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Reverse gear issue

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buellwinkle said:
I have not got my reverse to work at all ??? I am thinking, did I leave the side stand down when I tried to back it out of my garage, that might be what was wrong ??? Is the side stand an issue with this bike ???
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I would have to say it is. Try it again with the sidestand up as it should.
 
buellwinkle said:
I have not got my reverse to work at all ??? I am thinking, did I leave the side stand down when I tried to back it out of my garage, that might be what was wrong ??? Is the side stand an issue with this bike ???
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Can you describe how you go about attempting reverse? Was engine running, bike in neutral, side stand up? Flick lever to reverse position, R appears on display and pressing the start button with engine still running, should cause the bike to reverse.
 
Cheshire Cat said:
Reverse gear glitch happened again today. Slipped into reverse and noticed the R on display was flashing. Pressed the starter and nothing happened. No odd noises and no movement. Tried several times turning bike off and on between attempts. I am suspecting a sticky microswitch somewhere as when I click back to normal I then have to press the clutch for the R to switch back to N on the display. I will try again tomorrow and see if it has gone back to normal.
The more I use the reverse, the smoother the process becomes but this glitch can be a pain.
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Working again. I like to use reverse wherever possible both for the practice and the fact smoothness of operation seems to improve.
 
I can reliably get reverse to work on flat ground or when I otherwise don't need it. Whenever I actually do need it though it doesn't reliably work. I love the bike, but I operate it as if it doesn't have reverse (which is certainly do-able since this is the only bike I've had with reverse.) Still, it would be nice if it weren't finicky. And yes, I have read and understand the instructions, and I understand the "tricks".
 
tommymck said:
I can reliably get reverse to work on flat ground or when I otherwise don't need it. Whenever I actually do need it though it doesn't reliably work. I love the bike, but I operate it as if it doesn't have reverse (which is certainly do-able since this is the only bike I've had with reverse.) Still, it would be nice if it weren't finicky. And yes, I have read and understand the instructions, and I understand the "tricks".
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Apologies if my post made it sound as though you didn't know what you were doing. That wasn't my intention. I guess some practice might be the way forward (pardon the pun). I have found that the more I use mine the easier it gets. That said, as per the thread, I still have some blip's with it. Not yet got the confidence I would need to use it in a car park full of bikes but getting there.
 
buellwinkle said:
My reverse gear fails to work at all !!!
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In some ways, it's similar to some manual transmission cars, where moving it into first can sometimes be hard unless you slip the clutch a little to move the transmission ever so slightly

Mine didn't work a few times early when I got it. Once I realized the mechanical connection and was more aware of how it engaged and how I could move the bike to slip it into gear just like manual cars mentioned above, I've not had any more issues.
 
nielsm said:
In some ways, it's similar to some manual transmission cars, where moving it into first can sometimes be hard unless you slip the clutch a little to move the transmission ever so slightly

Mine didn't work a few times early when I got it. Once I realized the mechanical connection and was more aware of how it engaged and how I could move the bike to slip it into gear just like manual cars mentioned above, I've not had any more issues.
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Exactly. There's a very small learning curve..kinda like mastering a cool guitar riff. Takes some practice, but once u get it, u GOT IT...
 
buellwinkle said:
I have not got my reverse to work at all ??? I am thinking, did I leave the side stand down when I tried to back it out of my garage, that might be what was wrong ??? Is the side stand an issue with this bike ???
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It's def an odd setup. might have to be running, and sidestand up in order to get it to engage.
 
frijole said:
It's def an odd setup. might have to be running, and sidestand up in order to get it to engage.
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Good rule of thumb on any modern bike is it won’t allow powered movement with side stand down.

Specifically for the R18, the manual states the following requirements:

The following prerequisites must be fulfilled to use the reverser:
Motorcycle is standing.
Engine is running.
Brake is actuated. Transmission is in idle position. Side stand is retracted.
Clutch is not pulled.
 
Cheshire Cat said:
Apologies if my post made it sound as though you didn't know what you were doing. That wasn't my intention. I guess some practice might be the way forward (pardon the pun). I have found that the more I use mine the easier it gets. That said, as per the thread, I still have some blip's with it. Not yet got the confidence I would need to use it in a car park full of bikes but getting there.
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Oh, I wasn't directing that at you! I was just anticipating comments. I have no problem whatsoever on flat ground. Depending on the situation, the issue is either getting it into reverse or getting it out when on a hill. The bike happened to come with reverse, but I wouldn't have paid extra for it even if it weren't recalcitrant. I'm used to heavier bikes and how / where to park, so it's no big deal, but it is flakey (at least mine is, with any amount of practice.)
 
tommymck said:
Oh, I wasn't directing that at you! I was just anticipating comments. I have no problem whatsoever on flat ground. Depending on the situation, the issue is either getting it into reverse or getting it out when on a hill. The bike happened to come with reverse, but I wouldn't have paid extra for it even if it weren't recalcitrant. I'm used to heavier bikes and how / where to park, so it's no big deal, but it is flakey (at least mine is, with any amount of practice.)
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You have to get pressure off the drive train if on an incline while moving the lever in or out of reverse. Move the bike an inch or so in the direction of the incline to do this.(facing downward move downward) I encountered this recently..Parked on a 1-2 degree slope..in a parking space in front of a bar. The street was level. Went right into reverse...backed up the slight incline 5ft or so ( cat's ass cool ) then tried pulling the lever up out of reverse. Didn't work. Then I moved the bike forward an inch or three while simultaneously pulling up on the lever. Popped right out.
 
Adrian R said:
You have to get pressure off the drive train if on an incline while moving the lever in or out of reverse. Move the bike an inch or so in the direction of the incline to do this.(facing downward move downward) I encountered this recently..Parked on a 1-2 degree slope..in a parking space in front of a bar. The street was level. Went right into reverse...backed up the slight incline 5ft or so ( cat's ass cool ) then tried pulling the lever up out of reverse. Didn't work. Then I moved the bike forward an inch or three while simultaneously pulling up on the lever. Popped right out.
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This pressure relief technique is exactly what I use when disengaging the reverse gear. Needing to do this on occasion makes perfect sense to me. Like pulling up a parking brake handle just a touch, to be able to press the button, to deactivate .
 
vmjailer said:
This pressure relief technique is exactly what I use when disengaging the reverse gear. Needing to do this on occasion makes perfect sense to me. Like pulling up a parking brake handle just a touch, to be able to press the button, to deactivate .
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Precisely. As usual, a bit common sense travels far....
 
Adrian R said:
Precisely. As usual, a bit common sense travels far....
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Like I said, I understand what you are saying. Mine at least does NOT always respond to this. Sometimes it does, sometimes it does after several tries. I've never been totally stuck, but it has taken a couple of minutes for me to coax it. It's far from a certainty in any incline position except on level ground. Maybe some bikes have this as more of an issue than others. From what I've seen here, I'm not the only one though. And also like I said...no big deal, since I'm used to bikes with no reverse in any case. But just because yours responds to your technique does not mean that they all do.
 
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