gen5 difficult to downshift when hot

First summer with this bike, only 17k miles on it. When hot, is difficult to downshift. Seems to help if I only go down one gear at a time. I paid to have all fresh fluids in April. Any suggestions how to fix? I look like a novice at stop signs.

 

Go down one gear at a time

 

Apologies if I'm teaching you to suck eggs...

Thumbs is correct, you need to downshift as you slow down. Motorcycle gearboxes use engagement dogs that slide sideways on splined shafts to link the gear to the shaft. The gear has slots in the side that the dogs slip into, but they need to be aligned for this to work. Normal operation when moving has the gear rotating so the dogs can slip in smoothly, but if the gear is stationary then it is hit or miss. This is why you sometimes need to rock a back wheel back and forth at a standstill to move through the gearbox.

Of course you have mentioned that the problem is worst when hot; another possibility is that the clutch is not releasing fully when the lever is pulled in and causing drag. Given a recent fluid change it s possible there is a little air in the clutch line that needs to be bled out. You might also check if you adjustable levers whether a change in lever setting will give more stroke for the hydraulics to work.