...and sometimes a lower gear when I hit a bump, not that often but it always surprises me. If it happens it is usually when I'm not on the throttle. Something worn out?
Thanks
(93 fxr with 50k miles, forward controls)

 

I had sorta the same problem. It would find a false neutral when shifting hard from 5th to 4th (once it dropped from 5th to 3rd). I was told it was a worn shifting fork.

 

There are a few things that will cause this, the most common are loose shifting levers/linkage that flop up and down and the inertia kicks it out of gear when you hit a bump. The other has to do with the shifting drum mechanism, there is a roller type detent that holds the drum in place until you shift into another gear. Either the spring on the roller is weak/broken or the ramps are worn allowing it to slip out of gear. If the linkage is out of adjustment you may not be going fully into gear too. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks. I'll start with checking the linkage.