Having issues finding neutral?

[S.Ga.Rider]

Ever since I bought my bike, I had issues with it being very difficult to get it into neutral at times. Bad enough to where I would have to shut the bike off. It developed into a little creeping in first with the clutch pulled in. Same thing both of my fjrs did and they had a known issue with dry clutch plates. I ordered a kit since I needed a gasket and didnt know if I had any damaged plates( $100 on ebay).  Pulled it apart today and every disk besides the outer one was completely dry, the steels looked  burnt also. Dry as in just like the new ones in the clutch kit, no oil whatsoever.  I soaked the new plates in oil over night, got it reassembled and its smooth as butter now. 

[AZJW]

@S.Ga.Rider How many miles and what kind of wear did the originals have?  Bummer on having to pull it apart, I must've been lucky, no issues with my FJR or my T7.  You're running full synthetic,  right? 

[S.Ga.Rider]

50 minutes ago, AZJW said:

@S.Ga.Rider How many miles and what kind of wear did the originals have?  Bummer on having to pull it apart, I must've been lucky, no issues with my FJR or my T7.  You're running full synthetic,  right? 

10500 miles but I've had the problem since buying the bike at 2400. I didn't measure the plates but the wear looked minimal 

[S.Ga.Rider]

After a few hundred miles, the difference is astounding.  All the snatch when shifting gears and getting back on the throttle is gone. All the notchiness of the transmission is gone. Dont know if my T7 was a one off case or what.

[Henchman]

That's interesting...I also have trouble finding neutral but it's remedied when i pull the clutch in a tad further.  So I  assumed I just need to tighten my clutch and see if this goes away. It also creeps when in first so the tiny bit of drag much be the culprit. 

Otherwise my bike seems smooth as butter!:)

[muzza]

I have a brand new rally.. 5 miles on it, and I'm looking for gears on the downshift. But if I have to stop suddenly. Neutral just isn't there, or if I'm in a higher gear, it can't find 3,2, 1... 

I mean really... 5 miles....

[Endopotential]

@muzza I'd check that you have the correct adjustment on your clutch cable first.

 

But the downshifting on my bike wasn't the smoothest either, and I would have to stomp on the shift lever to get it in gear.  I just drilled and tapped the shifter arm to another hole about 1.5cm closer to the spline, and the bike behaves a whole lot better now.  It would seem to make some sense, as this would force the shifter arm to rotate more for each movement of your toes.  Though arguably at the expense of some more force required, though I didn't find any trouble there.

 

Check out halfway down this thread

 

[muzza]

Seems a little better this morning on the way to work. I see the alteration in the post you said about..  possibly something I could try if it doesn't get too much better.

Thanks for the info  

[Lewie]

My advice (amateur) and this is what I’d found don’t try to go right down the box just as you get to say lights or a junction or at standstill

it won’t work - drop down the box as you approach coming to a standstill 

[muzza]

11 hours ago, Lewie said:

My advice (amateur) and this is what I’d found don’t try to go right down the box just as you get to say lights or a junction or at standstill

it won’t work - drop down the box as you approach coming to a standstill 

Simple yet effective on this model  

[Oxxa]

On 2/25/2023 at 10:19 PM, muzza said:

I have a brand new rally.. 5 miles on it, and I'm looking for gears on the downshift. But if I have to stop suddenly. Neutral just isn't there, or if I'm in a higher gear, it can't find 3,2, 1... 

I mean really... 5 miles....

that is normal behaviour

[Oxxa]

On 2/26/2023 at 11:16 AM, Lewie said:

My advice (amateur) and this is what I’d found don’t try to go right down the box just as you get to say lights or a junction or at standstill

it won’t work - drop down the box as you approach coming to a standstill 

Thats expert advice, not amateur. Motorcycle gear boxes are not like cars. They cannot downshift without movement.

[Oystein]

I was having troble with my gearing too. And found that the 5 plates in the middle was completely dry and stuck.

2019 T7 with 15000km.

Edited July 22, 2023 by Oystein

[muzza]

11 hours ago, Oystein said:

I was having troble with my gearing too. And found that the 5 plates in the middle was completely dry and stuck.

2019 T7 with 15000km.

I tend to pump my clutch lever when I start my bike and periodically during the ride. Just to help the plates a bit. Seems to work... kinda...

[Oystein]

Yeah, have done that last two years. I have used lockties on clutch lever over night, and all seems to help periodically. But after pulling out the clutch plates out and putting them in oil over night. The clutch is like it should be..

[S.Ga.Rider]

Its been almost a year and probably 8-10k miles since I pulled mine out and havent had an issue since.

[OK185]

I'm quite sure I have the same issue on mine. After a cold start the clutch seems to not disengage completely and gear changes are quite clunky, also it feels like there is more clunkiness when getting off the gas. Probably will get it looked at this winter.

(Not by the dealer though, I am sure they will install them dry again)