False Neutral

[bear]

Coming through to Wanganui from Raetihi yesterday and hit a false neutral for the first time on my bike yesterday. Doesn't usually do that, thought the chain had come off! And then another one after Wanganui. Both were on down changes.
Is this normal? Does it mean the gear selector/gear box might be wearing or in need of a big job soon? Or do I just have to be a little more forceful?

[vifferman]

Is your chain correctly adjusted and lubed?

[XTC]

Is your gear linkage all nice and tight? not getting a little sloppy? Definately not a lazy foot prob? I would be more concerned if it was jumping out of gear. How many K's on the bandit?

[bear]

Got new chain and sprockets about 1000km ago, she's all lubed and not loose or anything. Never jumped out of gear either. Bandit's got 26,500 miles on it.

[bugjuice]

even my bike sometimes does that. I put it down to me being a little too lazy and not pulling up or pushing down hard enough on the lever. I'd make sure it's all nice and tight around there (linkages etc) and then make sure that you change gear properly. If you can make it do it at will, then you might have a problem, but you might find it's a lack of concentration at the time.. Tis for me anyway..

[BM-GS]

Never had a gearbox fault that did that, only the operator type - usually a lazy foot not pushing/pulling hard enough or at the right time.

If it won't engage or jumps out, it's the gearbox, if it only occasionally gets a false neutral it's more likely to be the foot than the box. Suzuki boxes are usually pretty good, so maybe you can get away with more than on an old lump like a BMW...

Ride for a bit, and if it's definitely doing wrong when you're doing right, seek mechanical advice.

[Yokai]

I don't get false neutrals - I get "Can't find neutrals" ... Ride the bike for a while and change down coming to a stop. Wanna put the stand down. Change into Neut..No not second... First... Neu - BUGGER! - Always - So now I just kill the darn thing in first. Pop it into Neutral then.... ANy clues?

[Pwalo]

They all do that sir. Well not quite. They can all do that if you are a bit sloppy with your changes.

I wouldn't worry too much about it, unless it's a regular occurence, or it's between particular gears. Changing from first to second is usually the one that catches most people out. Probably need to be a little firmer with the changes. Could even be that you were a bit tired, which can make coordinating clutch lever/gear pedal a bit awkward.

[inlinefour]

Coming through to Wanganui from Raetihi yesterday and hit a false neutral for the first time on my bike yesterday. Doesn't usually do that, thought the chain had come off! And then another one after Wanganui. Both were on down changes.
Is this normal? Does it mean the gear selector/gear box might be wearing or in need of a big job soon? Or do I just have to be a little more forceful?

Its not something to get too worried about as far as I'm concerned. Generally happens to me when my foot has gone to sleep and I do a lazy gear change :argh:

[Fryin Finn]

My SRX hits neutral on gear changes every now and then, but it is 18 years old and you know how lazy teenagers can be.

[750Y]

i agree with most of the guys here, foot, not box problem. Just be careful and make a concerted effort to nail it into each gear. If You are riding quick through twisties etc & You miss a gear, things can turn to shit in a split second & you can end up running wide or worse. I'd check the linkages etc are not loose and keep an eye on it for a while. good luck...

[clint640]

If all of the above don't work & ya still have a nagging false neutral somewhere, it's often not that big a deal to take off the shift star & give it a bit of a massage with a file to sharpen up the point between the two offending gears, the neutral groove can also be deepened if finding that is the issue.
Probably not a job for the inexperienced though.

Cheers
Clint

[bear]

Thanks guys, only did it twice over 450km's, so hopefully a lazy shift

[JohnBoy]

i have for the been going from hams to welly (return) on my bike once every 5 -6 months for the last 2 years.
my bike will prob hit false neutral a couple of times on a trip, also i find it when under heavy engine brakes (ie track day).

the g box on the zed an't the slickest and after 45k km shes stating to show its age. but looking at having it overhauled in the next couple of months.

[Mencius]

I don't get false neutrals - I get "Can't find neutrals" ... Ride the bike for a while and change down coming to a stop. Wanna put the stand down. Change into Neut..No not second... First... Neu - BUGGER! - Always - So now I just kill the darn thing in first. Pop it into Neutral then.... ANy clues?

It's an SRV. It has no neutral!
Except of course when I'm practicing second gear changes..... :blink:

Ang

[Bandit]

I've hit into false neutrals heaps on my bike (only been riding for about 2 weeks), it happens usually when I try and do a fast gear change. Last night my bike didn't even hit into false neutral and I got hear my gears griding away inside the drivechain :brick:, it scared the shit outta me cause my gear stick on flicking up and down until I clicked it back up :sweatdrop

[bear]

Didn't hit any false neutrals for the last wee while until the weekend just been. Coming back from Castlepoint, and the bike decided neutral was a good idea, tried to flick it into a gear (up and down) while still rolling along. Every time I tried this a good rattle/grinding sound was produced.

Coasted to a stop, and then the bike was fine, gear selection as per normal, didn't have any other false neutrals for the rest of the ride back to Wellington.

Should you be able to flick it into a gear while still rolling (was able to do this another time it happened)? And is the rattle/grinding a bad sign?

[Rainbow Wizard]

I get "Can't find neutrals" ... Wanna put the stand down. Change into Neut..No not second... First... Neu - BUGGER! - Always. Any clues?
When stopped it seldom allows a direct neutral shift. I often click down whilst stationary and neutral doesn't show so I click up from 1st to get it and and almost inevitably get 2nd and unless I give it just a quick tap down it goes back into 1st again. It's a pain. So is the fact that usually when I cane it a bit it often drops out of second, that's a real piss-off!

Anybody got a quick-fix for that one?

[T.I.E]

i only find false neturals changing up gears, the foot gets too lazy. but never changing down. and usually when i'm acclerating. what a noise revving engine. ouch

[MSTRS]

False neutral is not the problem it used to be on the jappers of the 70's. Still happens occassionally (once in 9500ks on the GSXR) - nature of the beast in a m/c g/box? I usually don't use clutch on up changes - can feel things more positively.

[bear]

i only find false neturals changing up gears, the foot gets too lazy. but never changing down. and usually when i'm acclerating. what a noise revving engine. ouch

Mine have all been on the downshift.

[Ixion]

I don't get false neutrals - I get "Can't find neutrals" ... Ride the bike for a while and change down coming to a stop. Wanna put the stand down. Change into Neut..No not second... First... Neu - BUGGER! - Always - So now I just kill the darn thing in first. Pop it into Neutral then.... ANy clues?

Inevitable (almost) characteristic of the wet clutch used on most motorcycles. The oil causes a bit of drag, so even with the clutch disengaged the gear shafts will still want to turn . Since the rear wheel is stationary this causes a load on the side of the gear dogs. Hence , hard to disengage the dogs

If you have a separate chaincase like the old Brit bikes you can experiment with different viscosity oils . Never did all that much though for me but some people swore by it. Real troublesome ones you can dismantle the box and grind a wee relief on the dog faces. If you know what you're doing, :Oops:

Easiest solution is just to flick it into neutral a yard or so before you come to a halt. Time it right so that it's just on the edge of the overrun. Then give the bike a wee push forward when you engage gear to move off, to stop the clonk.

Now, if you want a *REAL* PITA gearbox, take a look at that pile of industrial revolution era scrap iron that Mr BMW borrowed off a 1920 Foden and put on his otherwise quite nice bikes. No problems at all getting in and out of neutral. Getting in or out of gears,any gears, is another matter entirely. The worst gearbox ever put on any bike :angry2: :angry2: I had a 1923 James witha hand gear change that was a better box . How such a monstrosity can be considered acceptable rant rant rant :argh: :argh: Anyway, you may have guessed that I don't see eye to eye with German gearbox designers !