[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Ohhh oops I guess I misunderstood that part a bit and thought it was ok to do what I did.  I'll loosen it back up a bit before I do any more riding in that case.  My dealer is within a stone's throw from my work so I think I'll stop in on my way there today and talk with them about the grinding and see what happens.  Thank you

Welcome..just bring it back up enough so you have to use the button to move it between the gears.

 My suggestion would to remove the clutch cover & insure they are disengaging. NMK commented regarding that in an earlier post, when I re read your grinding comments .........

Pull the cover off, start it up & try shifting. See if the driven clutch stops completely & insure the belt is not tugging on the driven pulley. Clutch alignment will cause an issue.

My suggestion would to remove the clutch cover & insure they are disengaging. NMK commented regarding that in an earlier post, when I re read your grinding comments .........

Pull the cover off, start it up & try shifting. See if the driven clutch stops completely & insure the belt is not tugging on the driven pulley. Clutch alignment will cause an issue.

I'm confident that the clutches are disengaging properly.  It doesn't grind as I'm shifting into a gear, only after I've put it in gear and given it enough throttle TO engage the clutch, and not all the time either.  I could shift it into High and sit there for an hour without issue, but it's hit or miss if it's gonna actually be fully in gear.  I'm thinking this is something internal in the transmission that doesn't allow the gears to engage properly after shifting, but before revving it enough to actually engage the primary (and thus the driven) clutch.  I'd say 75% of the time it works fine, it's that 25% that concerns me.  It is a baaad sound when it grinds and shifting into gear takes me a bit longer because I have to 'test' that it is in by lightly blipping the throttle juust enough to engage the clutch.  A multi-point turn on a tight trail is a nightmare and a little embarassing when I'm with a group of 'big name' machines.  I can take a quick video showing a few shifts between Reverse and High/Low if you'd like.

I did contact CFMoto Canada today about it, but all I got was a quick "tell your dealer about it' response so I guess that's what I'm gonna have to do.  Was kinda hoping for an actual response with some info on what machines are affected by this issue, because apparently many 2018 Z1000's are/were. 

So, I stopped in to the dealer on my way to work today to talk about this grinding issue.  Turns out it IS in fact a known issue with some of the 1000's and CFMoto (Canada at least) will automatically approve the job under warranty, no questions asked.  The guys at the dealer were already somewhat aware of my particular machine and weren't really that surprised that it is still doing it.  Apparently the shift forks on the affected models are weak and bend/wear just enough that they have trouble grabbing the gears, it's not the actual gears themselves grinding, but the tabs on the fork fingers.  Parts include new forks, primary gear(s), and a few other things.  Says I'm not gonna hurt anything running it for now, although I'll still continue to be careful with it. 

Best part is, they're gonna order in all the parts required to do the job first, and THEN book it in for a couple days to do the repair so I'm not without it for more than 2 or 3 days.  I've actually been impressed as hell with how well this particular dealer has treated me since day one (Yard Gear in Fredericton NB).   I'm pumped that it was in fact a known issue, and that it will be fixed properly without losing half the summer with it!  Thanks you guys for all your help and tips, it is always appreciated!

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Great news. Good luck.

Same problem at my Z1000 but the problem is know and i am scheduled in two weeks for the replacement (on warranty) of almost the whole gearbox (gears, gaskets, a.s.o).

Same problem at my Z1000 but the problem is know and i am scheduled in two weeks for the replacement (on warranty) of almost the whole gearbox (gears, gaskets, a.s.o).

I haven't gotten an appointment yet until they have all parts on hand, let me know how it works when you get yours fixed! 

The shifting problem has "improved" in my case. After some hard acceleration rounds, now I can shift almost without any problem.
The mechanic from dealer told me that if it is the case, he advice not to make the intervention now because this means to remove almost the entire engine apart in order to get to the gearbox. And once you remove the engine, it will not be like from factory.
He told me that he blocked the replacement kit for me and I can go anytime in the next year and a half (until warranty expires) to make the replacement.
So, I'll wait for the warranty to come close to the end or problem worsen and only than I'll go and replace the kit.

Mine doesn't seem to do it quite as often as it was, but I think I'm just getting used to it and getting a feel for when it is engaged properly.  What do they mean about no longer being like it was from the factory?  That kinda sounds to me like they don't have a lot of faith in their work?  As of a day or two ago all of my parts have arrived for the job so now it's just a matter of setting up a time to do it.  I hate the grinding thing so much, it makes me feel like its cheap and fragile and it's a little embarrassing at times so I'm gonna get it fixed.  I've got almost 5 more years of warranty to cover it if any issues do come up from the job, which hopefully doesn't happen 

Any updates on this? Was there a recall? A range of build dates that had issues?

I'm picking up my 2018 Zforce 1000 tomorrow and hope whatever the issue was with the transmission has been addressed.   

Any updates on this? Was there a recall? A range of build dates that had issues?

I'm picking up my 2018 Zforce 1000 tomorrow and hope whatever the issue was with the transmission has been addressed.   

Sorry, I thought I had updated on this but that must've been somewhere else.  My dealer fixed mine back in the summer and it has been fine ever since.  They had to pull the motor and split it apart to replace the shift forks and a few gears that were the problem.  They only had it for 2 or 3 days, as they knew about the issue previously and did the same fix on a couple others before mine.  AFAIK there wasn't an official recall (although there probably should've been as it apparently a known issue), and I don't know what machines were affected besides 'some 2018 1000s'.  It was about a $2000+ repair, but was completely covered under warranty. 

If you do find that it doesn't engage properly and makes a terrible grinding sound, you likely have one of the affected ones.  Mine never popped out of gear or anything, it just happened when shifting into a gear (I mean it would shift into gear fine but when I revved it up to engage the clutch it would grind like hell).  It was the weak shift fork 'fingers' bending and grinding against one of the gears.  Didn't do it all the time but often enough that I always had to test it first by lightly blipping the throttle.  Was a huge PITA at times though.  It works A1 now though and I've been using it to plow my driveway this winter which involves a ton of shifting. 

Thanks, I think I may have an affected machine.

I had an issues the other day going from park to high, when the shifter was in the detent I went to apply throttle and got major grind.

I also noticed my machine can be shifted through all positions without having to press the button on the side of the shifter.

Does this sound like a similar issue to what you had?

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Thanks, I think I may have an affected machine.

I had an issues the other day going from park to high, when the shifter was in the detent I went to apply throttle and got major grind.

I also noticed my machine can be shifted through all positions without having to press the button on the side of the shifter.

Does this sound like a similar issue to what you had?

If you can move the handle without pushing the button, it means the shifter lock is not being applied..which usually means the handle is screwed-down too far and is pushing on the release. The detents you feel are the transmission's. Regardless of the shifter lock's condition, if you are in say..H..and you feel or hear that it's in the detent...and it grinds when applying power, your have a transmission issue..usually a bent fork and/or some rounded-off dogs.

Thanks, I think I may have an affected machine.

I had an issues the other day going from park to high, when the shifter was in the detent I went to apply throttle and got major grind.

I also noticed my machine can be shifted through all positions without having to press the button on the side of the shifter.

Does this sound like a similar issue to what you had?

If you can move the handle without pushing the button, it means the shifter lock is not being applied..which usually means the handle is screwed-down too far and is pushing on the release. The detents you feel are the transmission's. Regardless of the shifter lock's condition, if you are in say..H..and you feel or hear that it's in the detent...and it grinds when applying power, your have a transmission issue..usually a bent fork and/or some rounded-off dogs.

Ok so just so I understand, if the shifter is in the detent in high and the gears are grind, would this likely be internal tranny issue or could it be that the shift rod needs adjusting?

I was kind of surprised by the grind when the shifter was in the detent in the correct position, but this isn't something that's happened more than once. Is it possible the shift rod is just on the far side of spec for needing adjustment?

[2015 Z Force 800 53/Trail EPS]

Thanks, I think I may have an affected machine.

I had an issues the other day going from park to high, when the shifter was in the detent I went to apply throttle and got major grind.

I also noticed my machine can be shifted through all positions without having to press the button on the side of the shifter.

Does this sound like a similar issue to what you had?

If you can move the handle without pushing the button, it means the shifter lock is not being applied..which usually means the handle is screwed-down too far and is pushing on the release. The detents you feel are the transmission's. Regardless of the shifter lock's condition, if you are in say..H..and you feel or hear that it's in the detent...and it grinds when applying power, your have a transmission issue..usually a bent fork and/or some rounded-off dogs.

Ok so just so I understand, if the shifter is in the detent in high and the gears are grind, would this likely be internal tranny issue or could it be that the shift rod needs adjusting?

I was kind of surprised by the grind when the shifter was in the detent in the correct position, but this isn't something that's happened more than once. Is it possible the shift rod is just on the far side of spec for needing adjustment?

OK, picture this: There are two detents, one in the transmission to set on each selection and one in the shifter mechanism, which when working stops it from accidentally being bumped out of a position. Those two need to be aligned by using the shifter rod so they are in sync. When you push the button, it pushed the plastic rod down and moves the wedge out of the shifter's detent so you can move it. IF that mechanism is not working or is already unlocked, then you only have the transmission's detent to feel where you are. And IF it pops out of gear with no other forces on the shifter other then engine power on the transmission...regardless of what the detent says, it's not completely in gear. Now I say this because it is possible there are one of two other reasons for this. One- the shifter is VERY out of adjustment...so much so that it can't set in it's detent. And Two- these have rubber engine mounts..and it is known that some have had problems with knocking the rubber out of one. If that happens, the engine will move enough under load to push or pull enough on the shifter rod and shifter to pop it out of gear. Check those right away.