Shifting when stopped problem

[dcx4610]

So I've been riding for a few months now and getting braver and braver as far as getting out on the open roads. It seems I run into something new or learn something every time I go out which is a good thing.

Today, I decided to ride somewhere to get something to eat. As I turned in and parked, I was still in 2nd gear when I came to a complete stop. I tried kicking down to 1st and it wouldn't shift. The shifter didn't feel stiff and had give to it like it should go down more. I said screw it, left it there and ate. When I came back out, the bike wouldn't start. I figured it wasn't in neutral or first. After playing with it a bit, I got it to start and when I rode off, it immediately died. I tried over and over and eventually gave it enough throttle to keep it going. I had come to the conclusion that I started it and rode off into 2nd gear which is why it was hard to keep it from dying.

So with that out of the way, do I have a problem with my shifter or is this just how the Ninja 250 is? I had read that some bikes will not shift unless they are moving. Should I keep it in habit of always shifting down to first before coming to a complete stop? If it does happen again, is there any technique to get the bike into neutral or 1st at a complete stop if in a higher gear?

[Luvninja]

Mine has trouble shifting when it's in a dead stop. But I think most bikes are like this, I just rock the bike a tiny bit and shift when I do that so it catches. Try that, just roll it a tiny bit, back and forth and shift at the same time.

[Jiggles]

If your in second when stopped and can't shift down try rolling forward a few inches and it should go.

[Jiggles]

Originally Posted by Luvninja

Mine has trouble shifting when it's in a dead stop. But I think most bikes are like this, I just rock the bike a tiny bit and shift when I do that so it catches. Try that, just roll it a tiny bit, back and forth and shift at the same time.

Didn't I tell you about this already? With the positive neutral finder on kawasakis you are only able to shift between 1st and neutral while stopped, sometimes you can't shift to first unless you move the bike forward a few inches

[nickjpass]

Oh jiggles

[Jim Moore]

Even better, hold the shifter down with your foot and ease the clutch out slightly. It'll drop right in to gear.

[ninja250r81]

tip:

when you find you are in 2nd again

slip the clutch and use the weight of your leg on the shifter to pop it into 1st when rolling forward

[Asspire]

Crash it and buy a liter bike, problem solved.

But srsly, try rolling it a little while shifting, some times blipping the throttle works for me.

[Luvninja]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Didn't I tell you about this already? With the positive neutral finder on kawasakis you are only able to shift between 1st and neutral while stopped, sometimes you can't shift to first unless you move the bike forward a few inches

Nope, I was obviously just talking about shifting down while stopped to try and get into 1st or neutral. Like the OPs problem, I wasn't talking about shifting up through the gears

[erbarry88]

I have this problem every now and then but now I go through every gear when coming to a stop. If it does happen I slowly release the clutch until I feel the transmission engage, pull the clutch back in, and shift down. This works everytime for me.
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[alex.s]

the positive neutral finder is 3 slots and 3 ball bearings floating between the moving gear for 1st/2nd and the output shaft spline. if the output shaft isnt rotating, one of the ball bearings will fall onto the spline from gravity and catch on the slots and dont allow the gear to move into second. they shouldnt keep the gear from moving into first but if you are in 4th or 3rd or something where the 1st/2nd isnt engaged, then trying to go down into second with the output shaft not moving will cause the same issue shifting from neutral into second with the output shaft not moving

also, trying to take off in 3rd generally will make it stall