FredZ

Hello all. Went surf casting from the beach (ocean) yesterday and my bike stopped running as expected. Symptom: Bike stops changing gears. Only uses 1st and second. Gear selector control appears to stop working. This fault only occurs on a hot day (29-30C) and after the bike has been running for a while. If I take the bike out on a cooler day or early morning/evening it doesn't fault. If I park the bike up for a few hours after it has faulted it runs fine, but will fault again when hot. When I say runs fine I have to initially pull both brakes on to start the bike in gear then drive forward a couple of feet and then the buttons seem to work. I can then select gears (D/N/R) as normal. I never tested ESP mode. No fault codes appear. When the bike stopped changing gears I checked the temp gauge and it only showed 2 bars. Bike: 2018 Honda TRX500FA6J (Auto DCT, IRS) Full service done less than 15 hours ago. Oil is full. Radiator is full (cap removed to check). Recent work: All bearings replaced in control motor housing (fault code 24). Control motor was NOT replaced. Valve body assembly replaced (terminal broke off on a ride). It does appear as if this is a heat related issue, but I have no clues as to what to look for. Regards Fred

Yes you are correct, it was an ocean beach ride. And whilst I am fairly festidious about waterblasting and cleaning my bike after every ride whether on the beach or bush track riding I didn't think about the connectors. I will go through the connectors today and inspect/clean them as per your guide. I will also order a replacement control motor to have on hand for when it does finally stop/play up again. Regards Fred

So I've taken the bike out on a 2.5 hour beach ride. Worked the gearbox fairly hard by slowing down or stopping periodically to ensure the gearbox was changing up/down properly. The bike performed without a glitch. It actually brought a smile to my face and I am starting to feel a little more relaxed and started enjoying riding my bike again. Thanks for the comments that steered me in the right directiion. It is pleasing to see that there are still people out there willing to offer some friendly advice. Regards Fred

Update: After the comments made I removed the controller housing and checked for marks etc. I found that the 2 bearings on the engine side were ever so slightly proud. These have now been completely seated. I have also tested for alignment of the bearing and they are true to the face of the housing. No marks were found in the housing, and the gears show no sign of wear throughout the entire gear faces. After I reassembled the unit I noted that when transferring from R to D there was a distinct clunk. D to R was normal. I checked the oil level and it was just below the full mark, so added another 500ml. The clunk went away. Now for a test ride. Will keep you posted. Fred

Motor Oil: Motul 5100 10W-40 This was supplied by the Honda dealership that sold me the bike and I never questioned it. Oil and oil filters were replaced less than 10 hours ago and the oil appears clear. Again the filters were sullpied by the Honda dealership. Oil level is full. The transmission changes gears normally up until when it stops responding. No clunks/bangs/jolts at all. If I leave the bike running after I notice the fault the shifter buttons are completely unresponsive. I have done some recent work in an attempt to resolve this issue. They include replacing all 5 bearings and the seal in the control motor housing. Three of the five had failed (noisy). The control motor tested correctly at that time so was not replaced. Grease used was ROCOL Saphire Ultraplex which is a lightweight bearing grease that was applied with an artists paint brush to lightly apply to the gear surfaces, the bearings were lightly packed with the same grease. This grease was applied sparingly and is not prone to solidifying like the grease used in production. Prior to that I had to replace the valve body assembly as the connector broke off. I use the bike recreationally so I assume something has clobbered it and broken it off. I have done nothing else as I don't have a manual and I couldn't find the fault code diagnosis. I will use the manual you suggested to diagnose the 24-1 fault so see if that highlights anything. Regards Fred

Hello all Trying to diagnose a fault code on my 2018 TRX500FA6 (auto/IRS). The code on the display is 2 long 4 short This fault occures when the bike decides not to change down gears when slowing to a stop. I then turn of the bike to reset things and I get the "-" for the gears and then it starts flashing. The bike won't start in this mode. After a while I can turn on the ignition and the display comes back and I can start the bike but the shifter buttons don't respond in both auto or ESP modes. I thought it may be heat related as I can take the bike for a short test ride and it performs properly, but when I take it out for a hour or so it then plays up. The temp stay in the normal range and the radiator is full. I also removed all the front plastic and cleaned the radiator. The fan also turns on and off as expected, so most likely not heat related. The bike has less than 350 hours and less than 4000 Kilometers. I would also appreciate it if I could locate a service manual for the same bike. Many thanks in advance for any guidence.