Ok i have somewhere around 5 or 6 hrs on it now..The shifting has gone from stiff and irritating to down right worrisome....It is hard as hell to get ionto 3rd and 4rth and jumps out of 3rd at the worst timessssss.....My confidence is totally out the window...It revs to the moon when it does and then jumps back into gear and grinds and..The tranny wont last like that...&%$#@!...VERY DISSAPOINTING.....Im not sure if its me knocking it out of gear with my number 11 boot or what....I reallly have to concentrate to get the damn thing in third and fourth...Shoot 2nd sux tooooo.....Please tell me it will get better......Im changing oil tomarrow..Dont know why that would make any difference...Man i love this bike but the shifting is freeeking me out....Do you guys think synthetic or semi snthetic will make any difference...No kiddin i wouldnt be surprised if chunks of gears come out when i dump the oil tomarrow.....

Do you ride on the balls of your feet like you should? Or are you riding in the arches? I would suggest trying a longer shifter, changing the oil and learning the bike. Just because it doesnt shift like your last bike doesnt mean its broken, its just different and takes time to adjust your riding style.
If it is actually jumping out of gear I suggest you take back to the shop and have them check it over.

What rickk said. Just experiment with oils,setup,maybe a different shift lever. I have missed shifts a few times,but they were all from me making a mistake. There is an oil thread, a shifter thread and a clutch thread that may be of help. I don't use the clutch on downshifts into corners and if I am going over a jump and need to catch another gear-I just shift. I have raced this bike in 3 2hr+ harscrambles and have not stalled it once or mis-shifted,so I woud consider the tranny to be pretty solid.I doubt you have a mechanical isue with only a couple hours. This bike does take a good time to fully settle in though.

My 2010 RMZ450 shifted fine, probably smoother then my 2006 CRF450 did and my 2012 RMZ450 has been flawless too.

Sorry your having trouble, maybe your boots are hitting shifter.

I agree the shifter is too short, trying to avoid buying a hammerhead but may not choice.  Shifting has gotten way better after my oil change and I suspect will be better after the next one.  I have had a few issues like described above though and the mistake was not being very deliberate with my shift, which is an issue right now as I used to buttery smoothe shifting action on my yz and never a false neutral.  Need a larger sprocket though, the lack of bottom is pissing me off on a few jumps I was trying this weekend

OK i changed oil...Screen was full of metal shavings..Some were pretty big shaving like quarter inch long ...Dealer took some photos of it in case the issues get worse..Or something goes kappoot...Any way is seems a little better with the oil change..Lucas Semi synthetic...It did jump out of third again today...Im not sure if its me or not but definately the shifter is for a short foot....Still pretty hard to shift up but it is better....What 51 tooth sprocket are guys running...Brian

if the pieces coming out were that big, that's not good. Was that the starter oil in it?

BTW: There's probably better oil you can use, and also full synthetic.

WalleyeWild, on 09 April 2012 - 04:48 PM, said:

Ive got a rider support with Pro Taper, so Im biased, but they work well. They last a long time. Their MX chain also last awhile too. They make a good product so Id order up a 51t from them. I like the 51t sprocket on the bike, gives a little more pull from the bottom, but you dont run out of gear too qucik either.

WalleyeWild, on 09 April 2012 - 04:48 PM, said:

Get that checked out, on my 11 I have never missed a gear or any kind of slipping. Also my first oil change I didn't have any metal in my oil screen. There was tiny shavings in my paper filter but I have yet to have any big shavings in the screen and I have ~ 60 hours

i hit a false neutral through a short set f whoops this weekend. my faulyt arches on the pegs. have the hammerhead shifter which helped a lot but dont have the extension yet

I have been having a hard time getting into second at the starting gate...find neutral more than I find second.
I did hit neutral once on the landing of a jump but chaulked it up to rider error...after reading this I am going to pay closer attention to make sure...
I run Motul 300 and change the oil every 2-4 hours and filter every other change...maybe I will try a better oil.

I just got a 2012 RMZ450 after coming off a decade of YZ & YZF's.  I think the zuk shifts better than the blue bikes.  I wear a 13 and make it a point to make firm positive shifts.  I've even tried 2nd to 3rd shifts right before a jump because the mags were complaining about getting the bike to shift under power.  I didn't have any issues.  In fact, I haven't had any issues with the bike that the mags have been complaining about.

Time will tell, as I only have a whopping 1.5 - 2 hours on the new steed.

Finding it interesting to hear from those of you with shifting issues so far. I'm a local A rider and working on getting my Pro License this summer. I wear a size 12 boot and haven't had a single issue with the stock shifter. I guess I should just chalk it up to being able to adapt to whatever I get on and ride.

If you feel like your lacking bottom end, a pro taper 51t works great. Other then that, I'm planning on experimenting with a 48tooth rear and getting each gear to run longer. The power seems pretty narrow for a 450.

I just switched to the Bel-Ray Thumper 20-50 and felt the clutch and the shifting were nicer than what it did when I was running the Lucas.

I also agree, it would be nice to have a set of YZF cams in this chassis.  This 450 has a very narrow power, and the window gets smaller with added power products.

Never had a problem with my 10', i wear 12's as well
just try and keep the oil fresh

Narrow power? Compared to what? Only bike making more hp over a longer rpm is the kawi and it isnt by much. People.shift this.bike too soon. In stock form it makes it peak hp right near the rev limiter. Motor is a bit deceptive.very smooth.

Try moving shifter up one notch. I have size 14 and it helped.