SE6 engine hesitation while upshifting

[Road-Kill]

I've noticed in the roughly 700 miles on my new Spyder that when I upshift (+) there is a 1/2 second loss of engine power. This loss causes my head slightly lean forward then flip back. This does not occur when downshifting (-). Not sounding prissy but I'm new to Spyders and don't have much experience with this and want to know if its normal.

[JayBros]

I've never experienced any loss of power when shifting, except when I got a badly watered down tank of gas, and when I got that out of the tank everything was back to normal. At what RPM do you upshift?

[loisk]

I've found that if I up shift at the wrong time (revs) I get this too. Different shift points to my previous spyder twin. A bit of practice and a few more miles and now hardly ever happens. Hope this helps.

[Road-Kill]

I've never experienced any loss of power when shifting, except when I got a badly watered down tank of gas, and when I got that out of the tank everything was back to normal. At what RPM do you upshift?

3500 RPMs. Its like the engine dumbs down to shift. I don't know if its normal.

[Road-Kill]

I've found that if I up shift at the wrong time (revs) I get this too. Different shift points to my previous spyder twin. A bit of practice and a few more miles and now hardly ever happens. Hope this helps.

I've considered upping my shifting point to 4000 RPMs but its snowing again so I'll wait to test the idea

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I've drag-raced with an RSS and an RT both with Se trans and both ran great while shifting with FULL power on....... Are you sure you aren't un-consciously backing off the throttle for an instant while up-shifting .... some folks here have had to UN-LEARN doing this ....... just a thought .... Mike

[pegasus1300]

I've drag-raced with an RSS and an RT both with Se trans and both ran great while shifting with FULL power on....... Are you sure you aren't un-consciously backing off the throttle for an instant while up-shifting .... some folks here have had to UN-LEARN doing this ....... just a thought .... Mike

+1

[Chupaca]

Mike (Blueknight911)
on the letting up on the throttle when shifting. Those that ryde hard hold the throttle and punch the (+) and the transission is smooth. But a little more ryding should help and especially when the weather is better...

[ussoldier]

Mike (Blueknight911)
on the letting up on the throttle when shifting. Those that ryde hard hold the throttle and punch the (+) and the transission is smooth. But a little more ryding should help and especially when the weather is better...

That is a good question. I notice that when I held the throttle and punch the (+) than the transmission is smooth. Since, I have a Semi-automatic should I just let up the throttle than shift or should I just hold the throttle and punch the (+)?

[Chupaca]

Hold the throttle open and shift. Don't let up or it will stumble. ..

[Mr. Pickels]

Mike (Blueknight911)
on the letting up on the throttle when shifting. Those that ryde hard hold the throttle and punch the (+) and the transission is smooth. But a little more ryding should help and especially when the weather is better...

Yeah, I saw that in a Can AM Spyder ED video, I think....

[SteveLaoyster]

That is a good question. I notice that when I held the throttle and punch the (+) than the transmission is smooth. Since, I have a Semi-automatic should I just let up the throttle than shift or should I just hold the throttle and punch the (+)?

In tips & I believe in the owners manual it says do not move the throttle when shifting. When you do that it confuses the computer. When I shift I make sure I don't move the throttle & it shifts smooth.

At least once I accidentally moved the grip & the computer didn't like it. Tough to keep the grip in position when cornering & shifting at the same time.

[Peter Aawen]

3500 RPMs. Its like the engine dumbs down to shift. I don't know if its normal.

Mike (BlueKnight) & others have raised sone very good points, and just to add a bit more to it, even if you don't (conciously or otherwise) back off on the throttle while upshifting, there's a good chance that you are just not revving it hard enough before flicking the + paddle to go up a gear; & the computer really doesn't like that, which often results in those hesitations....

It's very noticeable that the computers do this if you swap from a V-Twin straight onto a Triple (or vice versa) the rev bands are noticeably different, but the triple still needs those revs to be up above about 4K or so to get the snappy hesitation free changes!!

Sure, if you don't mind a minor hesitation & are quite happy tooling along with slow & lazy changes, the Triples work just fine changing up at lower revs, the torquey motor can handle it & will still pull away readily; but to get the snappy & hesitation free changes you really need to wring its neck just that little bit harder before flicking the + paddle.... & 4K or so seems to be the magic minimum!!

[Road-Kill]

Mike (BlueKnight) & others have raised sone very good points, and just to add a bit more to it, even if you don't (conciously or otherwise) back off on the throttle while upshifting, there's a good chance that you are just not revving it hard enough before flicking the + paddle to go up a gear; & the computer really doesn't like that, which often results in those hesitations....

It's very noticeable that the computers do this if you swap from a V-Twin straight onto a Triple (or vice versa) the rev bands are noticeably different, but the triple still needs those revs to be up above about 4K or so to get the snappy hesitation free changes!!

Sure, if you don't mind a minor hesitation & are quite happy tooling along with slow & lazy changes, the Triples work just fine changing up at lower revs, the torquey motor can handle it & will still pull away readily; but to get the snappy & hesitation free changes you really need to wring its neck just that little bit harder before flicking the + paddle.... & 4K or so seems to be the magic minimum!!

When the snow clears 4k it is and I'll post my opinion. I've been shifting at times just under and over 3000 so maybe I'm the culprit.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

When the snow clears 4k it is and I'll post my opinion. I've been shifting at times just under and over 3000 so maybe I'm the culprit.

Bro, ( there are no " culprits " in this )....we both have the 1330 engine , and you have the Hot Rod F-3 version . I certainly don't drag race all the time and mostly stay in the 3000 rpm range. The engine puts out quite a bit of torque and I usually shift between 2500 and 3100. Waaaaaaaaaaay back when I switched from the manual to the SE trans. I sometimes backed off the throttle ( sub-consciously ) and it felt like a slight hesitation, and it was ...no gas - it starts to slow immed....... I'm just guessing on this as a possibility, there are issues that can cause engine hesitation, but the 1330 is pretty smooth otherwise ..... all the best .....Mike

[Road-Kill]

Bro, ( there are no " culprits " in this )....we both have the 1330 engine , and you have the Hot Rod F-3 version . I certainly don't drag race all the time and mostly stay in the 3000 rpm range. The engine puts out quite a bit of torque and I usually shift between 2500 and 3100. Waaaaaaaaaaay back when I switched from the manual to the SE trans. I sometimes backed off the throttle ( sub-consciously ) and it felt like a slight hesitation, and it was ...no gas - it starts to slow immed....... I'm just guessing on this as a possibility, there are issues that can cause engine hesitation, but the 1330 is pretty smooth otherwise ..... all the best .....Mike

When you upshift, there is a quick "engine stumble" because the ECM actually kills the spark for a brief second to allow the transmission to shift. Most spyder ryders dont notice it after awhile and it becomes second nature.

I'm thinking you're both right. For the transmission to shift there must be a momentarily loss of power (unlike Hondas DCT tranny). I could be subconciously lowering the RPMs and I dont think higher RPMs might be the issue at all. I'll know when the weather (currently snowing) clears and I light the fire once again. Worse case senario is when my dealer finally calls saying my belt vibration gizmo has arrived I'll ask him to test ride it. Thanks

[ARtraveler]

Sounds like you have it solved. As many mentioned, no back off on the throttle for the upshifts. Just hold it in position and punch the upshift button, and ballpark 3500 + for the revs.

[Bob Denman]

Have you checked you engine oil level?
If the oil level does get a bit low: the shifting gets a bit "wonky"...
(Although the 1330s don't ever seem to use any oil; it couldn't hurt to check it.)

[Road-Kill]

Have you checked you engine oil level?
If the oil level does get a bit low: the shifting gets a bit "wonky"...
(Although the 1330s don't ever seem to use any oil; it couldn't hurt to check it.)

I just checked my oil as per the manual and its fine. Thanks, I havent checked it since I bought it 2 months ago, been too busy farkling and riding it......sad but true. My thoughts

[RussRT]

When I first got my Spyder I really struggled shifting my semi auto. After years, 40 to be exact, of riding 2 wheelers I had to force myself not to let of the throttle when shifting. Now it is the new normal to not let of the throttle!!
pracice practice practice. Good luck!!

[Cruzr Joe]

I shift at 4000 RPMs and hold the throttle and that seems to work fine.


Cruzr Joe

[scadarick]

I've noticed in the roughly 700 miles on my new Spyder that when I upshift (+) there is a 1/2 second loss of engine power. This loss causes my head slightly lean forward then flip back. This does not occur when downshifting (-). Not sounding prissy but I'm new to Spyders and don't have much experience with this and want to know if its normal.

Low RPM most likely..my 2012 RS will do the same thing. I called it "taking a breath" instead because that's what it feels like. Some days it's like art shifting a spyder...mostly when shifting to 2nd or 3rd for me. Try adjusting your approach to the shifting gears.

This is just the way my spyder rides to me guys, not saying they all do. IMHO.

Rickp


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Bob Denman]

Your 998 isn't designed for low-rpm operation. Most of the shifting for the Vee-Twins seems to start at 5,000 rpm.
The 1330s will happily shift at 2,000 to 2,500 rpm ranges.

If the oil level is fine, and you're not letting go of the throttle on the upshifts: you might have a problem with either the shifting mechanism itself, or perhaps the gear position sensor...

I'd let a dealer look at it!

[Road-Kill]

4000 RPMs

I just took my bike out in 32* weather and shifted (SE6) only at 4000 RPMs and the engine/tranny shifted smoothly with little engine retarding noticed! I then tested my previous shifting pattern and noticed I must have been shifting at 2500-3500 because the engine/tranny was causing my head to flip from the engine retarding to allow the trannny (SE6) to do its thing.

On another note I noticed my frunk was not locking so I adjusted the bolt and realized the bolt needed an SAE and not metric wrench. I thought those north of civilization used metric? Do they not understand the utter confusion this causes us south of the border?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

4000 RPMs

I just took my bike out in 32* weather and shifted (SE6) only at 4000 RPMs and the engine/tranny shifted smoothly with little engine retarding noticed! I then tested my previous shifting pattern and noticed I must have been shifting at 2500-3500 because the engine/tranny was causing my head to flip from the engine retarding to allow the trannny (SE6) to do its thing.

On another note I noticed my frunk was not locking so I adjusted the bolt and realized the bolt needed an SAE and not metric wrench. I thought those north of civilization used metric? Do they not understand the utter confusion this causes us south of the border?

.....Imho ..... you need a lot more miles to get this figured out ..... I have the same engine and trans as you, and mine shifts the same at 2500 rpm's as it does at 4000 rpm's and other rpm's ...... the engine retarding thing ...occurs whenever you shift ..... at whatever rpm's you shift at ...... not just certain rpm's...... If you are concerned about every little burp ..... sell the Spyder now before you go crazy .... because Spyders burp a lot,............seriously - just enjoy it , and save the worries for the ORANGE SCREEN OF DEATH ....which I hope you never encounter .................. Mike