'05 Sportster SCIC jumps out of gear in spinouts

[huttcraft]

I've noticed that when doing spinouts or doughnuts in my Sportster it will sometimes jump out of forward gear, into neutral or sometimes reverse. It only happens at low speed but moderate throttle position, during very tight turns. I assume it might be caused by changing pressure on the bucket as the boat is thrown around, but is it normal? I don't like it. If it's not expected, any advice on what to check?

Thanks in advance for all assistance offered.

Dave

 

[huttcraft]

Is this normal? Anyone?

Dave

 

[Dr Honda]

There is a catch on the side of the reverse bucket. Make sure it's latching when the shifter is in forward. Aslo... when you are moving the stick to forward... there will be a little click just as it stops moving. (that's the catch on the pump)

I bet your cable has stretched a little, and it's not locking.

 

[jemcne7]

I've noticed that when doing spinouts or doughnuts in my Sportster it will sometimes jump out of forward gear, into neutral or sometimes reverse. It only happens at low speed but moderate throttle position, during very tight turns. I assume it might be caused by changing pressure on the bucket as the boat is thrown around, but is it normal? I don't like it. If it's not expected, any advice on what to check?

Thanks in advance for all assistance offered.

Dave

I've just posted a simliar problem - Did you ever solve yours ?? - see my post below - Jim

I've got a 2006 Sea-Doo Sportster 4-Tec. While cruising (usually at less than full speed) it will suddenly seem to slip into neutral. I can still rev up to max but boat moves at no more than 5-10 miles an hour. It seems like the gate has slipped into neutral. It still works in reverse and neutral as it is supposed to.

I have never been able to see what position the gate is in when the problem occurs. With repeated shifting into reverse and back to forward it will eventually just as miraculously start working again and go full speed. By the time I get to shore it is working ok & there is nothing to see that looks wrong.

Very frustrating and often happens at the most inopportune times, a long way from shore. It makes this boat very unreliable and as a result we do not use it very often. It probably has less than 20 hours on it in total.

This problem has occurred numerous times and I've had it back to the dealer a couple of times. Of course it never does this when they have it and they do not seem to have ever heard of this problem before or have a suggested fix.

HELP - Jim McNeill = jemcne7@aol.com

 

[huttcraft]

Hi Jim -- I haven't yet had a chance to check the latch on the gate referenced by Dr. Honda so no solution yet. My problem may be slightly different than yours though: mine physically shifts into neutral or reverse on its own so I can resolve it immediately by putting the shifter back in forward. I take it from your description that your shifter is still in forward but the boat behaves like it's in neutral.

In either case the solution is in the cable and linkages because the system is pretty rudimentary: there are no "gears," really, just a bucket that's lowered over the nozzle to redirect the jet. On mine something is pushing the bucket down, defeating whatever retainer is supposed to keep it in place. On yours the bucket must be doing the same thing but without activating the shifter at the helm.

I'll keep you posted if I discover the culprit on mine.

Dave

 

[jemcne7]

Hi Jim -- I haven't yet had a chance to check the latch on the gate referenced by Dr. Honda so no solution yet. My problem may be slightly different than yours though: mine physically shifts into neutral or reverse on its own so I can resolve it immediately by putting the shifter back in forward. I take it from your description that your shifter is still in forward but the boat behaves like it's in neutral.

In either case the solution is in the cable and linkages because the system is pretty rudimentary: there are no "gears," really, just a bucket that's lowered over the nozzle to redirect the jet. On mine something is pushing the bucket down, defeating whatever retainer is supposed to keep it in place. On yours the bucket must be doing the same thing but without activating the shifter at the helm.

I'll keep you posted if I discover the culprit on mine.

Dave

Thanks for the quick reply - Correct my shifter says in forward position, and sounds like it locks in when you move it from one position to the next. I've tried to determine the position of the gate/bucket without getting in the water (never have a bathing suit when this happens). It appears to be correct and when I move the gate by hand, the shifter moves with it to what appears to be the correct position.

Appreciate if you keep me posted on any updates - Thanks - Jim

 

[jcrango]

Your shifter should NOT be able to move out of forward when the throttles are forward. There is a locking pin that locks the shifter in forward when the throttles are forward. When I do doughnuts in my 04 S200 I can see the shifter trying to move to reverse but it can't because of the locking pin holding the shift handle. The latch on the bucket is a very poor design and does not have enough strength by itself to hold the bucket up while doing doughnuts even if it is adjusted properly. Your shifter may be worn and the locking pin from the throttle may not be holding. It is possible someone removed the locking pin from the shifter. I did this on mine and it was a big mistake. The latch on the bucket wasn't strong enough and the shifter kept slipping out of forward when pulliing up a skier or doing doughnuts. I put the pins back in and no more problems.

 

[jemcne7]

Your shifter should NOT be able to move out of forward when the throttles are forward. There is a locking pin that locks the shifter in forward when the throttles are forward. When I do doughnuts in my 04 S200 I can see the shifter trying to move to reverse but it can't because of the locking pin holding the shift handle. The latch on the bucket is a very poor design and does not have enough strength by itself to hold the bucket up while doing doughnuts even if it is adjusted properly. Your shifter may be worn and the locking pin from the throttle may not be holding. It is possible someone removed the locking pin from the shifter. I did this on mine and it was a big mistake. The latch on the bucket wasn't strong enough and the shifter kept slipping out of forward when pulliing up a skier or doing doughnuts. I put the pins back in and no more problems.

My shifter does not move out of the forward position, but it feels and acts like it is in neutral. It clicks into forward and is locked there when I move from neutral to forward, and stays there. I can not move it out of the forward postion until I throttle back to where it would normally allow you to shift to neutral. I have never had the problem when doing stuff like donuts. Seems to happens when cruising in straight line at less than full throttle with no abnormal load like skiers etc.

Any other ideas ??

 

[jcrango]

When you put the shifter in forward you should be able to reach over the tail end of the boat and check the bucket to see if it has latched. If there is a lot of slop in the bucket it has not latched and may be falling down on occassions while you are moving forward. Your cable may have streached. You should not be able to move the bucket very much if it is properly latched. The click noise you hear where you put the shifter in forward is only the souund of a spring loaded ball that is not intended to hold the shifter. It is the locking pin from your throttle that hold the shifter from moving back. When you have your porblem pay attention to the shift lever and see if it is trying to move at all. If it is that means the bucket is moving the cable and thus the shifter and you will need to adjust the cable so the bucket is latching all the way up.