Help Stop Missing Shifts in hard use - Factory Pro Detent Arm Shift Kit

http://www.factorypro.com/prod_pages/prodk35_ex300.html

Not sure if you guys have heard of this product but I went ahead and ordered it since being on the track and experiencing some of this. I can account some of the miss shifts to driver mod use but there where a number of times during the course of the day where the bike actually downshifted out of the blue. Again I think some was rider mod issues (lazy shifts) but..... if this can help I am game. So if your in the same boat I will let you know how it works.

Improve lazy shifting - virtually eliminate missed shifts - virtually eliminate false neutrals - help prevent gearbox damage caused by missed shifts. I did get the ceramic bearing options as well.

http://www.factorypro.com/shift_kits/shift_spring,Kaw,ex300,13,92145-0895,sm.jpghttp://www.factorypro.com/shift_kits/detent_arm,Kaw,ex300,13236-0719,PRO.jpg

How did this work out; did it help?

Interested as well.

How did I miss this for a month?

Need one for the 250!

Must be a 300 thing. I don't recall seeing these parts on the 250. Slipper clutch mechanism, I suppose.

Must be a 300 thing. I don't recall seeing these parts on the 250. Slipper clutch mechanism, I suppose.

Those parts are used in almost every bike I've ever seen. The 250 uses a shift star but I cant find where detent arm is on the microfiche or service manual.

Sorry for the late reply. I have yet to install the part as I have been busy getting the bike into full race trim. I have had one session since going GP shift which helped a lot and tells me some if not most of the issue is user related. With that said I still had the problem but much less probably because GP shift puts more force on the shifter than upward shifts. If I can I hope to have it in before my next event on the 16th of this month to provide real feedback.

Those parts are used in almost every bike I've ever seen. The 250 uses a shift star but I cant find where detent arm is on the microfiche or service manual.

I took a look at the 300 fiche. It looks like on the 300, they moved the gear cam to the opposite end of the shifter drum. I think that star is what you were referring the cam to.

I took a look at the 300 fiche. It looks like on the 300, they moved the gear cam to the opposite end of the shifter drum. I think that star is what you were referring the cam to.

Ok, the cam is still going to ride against something that has some spring tension on it so your shift drum just doesn't spin freely.

Do you know the part number or where its located on the 250? I cant find it.

EDIT:

Think I found it. Looks like this plunger is what keeps the cam in place. I've had a few false neutrals, and it would be easy to test out different spring rates on the plunger to see if that helps with false neutrals.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u240/DCMoney22/nuturalpositionbolt_zps6400f333.jpg (http://s169.photobucket.com/user/DCMoney22/media/nuturalpositionbolt_zps6400f333.jpg.html)

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u240/DCMoney22/nuturalpositionbolt2_zps766ccc55.jpg (http://s169.photobucket.com/user/DCMoney22/media/nuturalpositionbolt2_zps766ccc55.jpg.html)

Ok, the cam is still going to ride against something that has some spring tension on it so your shift drum just doesn't spin freely.

Do you know the part number or where its located on the 250? I cant find it.

EDIT:

Think I found it. Looks like this plunger is what keeps the cam in place. I've had a few false neutrals, and it would be easy to test out different spring rates on the plunger to see if that helps with false neutrals.


Yep, you are correct.:)

Looks like that is much easier to modify that changing the detent arm and spring on the 300.

anyone actually installed one of these yet?

I still have mine I am actually going to get this installed here shortly. I certainly hope it helps because the bike does like to pop out of gear in top gears if your shifts are not solid each time. Not fun on the track.

I still have mine I am actually going to get this installed here shortly. I certainly hope it helps because the bike does like to pop out of gear in top gears if your shifts are not solid each time. Not fun on the track.

Ever get it installed?

Factory Pro 300 Ninja Pro Shift Kit note:

If using a quickshifter, the shift kill duration must be right or it will not work as well as possible.

Try 60 ish in the lower gears and 45ish in the upper gears

I am interested in that because I have been dealing with the same problem but i have not quite understood where exactly it is installed on the bike... I guess it on top of the clutch basket or what ??

I am interested in that because I have been dealing with the same problem but i have not quite understood where exactly it is installed on the bike... I guess it on top of the clutch basket or what ??

The arm and spring are under the clutch basket - have to remove the clutch basket.

Marc

thank you Marc... if I order some other stuff too for my new engine project can you ship to Europe, Greece ??

Interested but holy fack that's a lot of money for a little spring and bearing O_O

Maybe in a few months.

Interested but holy fack that's a lot of money for a little spring and bearing O_O
Maybe in a few months.

Price - well it kinda goes like this -

"They" make 1000's of simple non-bearing stock detent arms for pennies in Thailand and spit out piles of stock springs on million dollar CNC spring machines for a few more pennies.

We spent the time to develop the better product.

We manually make maybe 100 microbearing detent arms and, one by one, wind, trim, bend and trim each spring.

That's why it costs more. You can't just go down to the hardware store and find a specially formed torsion spring and the arms are made, one by one.

Thanks and sorry about the expense.

Marc Salvisberg

thank you Marc... if I order some other stuff too for my new engine project can you ship to Europe, Greece ??

Most anything bought in the USA can be shipped to Greece. Thanks -

Be cautious of ordering anything expensive from Factory Pro as it seems that their customer service isn't the best. Check out my recent thread and experience. Factory Pro do make some good products though as I have their jet kit and it works awesome. However, the shift spring for the 250 is pretty bad.

Marc is only here because I linked him to my thread.

https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=190389

To be honest I am watching the thread with the issue you had with the "blue" spring and I have to say that I am being a little "disappointed" in both of you...
of you Ninja for not having the patience of asking politely what could be done to overcome the non-neutral shifting and giving him a couple of days time to answer in detail, so that you would minimize any chances Marc might have had for "excuses" for not helping you out...if you had done that it is evident that he would be "punished" big time because people watch -a lot- and no matter if they participate or not... I have friends here in Greece who are watcing (mostly my) posts here but their english is not fluent enough as far as technical terms are concerned to write down some of their stuff... and they have been asking for my opinion about it... they take these "situations" very seriously and what's more, even if they don't get a clear picture, the word (that unfortunately sometimes can be totally misleading...) is spread like fire, if you know what I mean, Marc...
on the other hand I also believe that when running such an "international" business you ought to be patient with customer's hastiness and enthusiasm for something to work out of the box, which might turn out as rudeness when writing a "faceless" e-mail if it does not... and also have to "predict" that in some rare cases it just might not because someone might have some crapy rearsets or be riding with slippers or barefoot or whatever and need some special "treatment", so I find it "unprofessional" in a matter of speaking if any motorcycle business acts as a "bank" or insurance company...
it's this passion for motorcycles that has to bring us together and keep us inspired !!
So I can't misjudge Ninja for bringing out Marc's sloppy response (however let's not forget that we all can have some bad moments and it is what makes us human but we also have sometimes a chance to make up for it and that is something maybe you BOTH have to consider in my humble opinion...),in fact I am glad Ninja did, because I think it is imperative that we "protect" each other from potentially unpleasent situations...

But then again maybe against all odds, I choose to never judge a man as "crapy" if he makes such a crapy mistake once (or twice at the most since there are so many of us...) but it is up to Marc now to prove himself right by never repeating such a mistake and changing his attitude, because any customer can be important no matter how expensive an order they made, which country or continent from or if their language is not being expressed in a "proper" way...
I strongly believe that if you both try to "burry that hatchet" and invest your energy into learning from this "conflict", something good will come out of it... for all of us...:smile-beerglass:

I am really sorry if expressing my opinion in that way is being offending to either of you, I hope you can see that I have not any such intention

To be honest I am watching the thread with the issue you had with the "blue" spring and I have to say that I am being a little "disappointed" in both of you...
of you Ninja for not having the patience of asking politely what could be done to overcome the non-neutral shifting and giving him a couple of days time to answer in detail, so that you would minimize any chances Marc might have had for "excuses" for not helping you out...if you had done that it is evident that he would be "punished" big time because people watch -a lot- and no matter if they participate or not... I have friends here in Greece who are watcing (mostly my) posts here but their english is not fluent enough as far as technical terms are concerned to write down some of their stuff... and they have been asking for my opinion about it... they take these "situations" very seriously and what's more, even if they don't get a clear picture, the word (that unfortunately sometimes can be totally misleading...) is spread like fire, if you know what I mean, Marc...
on the other hand I also believe that when running such an "international" business you ought to be patient with customer's hastiness and enthusiasm for something to work out of the box, which might turn out as rudeness when writing a "faceless" e-mail if it does not... and also have to "predict" that in some rare cases it just might not because someone might have some crapy rearsets or be riding with slippers or barefoot or whatever and need some special "treatment", so I find it "unprofessional" in a matter of speaking if any motorcycle business acts as a "bank" or insurance company...
it's this passion for motorcycles that has to bring us together and keep us inspired !!
So I can't misjudge Ninja for bringing out Marc's sloppy response (however let's not forget that we all can have some bad moments and it is what makes us human but we also have sometimes a chance to make up for it and that is something maybe you BOTH have to consider in my humble opinion...),in fact I am glad Ninja did, because I think it is imperative that we "protect" each other from potentially unpleasent situations...

But then again maybe against all odds, I choose to never judge a man as "crapy" if he makes such a crapy mistake once (or twice at the most since there are so many of us...) but it is up to Marc now to prove himself right by never repeating such a mistake and changing his attitude, because any customer can be important no matter how expensive an order they made, which country or continent from or if their language is not being expressed in a "proper" way...
I strongly believe that if you both try to "burry that hatchet" and invest your energy into learning from this "conflict", something good will come out of it... for all of us...:smile-beerglass:

I am really sorry if expressing my opinion in that way is being offending to either of you, I hope you can see that I have not any such intention

Hi -
I'm not offended - "old fat grampa" (as he's seen my pictures) has done many 1000's of tech calls and emails from neophytes to well known engine builders, racers and tuners. If I was rude and sarcastic, the industry would have figured it out in the last 35 years.
I'll help most anybody who wants to solve a problem.

But I can't fix everything.

To be honest I am watching the thread with the issue you had with the "blue" spring and I have to say that I am being a little "disappointed" in both of you...
of you Ninja for not having the patience of asking politely what could be done to overcome the non-neutral shifting and giving him a couple of days time to answer in detail, so that you would minimize any chances Marc might have had for "excuses" for not helping you out...if you had done that it is evident that he would be "punished" big time because people watch -a lot- and no matter if they participate or not... I have friends here in Greece who are watcing (mostly my) posts here but their english is not fluent enough as far as technical terms are concerned to write down some of their stuff... and they have been asking for my opinion about it... they take these "situations" very seriously and what's more, even if they don't get a clear picture, the word (that unfortunately sometimes can be totally misleading...) is spread like fire, if you know what I mean, Marc...
on the other hand I also believe that when running such an "international" business you ought to be patient with customer's hastiness and enthusiasm for something to work out of the box, which might turn out as rudeness when writing a "faceless" e-mail if it does not... and also have to "predict" that in some rare cases it just might not because someone might have some crapy rearsets or be riding with slippers or barefoot or whatever and need some special "treatment", so I find it "unprofessional" in a matter of speaking if any motorcycle business acts as a "bank" or insurance company...
it's this passion for motorcycles that has to bring us together and keep us inspired !!
So I can't misjudge Ninja for bringing out Marc's sloppy response (however let's not forget that we all can have some bad moments and it is what makes us human but we also have sometimes a chance to make up for it and that is something maybe you BOTH have to consider in my humble opinion...),in fact I am glad Ninja did, because I think it is imperative that we "protect" each other from potentially unpleasent situations...

But then again maybe against all odds, I choose to never judge a man as "crapy" if he makes such a crapy mistake once (or twice at the most since there are so many of us...) but it is up to Marc now to prove himself right by never repeating such a mistake and changing his attitude, because any customer can be important no matter how expensive an order they made, which country or continent from or if their language is not being expressed in a "proper" way...
I strongly believe that if you both try to "burry that hatchet" and invest your energy into learning from this "conflict", something good will come out of it... for all of us...:smile-beerglass:

I am really sorry if expressing my opinion in that way is being offending to either of you, I hope you can see that I have not any such intention

Good post. I wasn't rude, but he probably thought I was because of my disappointment in his product so he replied rudely. I even complimented him on his jet kit but he continued to be rude. My last straw was in my thread as another chance, but again, he placed the blame on me saying that it's my rearsets, shoes, etc.. even though the stock spring worked fine, and threat to not make products for 250s. That was the final straw for me. His blue spring is useless and I threw it away. Will never order from him again.

Hi -
I'm not offended - "old fat grampa" (as he's seen my pictures) has done many 1000's of tech calls and emails from neophytes to well known engine builders, racers and tuners. If I was rude and sarcastic, the industry would have figured it out in the last 35 years.
I'll help most anybody who wants to solve a problem.

But I can't fix everything.

Yeah, I'm sure you're not rude to everyone. It's part of the business. You'll run into rude people and there are days when you're just in a bad mood. I wish there was a way to fix your spring but it's just a spring. I can understand technical problems with jet kits etc where you can actually help them out. You lost my business though. It seems when your product is bad, you don't want to hear about it and like to place blame.

Anyways, my last suggestion for you is, please update your website. It looks like it was made in the 1990's by a teenager. Wasn't for this forum I would've never ordered your jet kit with the way your website looks.

*edit* At least 1 thing good came out of this. Now you're on this forum which is one of the largest Ninja 250/300 forums on the Internet. Hopefully you can help members here and frequent from time to time.

Yeah, I'm sure you're not rude to everyone. It's part of the business. You'll run into rude people and there are days when you're just in a bad mood. I wish there was a way to fix your spring but it's just a spring. I can understand technical problems with jet kits etc where you can actually help them out. You lost my business though. It seems when your product is bad, you don't want to hear about it and like to place blame.

Anyways, my last suggestion for you is, please update your website. It looks like it was made in the 1990's by a teenager. Wasn't for this forum I would've never ordered your jet kit with the way your website looks.

*edit* At least 1 thing good came out of this. Now you're on this forum which is one of the largest Ninja 250/300 forums on the Internet. Hopefully you can help members here and frequent from time to time.

I can't keep justifying that I was eating dinner at 8pm after working all day and I'd get back to you later. Somehow that's just not good enough for you.

Your rude comments simply make this forum an unenjoyable place to post - and while you can take credit for me joining, you can also take credit for the lack of future tech support volunteered. Maybe you say that it's my loss - but dealing with you on 2 different threads is two hours of my life that I'll never get back.

Signed, the guy you called old and fat,

Marc Salvisberg

I can't keep justifying that I was eating dinner at 8pm after working all day and I'd get back to you later. Somehow that's just not good enough for you.

Your rude comments simply make this forum an unenjoyable place to post - and while you can take credit for me joining, you can also take credit for the lack of future tech support volunteered. Maybe you say that it's my loss - but dealing with you on 2 different threads is two hours of my life that I'll never get back.

Signed, the guy you called old and fat,

Marc Salvisberg

Here's another shovel. Keep digging that hole grandpa. :doh:

Thats 2 hours and $35 Ill never get back.

"Ninja" is on a short break. No more TOS violations in this thread without consequences.

So has anyone actually installed this mod yet? Interested to see if it made any difference.

probably not pertinient to your ninja's, but I've installed on my '98 VFR800 at 20xxx miles, i've now got 36K. .
Due to wear on the original "star". An occasional pop out of gear and just general all around sloppy, notchy feel in shifting convinced me to give it a try.

The Factory Pro shift kit significantly eliminated slop and popping out. Darn if it doesn't do what is says. A more "manly" shift is now required (heavier duty spring).

Kudos to Marc@Factory Pro. IMHO...a worthwhile product that works as advertised and intended.

Contrary to what was previously posted, I have experienced customer service at its finest from Factory Pro. Their Ducati jet kits and nickel plated emulsion tubes are SOP for carbed Duc owners....quality products!

probably not pertinient to your ninja's, but I've installed on my '98 VFR800 with 20xxx miles.
Due to wear on the original "star". An occasional pop out of gear and just general all around sloppy, notchy feel in shifting convinced me to give it a try.

The Factory Pro shift kit significantly eliminated slop and popping out. Darn if it doesn't do what is says. A more "manly" shift is now required (heavier duty spring).

Kudos to Marc@Factory Pro. IMHO...a worthwhile product that works as advertised and intended.

Contrary to what was previously posted, I have experienced customer service at its finest from Factory Pro. Their Ducati jet kits and nickel plated emulsion tubes are SOP for carbed Duc owners....quality products!

Factory Pro has always made good products. Mine was probably a defective and he was having a bad day, as we all do. I have their jet kits and it works wonders.

I still have mine I am actually going to get this installed here shortly. I certainly hope it helps because the bike does like to pop out of gear in top gears if your shifts are not solid each time. Not fun on the track.

Surferboy? Any updates?

I ordered this kit for my 300, but not looking forward to the install. I am assuming I will document the process since I can't find anyone that has any kind of write up. I usually do more homework BEFORE I order, but knew I wanted this fix.. so oh well.

Going to have to remove the clutch so, I will need a clutch gasket &liquid gasket.
Special tools? Manual calls for a Clutch Holder [C]: 57001-1243 tool which I don't have - Is this a must ?
Need moly grease too.

Does anyone out there have installation tips?
Thanks!

Jbazz,

I sympathize with you, I ordered one too and will be installing it in the 300 next year.

Not relevant to the 300, but it this might help out the 250 owners.

Possible alternative for Factory Pro Blue Magic Shift Spring (https://www.ninjette.org/forums/blog.php?b=8381)

Factory Pro Blue Magic Shift Spring (https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=238634)

When I did the shift arm install on my 390 a few months ago it was a pretty straight forward process.

I did use my motion pro clutch basket holder and an impact to get the basket off.

http://www.amazon.com/Motion-Pro-08-0008-Clutch-Holding/dp/B000HS4NA8

Also needed a clutch cover gasket.

Thanks guys. I will take some photos or video when I do the 300. I believe I have all the parts and tools on hand or on order now. :dancecool:


When I did the shift arm install on my 390 a few months ago it was a pretty straight forward process.

I did use my motion pro clutch basket holder and an impact to get the basket off.

http://www.amazon.com/Motion-Pro-08-0008-Clutch-Holding/dp/B000HS4NA8

Also needed a clutch cover gasket.

Thanks guys. I will take some photos or video when I do the 300. I believe I have all the parts and tools on hand or on order now. :dancecool:
Looking forward to it. I've heard good things about their shift stars for other bikes. Hopefully your report won't buck the trend.

Does anyone out there have installation tips?
Thanks!

It's all pretty straightforward except for the actual arm/spring. When you go to put it on, let the arm and spring hang down while you get the bolt started to hold it in place, then push it up against the spring resistance and into position against the shifter star and finish tightening the bolt.

It's worth the hassle as I rarely miss a shift anymore, and it has stopped the transmission from slipping back a gear altogether.

It's all pretty straightforward except for the actual arm/spring. When you go to put it on, let the arm and spring hang down while you get the bolt started to hold it in place, then push it up against the spring resistance and into position against the shifter star and finish tightening the bolt.

It's worth the hassle as I rarely miss a shift anymore, and it has stopped the transmission from slipping back a gear altogether.

Thanks for the tips Greg. I just completed the install and test ride. This part takes some patience to replace, but I think it will be worth it. I will follow up with a few pictures and tips.

The installation of the factory pro detent arm and spring is mostly straight forward. You will need:

Maintenance manual
Basic sockets & Hex bits
Torque Wrench
Breaker bar
Clutch basket removal tool
Clutch cover gasket
Liquid Gasket
Moly grease
Thread Locking compound
Oil

I bought a Tusk brand clutch tool for like $18 from rocky mountain and ground the ends a bit thiner to better fit the Ninja's clutch basket.

Drain your oil. Remove your clutch cover, taking care not to remove the clutch release rod or you will need to replace the needle bearing assembly that is in the cover.

Remove your old gasket and clean mating surfaces.

Remove your clutch, keeping all plates and spacers in order.

Once the clutch is removed, you can tackle the detent arm and spring. The spring pressure on the detent arm is what makes this a little tricky.

My recommendation is to spread apart the "shift mechanism arms" over the end of the shift drum before tackling the detent arm. This will give you more room to swap out the part. Do not unscrew the star on the end of the drum.

As GregS pointed out, once you have the new bearing in place with thread locker, do not tighten it down fully. Leave enough room to push the bearing up and in place on top of the shift star before torquing it down.

Move the "shift mechanism arms" back in place and test the shifting. If everything feels good, reinstall your clutch, gasket, cover etc, as per the maintenance manual, and add your oil.

Any additional feedback or tips are welcome.

My recommendation is to spread apart the "shift mechanism arms" over the end of the shift drum before tackling the detent arm. This will give you more room to swap out the part. Do not unscrew the star on the end of the drum.

Indeed - I forgot the part about spreading the shift arms and moving them out of the way, that really makes it easier to do. I made the mistake of removing the shifter star and it was a major PITA to get back on and positioned properly.

I wanted folks to know I took the bike back on the track this past weekend and had zero shifting or false neutral issues. The kit is working well so far. :)

I wanted folks to know I took the bike back on the track this past weekend and had zero shifting or false neutral issues. The kit is working well so far. :)

That's great news. My shifting problems have virtually disappeared, I still get an occasional backshift but always because I didn't give the shifter a firm enough click.

The installation of the factory pro detent arm and spring is mostly straight forward. You will need:

Maintenance manual
Basic sockets & Hex bits
Torque Wrench
Breaker bar
Clutch basket removal tool
Clutch cover gasket
Liquid Gasket
Moly grease
Thread Locking compound
Oil

I bought a Tusk brand clutch tool for like $18 from rocky mountain and ground the ends a bit thiner to better fit the Ninja's clutch basket.

Drain your oil. Remove your clutch cover, taking care not to remove the clutch release rod or you will need to replace the needle bearing assembly that is in the cover.

Remove your old gasket and clean mating surfaces.

Remove your clutch, keeping all plates and spacers in order.

Once the clutch is removed, you can tackle the detent arm and spring. The spring pressure on the detent arm is what makes this a little tricky.

My recommendation is to spread apart the "shift mechanism arms" over the end of the shift drum before tackling the detent arm. This will give you more room to swap out the part. Do not unscrew the star on the end of the drum.

As GregS pointed out, once you have the new bearing in place with thread locker, do not tighten it down fully. Leave enough room to push the bearing up and in place on top of the shift star before torquing it down.

Move the "shift mechanism arms" back in place and test the shifting. If everything feels good, reinstall your clutch, gasket, cover etc, as per the maintenance manual, and add your oil.

Any additional feedback or tips are welcome.

so it looks like I made a bit of a mistake when I did this on my 300 last winter.



After 2 days at the track testing this weekend, My bike was shaking violently getting on the gas coming out of the corners. We replaced fuel, coils, injectors, battery, took the pcv right out, and swapped the ecu.

Got home, pulled the clutch out and saw that there is some major wear on the retaining washer that holds the "shift star" in place.

When I did the install,I ended up unbolting the "shift star". I thought I had it back together properly but apparently not...

this is a pic...i'm stumped

Must be your clutch vibrating against the shift star washer. If I remember correctly there is a cone shaped washer that goes under the clutch basket, did you put that on the right way? It's the only thing I can think of that would cause a lot of vibration.

I got mine installed a week ago. Gregg even put a couple of my photos up on the site...LOL... It was, indeed, pretty straight forward. Having he tips about moving the arms and putting the whole thing in place before tightening up the bolt was awesome. Made the whole thing easier. For some reason, these photos are turned 90 degrees to the left. My apologies for that.

Good to hear that it went well for you. Anybody that is mechanically inclined can do this mod. The number one thing I would recommend is to NOT unbolt the shift star, as the darn thing gave me hell going back on right.
Let us know if the shifts improve, as you should see a pretty big difference.

Good to hear that it went well for you. Anybody that is mechanically inclined can do this mod. The number one thing I would recommend is to NOT unbolt the shift star, as the darn thing gave me hell going back on right.
Let us know if the shifts improve, as you should see a pretty big difference.

I'll be in Pittsburgh this weekend which will be my first opportunity to ride it vigorously. I'll let you know.

Wow, I'm sorry all, I never did post a reply to the message a couple above this one. Greg, the spring and arm work flawlessly. After this trackday, I raced at Summit Point and VIR without one single issue. I coach also and have hundreds of laps around a couple of different tracks since the install, and not one single issue.

Thanks for a great product.

Juan

In 6+ decades of bike fiddling I've known about under cutting but don't know how common it has been over the years. Any clue as to what bikes have had it or not? I've always felt Suzuki & Yamaha trannies seemed better but didn't know why they were. The occasional missed shift doesn't bother too much but unintentional downshifting is a worry for us Golden Age riders. I wonder how much $ is saved w straight milling the dogs vs a small angle. Is this a problem for Ninjettes as they may be ridden w more gusto than others? Others have asked about power shifting but I think they'd avoid such if shown the resulting dog wear & tear. Anyone heard of XS100s w/o 2nd gear?:rolleyes:

Wow, I'm sorry all, I never did post a reply to the message a couple above this one. Greg, the spring and arm work flawlessly. After this trackday, I raced at Summit Point and VIR without one single issue. I coach also and have hundreds of laps around a couple of different tracks since the install, and not one single issue.

Thanks for a great product.

Juan

Happy to hear that things are going well, it really does help your riding knowing that you will not get an unexpected downshift

I see there is a different part# listed for the detent now. Is this an improved piece or just a number change?:confused:

BUMP


I am experiencing the same issue as the OP and others on my track-only 2015 300. It doesn't happen *all* the time but when it does it's fairly disconcerting.

I'm thinking about this product for next season... thanks for any additional insights.

I bought the updated parts, the spring looks substantially stronger than the OEM item and the bearing (that rides on the shift drum) looks a little bigger. The following is mostly for myself in case I ever have to do this again, lol.

Here's couple more installation tips. (1) stuff a rag or paper towel in the oil drainback cavity (under the clutch plates) in case you drop anything. There's a small washer behind the arm that's easy to drop. (2) as others have said, spread the shift linkage arms apart and there should be enough slop to move the top arm over onto the star piece on the end of the shift drum (I just moved both of them out of the way). (3) I put the parts together and got the allen head screw started a few turns with the straight piece of the spring sticking almost straight up and down. I then used a screwdriver to move it into final position (resting against the case) before tightening further. (4) Keep a close eye on two things: make sure the bearing on the end of the arm stays in proper alignment with the shift star i.e. parallel to it, not pushing against the end of the star and that the washer-bushing that the allen screw passes through stays in proper position. I had to hold the washer in place using a screwdriver as the new spring wants to push the arm down out of alignment. (5) When you think you're done pry against the arm with a screwdriver to make sure you feel spring tension and can see the arm pushing down onto the shift drum.

It's winter and I won't know until next season but this setup cannot be worse. My bike was downshifting by itself in a couple of places on the track which (needless to say...) was pretty disconcerting. At first I blamed myself for sloppy shifting but then realized it probably wasn't me.

Thanks for previous tips!

The OEM updated parts? I looked at listings and see a number change for the lever arm but not the spring.

http://www.factorypro.com/prod_pages/prodk35_ex300.html

So not updated OEM

Hi we just tried to install this kit on my EX300 and was unable to get the bike with the FactoryPro detent arm and spring installed to shift past 2nd gear while the bike was stationary (and back wheel was being manually spun). I was able to shift through 2nd when I tested the stock detent arm and the FactoryPro spring, but not with the FactoryPro intentionally larger detent arm. After speaking on the phone with the FactoryPro support, he stated that the Kawasaki's don't shift above 1st if the bike's rear wheel is not spinning (he said the bike needs to be moving for it to spin fast enough to engage) due to the steel balls that sit on the transmission output shaft that are by design some kind of safety thing so that you can't shift into 2nd while bike stationary.

Did anyone of you who successfully installed the kit notice this "issue" when testing the shifting before putting everything back together? Worried that we were overthinking it, and should have just put it back together without it being able to shift into 2nd...and it would be perfect. It is just a lot of work to have to take it apart, put it back together, and pray that it is supposed to be like that.

its called the Kawasaki "positive neutral finder" system, search that phrase on Google, a ton of info. Info may be in owners manuals, too, dunno.