Shifting From 1st to 2nd sometimes 2nd to 3rd

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That's common. Both my 1200's did that. It helps to pre-load the shifter, or llift up on the shift lever, just to take the freeplay out, so when you are ready to shift it should be smoother. They usually got noisier as the engine oil got older.

Prior to shifting, try this BEFORE you shift up, and see if it helps.

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Mike is right. Sometimes having new fluid in the clutch helps too.

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1st to 2nd is hard if you're under 3k rpms, so try to rev her up a little and it will shift smoothly, from 2nd to 3rd mine will shift fine at any rpms. probably you need to bleed the clutch.

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William_86 wrote:

1st to 2nd is hard if you're under 3k rpms, so try to rev her up a little and it will shift smoothly, from 2nd to 3rd mine will shift fine at any rpms. probably you need to bleed the clutch.

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Good thing it doesn't have a cable actuated clutch huh?

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i smell a sarcastic comment. but anyway, as the cable needs adjustments once in a while, hydraulic systems is not maintenance free. fluid has to be changed once in a while also, thats why i recommended it. i remember Tim's (Mr Magic Fingers) grandmothers quote: “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.

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Oh, I guess I was too lazy to think think of that.


Ya know I'm reminded of an old saying myself, something to do with a pot, a kettle, and one or the other of them being black.

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When you pull up on the shift lever, pull on quickly and as if you are trying to lift the entire bike. Snap it into the next gear.

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So much for the GL1200 clutch being 10x more reliable! Never once adjusted my cable in 6 years...

Did replace the plates, after all they were over 20 years old.

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sounds like u need to add some fluid to the m/c and maybe bleed the system,usually just working the clutch lever very slowly several times with the cap off will get it bleed enough,mine usually requires a little dot4 about once a month

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If changing the clutch fluid and bleeding the clutch system doesn't completely resolve the issue, you might want to also change the type/weight of engine oil you are using and see if that helps. The 1200 and 1500 use engine oil to lubricate the transmission gears and on my 1200, as the oil aged, the transmission began to get balky. I found using 15w40 or 20w50 worked better for me than the 10wsomething that Honda usually recommends.

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My 1200 was the same Ray. I found that "Pre-loading" the shifter made it shift much smoother, and also shifting firmly into the next gear would help. Definitely don't baby the shifter from first to second.

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What was that saying they said around here, "Shift it like you mean it"....

Sometime mine goes so smooth between 1-5 and other times every transition doesn't feel as smooth. Combination of a lot of things, I am sure.

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make sure you keep up with your oil, I've noticed that if the oil is low mine will be hard to shift. You will have the same problem id the oil is too thin or too old.

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Thanks Everyone for all your suggestions I will give them a try. The feed back has been great.
Thanks Ray D

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I've owned three Goldwings and they all shifted quirky at times. I lean toward the operator being the problem and not the machine. It's difficult to synchronize the engine RPM and the speed of the rear wheel perfectly to achieve a nice smooth shift everytime. Try changing when you shift and see what works best for you.