making a homemade shift lever where the up and down adjustment is in the shift lever it's self. Oh yea, I followed the Tech's advice and readjusted like he said and the problem with 3rd gear is gone?

What you described in red is not very clear to me.  When I bought my C14 the gearshift lever was way up at the same height as the top of the footpeg.  After riding it a short distance, perhaps 20 miles, I lowered it to the level you see in the picture.  From being the same height as the footpeg to its present level is a substantial distance.  Either way, there was no difference in shifting between any of the gears.  Since you're 6'8" and I'm 5'8", there is an even one foot of difference in our respective heights.  My shoe size is 10 and Yours must be of a size that I can't begin to imagine.  The C14 is a very big motorcycle to someone my size but must seem to you as a mini-bike would to me.

If you can clear up the red sentence it might help me and perhaps others in understanding exactly what you mean.  The picture of the Triumph does not seem to have any relevance to the topic.  Did you possibly post the wrong picture or does it somehow lend significance to the topic?  A photo of where you have the lever and another of where it is might also benefit anyone who may have some advice to offer.  You are of the opinion that there is really no adjustment available is certainly not correct as I and others have adjusted the height of our shift levers by varying degrees with no loss of shifting ability.

[BudCallaghan]

Hi,
     Yes it is hard to describe! Supposedly from what I was told the adjustment rod is NOT for adjusting to your boot or foot but to adjust the lever with the coupling on the shift rod  at the other end of the adjusting rod?

  If you look at the coupling which goes on the shift ROD coming out of the engine,it has a ***** punch mark on it and the shift rod has a ***** punch mark. These marks are to STAY together where they are set at the factory! No supposedly adjustment there. This is completly opposite of what I have seen before. Usually this is the main place to adjust and the adjusting rod is the FINE adjustment???

  Please keep in mind that this was all strange to me and I actually think by using the adjuster ON the shift ROD that I can place the "throw" in the same spot and make this work,no matter what I was told!

The punch mark on the shift shaft and punch mark on the short lever that attaches to it should always align.  But this in not where you make the adjustment.  The tie-rod is where the shift lever height is adjusted.  The lock nuts and and the hex adjuster are there for that purpose, adjust the tie-rod's length and you should be home free.   

[seagiant]

Hi,
      That is not a pic above but a video on adjusting a bike to suit the rider. With other bikes the splined coupling that attaches to the shift rod IS the gross adjuster and the adjusting rod is the fine tune!

  However when I adjust the shift lever down with the adjusting rod my gears will not shift smoothly??? This is MY experience with MY bike maybe others do not have this problem??? I don't know because I have only rode one C14 in my life and it is out in my garage!

   I will say once again,that this was all strange to me when I heard it,but this is what Ma Kawi are telling these guys (Techs) I guess!

[seagiant]

Hi,
      Steve and Bud,thanks for the help on this!!! For me this will be an ongoing experiment,as tomorrow I expect delivery of a set of Cycle Pirate 360 pegs I ordered and I will have to work with that some. I'm going to see if I can put the pegs ,back and down a little and see if I can adjust everything one way or the other to work in that new position!

    Admittedly the bike feels fine the way it is set up now but we always look to make it as nice as we can I guess. I just cannot get over the Honeymoon with this bike! I love it!

Cycle Pirates 360 Pegs for the Buell 1125r

[stevewfl]

Hi,
      Steve and Bud,thanks for the help on this!!! For me this will be an ongoing experiment,as tomorrow I expect delivery of a set of Cycle Pirate 360 pegs I ordered and I will have to work with that some. I'm going to see if I can put the pegs ,back and down a little and see if I can adjust everything one way or the other to work in that new position!

    Admittedly the bike feels fine the way it is set up now but we always look to make it as nice as we can I guess. I just cannot get over the Honeymoon with this bike! I love it!

[556ALPHA]

I just adjusted mine and it made a huge difference.  The rod was threaded too far aft and shifting was very notchy, perfect now.  Guess I mis-adjusted it when putting on Ronnie's Pegs and been living with it.

[seagiant]

Hi,
     Well,I recieved my Cycle Pirate 360 Pegs and put them on. They do feel good and give me more of a "in" feeling when I sit on the bikes as they go not only down but back also. I adjusted the coupling this time to get the gear shifter further down. All seems good but want to do a shake down at highway speeds later!