Shifting into neutral

[justsomeguy]

Hi there,

After I stop, say at a stop sign or traffic lights, give way, etc. I shift down to first as I roll to a stop. Once I stop I try to tap it into neutral.

I only succeed maybe 3 out of ten times.

Why is that? I always try to be as gentle as possible and the cluth is fully pressed. Yet it normally skips into second gear.

I know that I am in first due to the way the bike responds to the throttle and simlutaneous release of the clutch.

Also sometimes I think I am in first (shifted right to the bottom) only to find out that I am in second.........

Bit of a headache when you're stopped at the lights with a bloody cage sitting 6 inches from your exhaust.....

Err... so yeah - do you guys also have trouble tapping into neutral from first when you stop - or it this behaviour reserved for newbies.

[John]

from my experience, its best to stay in first - just incase you need to get away in a hurry, just food for thought, I never had much trouble finding neutral, just kept the clutch in a went for gold.

others will have better insight on this though.

[Two Smoker]

Your clutch probably needs adjusting.... do that, and it should sort your problems

[Blakamin]

Hi there,

After I stop, say at a stop sign or traffic lights, give way, etc. I shift down to first as I roll to a stop. Once I stop I try to tap it into neutral.

I only succeed maybe 3 out of ten times.

Why is that? I always try to be as gentle as possible and the cluth is fully pressed. Yet it normally skips into second gear.

I know that I am in first due to the way the bike responds to the throttle and simlutaneous release of the clutch.

Also sometimes I think I am in first (shifted right to the bottom) only to find out that I am in second.........

Bit of a headache when you're stopped at the lights with a bloody cage sitting 6 inches from your exhaust.....

Err... so yeah - do you guys also have trouble tapping into neutral from first when you stop - or it this behaviour reserved for newbies.

DONT buy an old(er) Ducati then.... if i want neutral, i have to be moving... or the bikes cold or the engines off

[inlinefour]

from a total service. Gone is the clunky gearbox and in with new improved oil. I thought and accepted that I had a difficult gearbox, apparently not.

[justsomeguy]

....... or the bikes cold or the engines off

No the engine is warm - I spend a few minutes about 5-7 letting the bike warm up in my driveway - always. If I'm getting late I'll take a cage.

The engine should be on unless someones hiding a very powerful sewing machine up my ..........

[justsomeguy]

from a total service. Gone is the clunky gearbox and in with new improved oil. I thought and accepted that I had a difficult gearbox, apparently not.

Well I'll talk to my mechanic and see what he has to say. But the gearbox runs SUPER SMOOTH. And it upshifts and downshifts beautifully. It's just that when I stop and try to put it into neutral it just skips into 2nd most of the time.

Maybe it's the gear box - maye it's the pressure of being in stop-start traffic surrounded by caged animals.

[Two Smoker]

Well I'll talk to my mechanic and see what he has to say. But the gearbox runs SUPER SMOOTH. And it upshifts and downshifts beautifully. It's just that when I stop and try to put it into neutral it just skips into 2nd most of the time.

Maybe it's the gear box - maye it's the pressure of being in stop-start traffic surrounded by caged animals.

As i said before, its definately the clutch needing adjustment... (look at your clutch lever....)

[Motu]

Finding neutral is difficult on some bikes,no matter what you do,of the 5 of my bikes that I ride,only one gets neutral when stopped.If you know you want neutral take it with a small dab from 2nd before you stop,coming from 1st you won't get it.Becomes natural after awhile.

[justsomeguy]

As i said before, its definately the clutch needing adjustment... (look at your clutch lever....)

Taking it back to the mechanic soon - will see what he says and get him to adjust the thing too.

Thanks TwoSmoker.

[NC]

Rocking the bike helps

[Quasievil]

My Bikes reasonably new and is a right pain in the arse to find Neutral, its well documented, its not a biggy though, gives me something to do at the lights.

Oh and Cajun stick your comments up yer arse lol

[merv]

Wet multi plate clutches on bikes aren't exactly the best for disengaging fully and tend to drag a bit anyway. On my VFR I generally slip into neutral from second as I'm pulling up and then sit at lights or stop sign with the brakes on. I don't leave it in gear if I can help it for two reasons - its hard on your hand holding the clutch for too long and it is putting pressure on the disengaging mechanism for all that time too, and also I figure if you get hit from behind you don't want to end up dropping clutch and at the same time you may wind on the throttle by accident and then where are you? Down the road uncontrollably into a busy intersection maybe.

My WR is a bugger to find neutral on - very grabby clutch on them and no light to tell you that you've found neutral either - typical dirt bike.

You just got to get used to it if you have already adjusted the clutch to work best - meaning don't have it too tight else you may end up wrecking the plates if it slips when it shouldn't be.

[k14]

Same here, I can't get neutral on my bike if it is stationary and running. If i want neutral i either select it before the lights and coast up to a stop or quickly turn my bike off and on again. Don't know if the mechanic will be able to do anything about it, it's not a big issue.

[justsomeguy]

Same here, I can't get neutral on my bike if it is stationary and running. If i want neutral i either select it before the lights and coast up to a stop or quickly turn my bike off and on again. Don't know if the mechanic will be able to do anything about it, it's not a big issue.

Naa, I got to see him about another issue:

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=6744