Symptoms

WHAT IS GHOST SHIFTING?

The symptoms present as an unwanted transmission shift, or coming out and jumping back into gear.

  • Can occur while in any gear; however, 1st is never included.
  • Finding a shifting "sweet spot" is difficult.
  • The unwanted shift can be undetectably smooth, at other times BANG!!!
  • Some describe it as "if my rear tire slipped on a wet leaf” or a "lurch," a "blip," or a "hiccup" in power.
  • It is an unwanted shift down from 5th to 4th, or 4th to 3rd, or 3rd to 2nd, 2nd to neutral. Or on a shift up from 2nd to 3rd, or 3rd to 4th, or 4th to 5th. Some Wings experience multiple combinations of unwanted shifts.
  • Ghost Shifting may start with an almost new bike.
  • It is difficult to reproduce. Occurrences can be 10,000 miles apart making the symptom extremely elusive.
  • Sometimes it may come out of gear, float in a “neutral position," then jump back into the gear it came out of.
  • In almost all cases, it occurs while under light acceleration or while "just cruising along." Some riders report it occurs after downshifting or deceleration to reduce speed.
  • The rider often blames it on a "miss shift," not wanting to believe what he just felt was a ghost shift.
  • Eventually, a shift occurs that gets attention; it can leave the Wing no longer ride-able.
  • All GL1800 years are affected.

HOW IT AFFECTS YOU - THE RIDER?

A bike's performance is critical to the confidence of the rider, his safety and ability to make good decisions.

  • In certain conditions, ghost shifting is extremely dangerous and begins to build mistrust between the rider and the Wing.
  • As ghost shifting becomes more frequent, the rider is forced to change riding habits, often in heavier traffic situations due to "miss trust."
  • At first ghost shifting leaves the rider confused as to what just happened, what gear it came out of or what gear it is currently in. If it is a ghost shift down, RPM’s will increase.