[L1felock]

I got a 2011 ninja 250 about a month ago used with only about 500 miles on it. A couple of weeks ago i started to notice that when i shift down from second to first, i occasionally feel and hear a very light grinding on my foot through the shifter (sort of a "tat tat tat tat tat" noise or a clicking). I've been browsing the web for clues as to what the problem could be if there is any, and i have come to believe that it's either nothing, i'm not shifting with enough "authority," or some sort of fork that separates the clutch and the transmission is damaged.

things that may have caused the problem:

-a few days after i bought the bike, i accidentally knocked the shifter down from neutral to first without pulling in the clutch while feeling out the foot pegs. Curious if this could have caused any problems.

-I have also dropped the bike in a driveway trying to ride it like my old 125cc scooter that i traded in for the ninja (extremely happy i made the trade). the only thing that was damaged was the socket that the front left blinker goes into... will have a body shop fix that up most likely, but i'm worried they could use their knowledge of it being dropped to avoid having the warranty pay for any repairs

-the previous owner


i'm under a bit of pressure to decide if this needs to be taken to the dealership to be fixed since i only have 60 days from the time of purchase to get a refund on the extended 2 year warranty that i purchased that i think/hope will cover the damage.

advice? :facepalm:

 

[Blue Ghost]

First....Welcome to the forum.

Is your clutch properly adjusted?
Are you down shifting at too high of RPM?
Is your shifting smooth?

Other problems that could be related,

Transmission noise:
Bearings worn
Transmission gears worn or chipped
Metal chips jammed in gear teeth
Engine oil insufficient

 

[Treysum]

I got a 2011 ninja 250 about a month ago used with only about 500 miles on it. A couple of weeks ago i started to notice that when i shift down from second to first, i occasionally feel and hear a very light grinding on my foot through the shifter (sort of a "tat tat tat tat tat" noise or a clicking). I've been browsing the web for clues as to what the problem could be if there is any, and i have come to believe that it's either nothing, i'm not shifting with enough "authority," or some sort of fork that separates the clutch and the transmission is damaged.

things that may have caused the problem:

-a few days after i bought the bike, i accidentally knocked the shifter down from neutral to first without pulling in the clutch while feeling out the foot pegs. Curious if this could have caused any problems.

-I have also dropped the bike in a driveway trying to ride it like my old 125cc scooter that i traded in for the ninja (extremely happy i made the trade). the only thing that was damaged was the socket that the front left blinker goes into... will have a body shop fix that up most likely, but i'm worried they could use their knowledge of it being dropped to avoid having the warranty pay for any repairs

-the previous owner

i'm under a bit of pressure to decide if this needs to be taken to the dealership to be fixed since i only have 60 days from the time of purchase to get a refund on the extended 2 year warranty that i purchased that i think/hope will cover the damage.

advice? :facepalm:

I have run into this problem a few times with my 06 650r. I quickly realized that the only times it ever happened was when I was shifting from 2nd gear to first gear, clutch pulled in, RPMS at idle but my coasting speed was too fast for first gear. It's only happened a couple times but if I either slow down more before I try the shift again or if I am more assertive with the shift it doesn't do it again. I'm not sure what causes this because I'm not a mechanic by any means. I just try to be going slower than 15mph when I go down to first and be more assertive with the shift pedal and it doesn't happen if I do those two things.

 

[L1felock]

First....Welcome to the forum.

Is your clutch properly adjusted?
Are you down shifting at too high of RPM?
Is your shifting smooth?

Other problems that could be related,

Transmission noise:
Bearings worn
Transmission gears worn or chipped
Metal chips jammed in gear teeth
Engine oil insufficient

my shifting is smooth since i have gotten very comfortable with the bike. I do believe the clutch is properly adjusted since i don't have any issues in any other gears, and i have plenty of free play before i hit the "friction zone." I did notice that the noise occurs much more often when i shift to first at higher speeds.

I do not know how to check if the bearings are worn/transmission gears are chipped/metal chips are jammed in the gear teeth. The engine oil light doesn't come on while the bike is running, and there seems to be sufficient enough oil when i put the bike level and look at the indicator. I haven't done my first oil change yet, but i do plan on doing it in next day or 2. I'm actually going to pick up the oil filter and oil right now.

IMPORTANT: I did realize today that when i shift down from neutral into first, the bike likes to lurch forward a little bit. I don't know if that is normal since i took the riding course over a year ago and this is my first actual bike, but i would think that is definitely a bad thing.

 

[Blue Ghost]

Make your downshift speed to first below 15 mph.
Any evidence of chipped teeth or worn bearings will show up in the oil as metal flakes or chips.
A very light clunk when shifting from neutral to first is normal. lurching means either the engine/idle speed is too high or the clutch is not fully disengaged.
Make sure your idle speed when the bike is fully warm is 1350 +/- 50 rpm.
Also make sure your clutch lever is properly adjusted. (see your owner's manual)

 

[NDog65]

When I downshift into second lightly mine will bounce out of second. When I force it into second it has no problems.

 

[L1felock]

took it to the dealership and they said everything is fine... they lowered the idle RPM's and the hard "thunk" that caused the bike to move forward when i shifted from neutral to first disappeared. the grinding was from me going to first gear at speeds that were too high.

but now there's this annoying noise coming from somewhere on the bike ... doubt it's anything important, but it's annoying as hell. Is it possible for some kind of grunge to get between the brake pads and the disk?

 

[Blue Ghost]

took it to the dealership and they said everything is fine... they lowered the idle RPM's and the hard "thunk" that caused the bike to move forward when i shifted from neutral to first disappeared. the grinding was from me going to first gear at speeds that were too high.

but now there's this annoying noise coming from somewhere on the bike ... doubt it's anything important, but it's annoying as hell. Is it possible for some kind of grunge to get between the brake pads and the disk?

The Ninja 250 is a noisy bike and makes all kinds of weird 'normal' sounds. Light brake squeal or scrubbing sounds can be normal. Grinding noise is a different story. If your wheels, rims and calipers are extremely dirty, there is a possibility the rotors could be glazed, but with only 500 miles on the bike I doubt that is the problem.

When does this noise happen?
How loud is it?
What is the condition of your brakes/rotors?

 

[L1felock]

the noise happens generally when i break about 25 MPH... i had thought it was the cord that runs from my left front blinker's cord (which is damaged and taped on since the fairing socket is busted) because the prongs that hold the cord to the fairing are damaged, but i don't think it is since i re-secured it to the side.

it isn't a grinding noise... more of a high pitched whining. I'm noticing all sorts of new things since becoming more comfortable with the bike, but i'm pretty sure this wasn't there before >.<

oh.. and the bike isn't REALLY dirty, but it is a bit grungy. It's been raining quite a bit in the past few weeks and i've been riding through it all. I noticed the noise right after a particularly long and very rainy ride

maybe i'll figure it out while i'm doing the oil and spiffing up the chain tomorrow (it's rainy out again today -.-...)