I am in the Philippines, and have just bought a VN 1500 Classic. The bike was imported, I believe from the U.S ? in 2007. I have no idea of the year of manufacture. I have tried looking online, but the frame number only has 13 digits, and not the required 17 for the check?? The complete number stamped on the frame is VNT50D-001958
The other problem I've found, is when shifting up from 1st gear into 2nd. When i accelerate, it sometimes 'jumps' out of 2nd gear into a 'false neutral' (green neutral light does not come on) and I have to shift up into 3rd. Other gears are fine, this only happens in 2nd.
If anybody can throw some light on these two issues, I would appreciate any help.
There should also be an engine VIN stamped somewhere, usually at the base of the cylinder wall. Shifting issues can arise from thin oil. Rotella T6, synthetic diesel oil, seems to work great on these machines. Google gadgets fix it page for anything and everything regarding these bikes. Good luck!
The only repair for that issue is a case split and replacement of second input and output gears and possibly a shifting fork. It will only get worse over time.
Thanks for the information...I find it hard to believe that the 2nd gear needs to be replaced at only 20,000 miles?? I asked a friend to test ride it and he said he didn't find any problem with 2nd gear?? A mechanic friend said I was not being posative enough with my gear changes....perhaps like you say, it is an intermitant problem and will get worse. If I have to split the case, at least mechanics labor charges are only a fraction of the U.S. a complete tear down of the motor would only run at around $200. The problem over here in the Philippines is finding the parts. Even if you find them online, in another country, getting them sent here is a nightmare. I'm assuming a gasket kit would be required also? would that be a transmission gasket kit or a complete engine kit?
It is not so much an issue of how many miles on the bike, but how it was treated since infancy.
The 1-2 shift can be balky at times and if the rider stomps the heel shifter with the back of his boots to force the shift, it can bend the shift fork. Then what happens is a partial engagement of second with it jumping out. When that happens, it tears up the dogs and slots in the gears themselves resulting in the problem that you are having.
Also, in the stoplight drag races, second gear takes a beating too!
A case split is a major operation, not for the faint of heart, but do able.
Sounds right. I watch some guys shift, especially w/ heel shifters and they really stomp on the shifter, and also on the toe shifter when downshifting, and don't even pull the clutch all the way in before shifting. I know it sounds weird, but I learned how to shift a bike listening to the Easy Rider movie soundtrack! Before the last song there is a sound of a bike shifting gears before the shotgun blast and wreck, and then the last song plays. The bike accelerates, then the throttle lets off, a second goes by and the you hear the shift, and then after the clutch is all the way out, it accelerates. I was 14 when i heard that, and I about wore that album out. And when I got my first bike a year later, I just assumed that's how it was supposed to be done. Maybe not the "right", way, but my bike has 45k miles and the clutch is still tight and the bike shifts smoothly. There is almost always at least a full second or two between shifting from one gear to another with my bike, And I use my heel shifter all the time. :smile2:
I removed the heel shifter from mine because I find that using the toe is much more sensitive to make a clean shift and not tempted to force a shift.
Plus, my toes just do not have the power to do any damage.
I tried it, but my riding boots have a big steel toe on them and in order to get the boot under the shifter for upshifting, I had to have the shifter so high that downshifting was a pain. But thankfully, I've developed a light heel touch. I keep the heel shifter just slightly above the floor board, so the floorboard absorbs most of the down force. As I'm sure you know, these bikes don't need much force to shift them at all. Which is another reason I really like mine.
Thanks for all the replies to my post. The common opinion seems to be that the 2nd gear/selector are damaged and therefor I have decided to 'bite the bullet' and fix it. I took the bike to my excellent mechanic and he removed the engine from the bike yesterday and removed the top end. He will be splitting the case today, in order to assess the actual damage. He will replace whatever is damaged. On the plus side, the cost of the strip down and rebuild is only $380. plus whatever parts are required. The downside is that the parts will have to be ordered from Japan, so it may take 4 weeks to finish.
Just returned from the mechanic. Not too bad news.The 2nd gear and the hub are like new. no damage. The problem was only the 'fork selector' which was bent. Ordered a new selector and he will change out the cam chain and rings whilst its apart.
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