Six gears? 96 m900 question

[dropstharockalot]

I've read two different service manuals, checked with several interweb bike review overview-type thingies, and seen several threads on this board that lead me to believe that the 1996 m900 should have a six-speed transmission.  Yet despite riding this thing for almost two years, I can't recall ever getting above a fifth gear...

So, questions abound:

1) Should my bike have six gears?

2) Are there simple ways to verify the presence of the sixth gear that don't involve me destroying my transmission with my meager collection of hand tools and limited mechanical aptitude? (AKA... do I have a five-speed trans from another model that the prior owner neglected to disclose?)

3) What are some potential reasons I can't get into sixth (assuming, of course, that I'm supposed to have the sixth cog...)?




Thanks in advance,

DTRAL

[Speeddog]

Yes, you have six gears.

Best way to verify is count your shifts while riding.

Or, with the bike on the ground, you can shift up through the gears by rocking it forward and back.

[ducpainter]

My '96 M900 has 6 gears.

I would assume that all 900s have the same number.

It's supposed to.

I don't think the 5 speed gear set will fit into the 6 speed cases, although I'm not sure.

I know you can't get a 900 easily onto 750 cases.

[dropstharockalot]

^^^^^^^
Thanks for the quick replies...

I do count shifts.  That's why I'm pretty sure I've never been above fifth.  Or, I guess it may be more accurate to say that after one bump down, I can't get a fifth bump upwards - I'm assuming that I'm sticking in fifth, but I could be missing one of the gears on the way up.

Other than the obvious ("I can't count for crap"), any off-the-cuff diagnosis as to what's going on?

Thx again.

[ScottRNelson]

You should check the number of gears with the engine off and the bike on flat ground.

Shift into first.  Then without touching the clutch and while rolling forward a few inches shift into second.  Repeat up through the gears, keeping a careful count.  You'll know that you're in the next gear when the bike moves forward a little but then stops against the drivetrain.

Once into top gear, repeat going the other way.

The shifter should feel a little bit different trying to go down when already in first gear or trying to go up while already in top gear.

Please report back after trying this.

[ScottRNelson]

One more thing...

Maybe you could post a photo of the right side of your engine.  If you really do have a 5-speed in there, maybe somebody put a 750 engine in the bike or something.

[Bigbore4]

'95 and a '96 in our fleet, both are 6 speed gearbox.

[grunte]

My first Duc was a 96 m900......6 gears, even though everybody else already stated that 

[dropstharockalot]

Well, this is embarrassing... that ol' sixth gear I was looking for?  Yeah, it's there.  Right after the fifth one, right where it should be.  Used the bejeebers out of if between Chicago and Indy this weekend.  Definitely lets the ol' hoss run with far fewer revs on the highway, that's for certain.

I really have no explaination for why I'd never been in sixth before... I'd love to be able to say I'd tried to bump up a gear from fifth and just hadn't unloaded the trans enough to make it happen, but I'm not going to attempt to claim a logical defense.  At this point, I'm gonna just go ahead and assume that I'm an idiot.

Thanks to everyone for their patience in this thread.  I'll now retreat to the "No Moto Content" area, where my ignorance will blend right in.

[Speeddog]

If you hang around Tech, you'll get smarter.