Transmission shift noise (excessive)

[nealperkins]

OK, I should know this, but...

Apparently, there is no separate transmission oil?

So, I notice that the noise of my shifts, especially the first ones of a ride, are excessively noisy. The first one into reverse is an 'attention-getter'! After that, less but still noisy.

Thanks for your comments!

Neal Perkins

[nealperkins]

OK, I should know this, but...

Apparently, there is no separate transmission oil?

So, I notice that the noise of my shifts, especially the first ones of a ride, are excessively noisy. The first one into reverse is an 'attention-getter'! After that, less but still noisy.

Thanks for your comments!

Neal Perkins

[JayBros]

If you have not done so, thoroughly read your operator's guide. If you do you will not read anywhere in the manual about transmission oil because the Spyder engine and transmission share the same oil.

When you start your Spyder, if it is not in neutral it automatically shifts into neutral. When you make your first shift, into 1st or Reverse there is a very noticeable clunk that is perfectly normal in the constant mesh transmission the Spyder has; do not worry at all about the clunk. Other shifts may clunk a a bit when the engine is cold but this too will go away as the engine warms up. You can reduce the "noisy" shifting by shifting at somewhat higher rpm, like 3,000 - 3,500. Many of those 1330 ACE engine Spyder owners who switched to fully synthetic oil, me included, noticed immediately that the transmission shifts smoother than engines with the BRP semi-synthetic oil.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

If you have not done so, thoroughly read your operator's guide. If you do you will not read anywhere in the manual about transmission oil because the Spyder engine and transmission share the same oil.

When you start your Spyder, if it is not in neutral it automatically shifts into neutral. When you make your first shift, into 1st or Reverse there is a very noticeable clunk that is perfectly normal in the constant mesh transmission the Spyder has; do not worry at all about the clunk. Other shifts may clunk a a bit when the engine is cold but this too will go away as the engine warms up. You can reduce the "noisy" shifting by shifting at somewhat higher rpm, like 3,000 - 3,500. Many of those 1330 ACE engine Spyder owners who switched to fully synthetic oil, me included, noticed immediately that the transmission shifts smoother than engines with the BRP semi-synthetic oil.

.... It helps if the oil is warm before you engage the transmission .... However IMHO it wastes gas, and since the " CLUNK " isn't really hurting anything ... just live with it ..... good luck .... Mike

[Peter Aawen]

Unless it's REALLY excessive (ie, throw you off the saddle type 'really excessive, not just a 'worrying noise' type excessive! ) then that 'first shift' noise & clunk that rocks your Spyder after any start up is pretty much par for the course - especially the first one for the day when everything including the oil is cold!

The engine & transmission do share oil, and the gears/gearbox/clutch all work on a 'constant mesh' basis when running, generally making for quicker & smoother shifts; but it also means that for the first shift after engine start up, especially when the oil & all the internal components are cold, you are actually spinning up the gearbox internals from a dead stop, and because a bunch of the components that would 'normally' be spinning aren't yet, that takes some effort & produces a fairly obvious 'physically felt' clunk and quite a loud noise too! But from there on in, once everything including the oil is all warmed up properly, unless you put it in neutral & idle it for quite a while, everything is turning already and so it is easier/smoother to engage. It's the nature of the design, and it effectively happens on ALL similarly designed engine/gearbox machines, only some are lighter/quieter than others - which is not necessarily such a 'good' thing?! But it does mean that you are most likely worrying needlesly!

There's quite a bit of historical discussion on this 'clunk' &/or 'noise on first shift' if you want to check it out further. I don't think anyone has yet found it to be an 'actual problem', even tho some (few) have not taken the proferred advice to heart and have continued searching for other faults to explain it for quite some time & extent.... but it is a feature of the design & generally isn't anything to worry about! Over to you!



Edit: Sorry that I've (apparently) repeated what others have already posted, but my reply above was the first & only reply in the second thread asking the very same question from Neal, so it was more appropriate to explain fully what was going on there. But now both threads have been merged (cos there's rarely any point in duplicating threads & diluting the response. ) it may seem that my reply is labouring those points already covered by JayB & BK911 in a way that was never intended.

[nealperkins]

Thanks for the answers...they confirm what I thought. But, since so many things 'I thought' aren't turning out to be true these days, I thought I'd ask.

Sorry about the duplicate post above...