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Sup peoples, New from las Vegas..!

2056 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  kwik rider
Hello all... I'm Mike.
Just thought Id drop in and check out the Ninja 400 forums and share info about my bike and maybe learn a thing or two.

Current break in miles 45, Bike Status: In Shop for inspection / Repair of gear train slipping out of gear issues.
Ill report back if this becomes an issue of concern for this new bike, Hopefully this will not become a THING with this new engine design.

Pertinent info pertaining to this issue.

I'm trying to following the " break in " instructions as stated by not exceeding the 4k rpm limit for the first 500 miles, It is very hard to do. Only riding on the streets with posted speed limits of 45 MPH or less, No highway or freeway riding. I find it hard to baby the bike with cars in rush hour traffic, I have to accelerate and change gears quickly to achieve the posted speed limit in order to keep up with traffic while keeping the engine RPMs under 4k.

The worst event that has happened so far was a little scary.. I was quickly accelerating from a stop light right at the start of an overpass trying to get up to speed, while shifting from 4th to 5th gear I heard a grinding noise going up the incline - and as I let out the clutch and gave it throttle I realized immediately I was no longer in any gear and had to up shift again to get back in gear.

Several times today while changing from 5th to 6th gear while accelerating it poped back to 5th, Some times its as if 5th gear was not fully engaged previously because when you up shift from 5th to 6th gear you find out you haven't changed gears a all and must up shift once more to get in 6th gear.

I was originally thinking it has to be me, Its a new bike.. But after it happened a 3rd time during a single 40 min riding session I took it to the dealer to get it looked at and on the record. The mechanic rode it for maybe 10 minutes and did not duplicate the issue, but felt that 6th gear was not fully engaging after shifting, He said he didn't get that distinct click feel.

We'll see how this plays out... Not that it matters but I've been shifting gears for over 40 years, I started working part time at a rental bike shop when I was 15 yrs old - I cheated and used the shops Hondamatic to get my drivers license when I turned 16, and been on and off bikes ever since.

I also Thought I should post this just in case anyone else is having any issues being the bike is so new. Other than this issue the bike has been great, Its light & maneuverable and just looks amazing..
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Welcome Mike, that's a shame you have an issue with your bike so early on in the piece. This is the first instance so far on this site of any new owners having a warranty issue that I'm aware of.
Sounds like your a seasoned campaigner so it's probably the gear box at fault.
Hopefully your back out there sooner rather than later.
Welcome to the forum Mike and congrats on your new 400. Don't think we've heard anything about gearing issues up until now and hopefully the problem can be replicated and addressed. Doesn't sound like its through any fault of your own
Welcome Mike, that's a shame you have an issue with your bike so early on in the piece. This is the first instance so far on this site of any new owners having a warranty issue that I'm aware of.
Sounds like your a seasoned campaigner so it's probably the gear box at fault.
Hopefully your back out there sooner rather than later.
Welcome to the forum Mike and congrats on your new 400. Don't think we've heard anything about gearing issues up until now and hopefully the problem can be replicated and addressed. Doesn't sound like its through any fault of your own
Glad to hear no one else is having this problem, I prefer this be an issue isolated to my bike alone, better me then a new rider... I probably pushed it to hard and messed it up. The book says don't exceed 4k rpm but never said don't accelerate quickly.
I too have found a random neutral in the top end of the gearbox. It only happened to me once, between 5th and 6th. Now that I have a few more miles on the clock the gearbox feels smoother and I don't have to really lean on the lever for that last upshift.
Welcome to the site. I think the only thing I notice from the gearbox is that the only way for me to get into neutral is if the bike is not moving. Either the bike is not moving or at a very low speed like 4mph.

Enjoy your time on the site!
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Welcome to the forum. I hope the current issues you are experiencing get sorted out.

One thing I noticed on the N400 is that I can get it into neutral when downshifting which could be normal. I'm a fairly new rider and this is my second bike. When I had my Ducati Scrambler Icon, it was hard enough for me to find neutral from 1st gear and I had a lot of false neutrals from 4th to 5th gear but it did get much better after the first 600 mile service.
Welcome to the site. I think the only thing I notice from the gearbox is that the only way for me to get into neutral is if the bike is not moving. Either the bike is not moving or at a very low speed like 4mph.

Enjoy your time on the site!
Hello Doroyce05, In the manual it states on page 86 the bike has a positive neutral finder, while your at a complete stop.. shifting up from 1st gear will put the bike in neutral...! I usually change from 2nd to neutral when coming to a stop, I too will have to get use to down shifting and then back up to neutral too ...)
I too have found a random neutral in the top end of the gearbox. It only happened to me once, between 5th and 6th. Now that I have a few more miles on the clock the gearbox feels smoother and I don't have to really lean on the lever for that last upshift.
I have had it go into neutral between 5th and 6th three times in the last week, not a safe thing to happen when you are 2 up and need to keep accelerating. The first few hundred km were fine, but this shitty behaviour has started since about 400km on the clock (now at 600km). I do pull up firmly on the lever between gears, and it's interesting how sometimes you feel the click, sometimes not.. I hope this improves with time and or an oil change. I'm really dissapointed with the consistancy of the feel/feedback from the gear lever.
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