Issues changing down

[rollingstone]

My new RT started giving me problems at about 300km into its first decent ride. Pulled off the highway for a break and went to change down as I entered the service station, went down to 5th gear but refused to go any further. If I insisted it would give me an "E" where the gear indicator is on the dash. I fiddled about and managed to get into third to get rolling again. These symptoms continued all the way home, about 200km but it would refuse to change down at random gears - sometimes 3rd, sometimes 4th etc and I couldn't get first at all until I rode into my driveway. It was no fun trying to move off from lights in 4th or 5th gear, lucky this is such a torquey engine!

I rode to the dealer yesterday and the fault continued all the way there. I trust this dealer and the sevice manager said that some 2014s had this problem but he didn't want me thinking that I'd bought a lemon and they would sort it out for me.

So, there it is, has anyone else had this problem and knows what caused it? I'll post the answer when I know a bit more.

[Chupaca]

have not heard of this issue with the 14's. Hope they find the problem and we can find out what caused this. Have seen similar problems on earlier models due to various reasons but they had the 5 speed and a different clutch system..do let us know...

[cuznjohn]

i have not heard of or had this problem

[MisterP]

I posted this thread a week or two ago. If all you see is the letter E, without any other error messages or flashing lights, it appears to be caused by the shift sensor not keeping up with your shifting. I saw it once again yesterday, but as I have moderated my shifting speed it rarely shows up. Perhaps you are shifting down too quickly?

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...t-sensor-error

[rollingstone]

No, I don't think I'm shifting down too quickly, it just gets down to a certain gear and refuses to go down any further and it could be any gear where the refusal happens. I sometimes get an "E" when going from 1st to reverse or vice versa but I put that down to the RT being new and perhaps the actuating piston being a little slow since it always gets there in the end. Shifting up is fine.

I have fitted Rivco floorboards and the requisite heel/toe gear changer but looking at the way the lever is engineered it seems to only affect up shifting. The original lever still does the down shifting. Anyway, time will tell what the problem is but I don't think that I would be getting the big "E" if it was just a mechanical issue related to the gear lever.

[Bob Denman]

Gear position sensors have been known to give a little bit of trouble...
Is the oil level in the bike proper? I've not heard of a low oil condition causing the "E" to show up, but it certainly does affect proper shifting of the bike...

[rollingstone]

Should have said, it's a manual. Oil level is fine. The more I think about this, the more I lean towards my own work in fitting the floorboards. If I have overtightened the bolt on the LHS it may not be allowing the shift lever to spring back after shifting (but I did check this after the installation). Three things work against that theory, though 1. Why would it be only on down shifting? 2. How can something mechanical generate an "E" message? 3. Why does it work sometimes and not others, and at various gear positions?

All a mystery to me but I'll email the dealer and ask him to check my work.

[SpyderAnn01]

I have a manual RT and the only time I get the E is if I were to make a quick stop without downshifting and then when you try to go down to 1st I may get the E. It is the gear position sensor and maybe you did mess it up installing the floorboards.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Questions ????..........Did any of these issues occur before you added the floor boards and ...#2 did any occur before you installed the heel toe shifter ????.............if so IMHO I would take them off and see if this cures/fixes the problem!!!!!................If it does then you know where the issue is/was ........................Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

That was why I asked about manual vs auto. Simple double check for no binding or interference which may be holding the shifter ever so slightly off the detent.

Then again, maybe the gear position sensor or what ever they call it is failing.

PK

.............................Paul I agree , it could very well be the " GEAR POSITION SENSOR " I had one that went bad ( but it had 15,000 miles on it ) . I am suggesting easy, cheap solutions to start. If these arn't the cause then look further........IMHO........Mike

[rollingstone]

No, this didn't occur before the floorboards were fitted but neither did it occur after they were fitted - until about 300km into the first long ride. The only ride before that was a short one back from the dealer after picking it up. I tested it after I fitted the floorboards and it all worked fine plus it continued to work fine until 300km into the first ride. What puzzles me most is why it is only a problem with down shifting. I would have thought if it was a mechanical issue with the heel/toe shifter, it would affect both up and down shifting.

My previous 2011 RT had a GPS (gear position sensor) failure but the symptoms were totally different with the instrument panel showing alternately neutral then reverse. That sensor was replaced under warranty. The dealer, on that occasion, initially suspected the heel/toe shifter - I also had floorboards on that RT - but it turned out not to be the case.

Thanks everyone for the input, it is most welcome.

[rollingstone]

OK, looks like this thread can finish now with me eating humble pie. I've just heard from the dealer service manager who says that the issue is with the heel/toe gear lever which is part of the floorboard installation on manual Spyders. I'm not sure exactly what the issue is but I'll get the full explanation when I pick it up which may be after Christmas as I'm suffering with a virus and it is really hot here at the moment.

[Andy Cserny]

OK, looks like this thread can finish now with me eating humble pie. I've just heard from the dealer service manager who says that the issue is with the heel/toe gear lever which is part of the floorboard installation on manual Spyders. I'm not sure exactly what the issue is but I'll get the full explanation when I pick it up which may be after Christmas as I'm suffering with a virus and it is really hot here at the moment.

no need to eat humble pie, just getting up in front of everyone and admitting you goofed a little is more than most would do. good on ya as Aussies would say when I was there for six months in 2000-2001
Andy

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

OK, looks like this thread can finish now with me eating humble pie. I've just heard from the dealer service manager who says that the issue is with the heel/toe gear lever which is part of the floorboard installation on manual Spyders. I'm not sure exactly what the issue is but I'll get the full explanation when I pick it up which may be after Christmas as I'm suffering with a virus and it is really hot here at the moment.

.......You are welcome , see my post #10 , number #2 ..........Mike ..............My motto is always start simple

[rollingstone]

OK, thanks again to all for the input. I now know what happened, I slightly overtightened the bolt that holds the floorboard on the LHS; it goes through the gear change lever and wasn't letting the lever return after changing. I did check that it all worked OK at the time but it looks like I should have backed it off a tad more.

Good on ya all! and best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to you and yours.

Robert

[ARtraveler]

OK, looks like this thread can finish now with me eating humble pie. I've just heard from the dealer service manager who says that the issue is with the heel/toe gear lever which is part of the floorboard installation on manual Spyders. I'm not sure exactly what the issue is but I'll get the full explanation when I pick it up which may be after Christmas as I'm suffering with a virus and it is really hot here at the moment.

Thank you very much for posting about the outcome. Many, many threads talk about the problem and we never hear back what the solution was. Hearing both sides is important to all.