Annoying Neutral.

[jed1]

Hi all,

Sometimes we all have the need to zip our bikes away from the lights to get in front of traffic, have a bit of fun, etc. About half the times that I do, the bike will go from 1st to neutral resulting in the embarrassing "I thought I had second gear" rev. Its really starting to p155 me off now. Ive adjusted the gear leaver so I can really hook my foot under it and I always give the gear leaver a good prod to kick it in, but sometimes it still does it! 2nd-6th is fine and so is 6th back down to 1st. My clutch works fine and my bike is up to date on all its servicing, oil etc.

This problem is making it difficult for my 1200cc motorcycle to consistently beat a 4 cylinder Hyundai away from the lights!!!

If I just pull gently away from stationary, it is no problem at all and shifts sweetly up to 6th.

Anyone else had/having this problem?

Cheers, Jed.

[Don C]

Mine doesn't do that.

[Mark_1]

Mine does not do that either. I previously had a 2008 that would make a terrible clunk sometimes going down into first. If not shifted downward with enthusiasm it would often go into neutral and the clutch would have to be cycled to engage first. No problems going up from 1st to 2nd on either bike.

Mark_1

[Kieran R1200R]

As annoying as this is Jed, sorry mate but it will be you!
Your doing something wrong for it to happen half the time.
Either your not pulling in the clutch and sincing it with your foot change or visa versa.

[jed1]

As annoying as this is Jed, sorry mate but it will be you!
Your doing something wrong for it to happen half the time.
Either your not pulling in the clutch and sincing it with your foot change or visa versa.

You could be quite right. A bad tradesman always blames his tools, as they say. I guess the only reason I think that its not me is that it hasn't happened with the 7 bikes Ive owned in the past. Still, Ill start paying more attention and see if that fixes the problem. Thanks for everyone's input.

[boxermoose]

Try pre-loading the shifter and then after it's in second keep the up pressure on the shift lever for a moment until you have a sure engagement

My old R1100R was like this and it drove me crazy until this became an automatic reflex

[ka5ysy]

I agree with Boxermoose. The preload works, and if you very quickly "blip" your right wrist in a quick roll-off-and-on motion the shifter will snick up into gear like an automatic !. Occasionally I will still hit a false neutral, or not get a full engage with the resulting disengagement, but generally all is well.

[Caroanbill]

Try pre-loading the shifter and then after it's in second keep the up pressure on the shift lever for a moment until you have a sure engagement My old R1100R was like this and it drove me crazy until this became an automatic reflex

+1
Just to reassure you, Jed - I also have this problem intermittently. I tend to hit neutral with great panache! However, a little preload and it pops straight into second. I don't notice needing preload after that, since I can get to your-licence-please-sir before the rev limiter in second (too easily) , then saunter up the gears to drop to cruising revs afterwards. When I hit it hard on freeway ramps, I still only go to 3rd - I'm still at the speed limit before the rev limiter kicks in.

Ahh, the satisfaction of blowing off a Hyundai Getz!!

[Stef.]

I don't have this problem usually, but what exactly is "pre-loading"?
Stef.

[famousperson]

Every once in awhile I'll hit neutral going from 1st to 2nd, but it's always been me being lackadaisical. It's a good thing, actually. because It reminds me to pay attention.

[boxermoose]

I don't have this problem usually, but what exactly is "pre-loading"?
Stef.

Put some 'up" pressure on the shift lever prior to pulling in the clutch

Once it snicks upkeep the pressure on while you start to roll on the throttle & then release

[Jed]

I don't have this problem usually, but what exactly is "pre-loading"?
Stef.

Put some 'up" pressure on the shift lever prior to pulling in the clutch
Once it snicks upkeep the pressure on while you start to roll on the throttle & then release

I'm not the same Jed but my shifting goes like this.

On acceleration:
preload the shifter
quick roll-off of throttle (instinctive for me at this point)
Make an attempt to touch my clutch fingers to the clutch lever. (I'm not sure I actually pull in the clutch in most cases. I think I just take some pressure off the clutch plate without ever fully disengaging. The net effect is closer to a clutch-less shift than the more traditional - pull clutch, shift gear, release clutch shifting)

On deceleration:
I've not yet mastered the art of clutch-less down-shifting so this is much more clutch dependent for me.

Every blue moon I'll hit a false neutral or mis-judge the proper engine speed during a shift - but mostly the shifts feel like a quasi automatic shift. No noise, no clunks, no bike surging. I figure as long as there's no noise and no jumping around for the bike then I'm being as gentle on the transmission as possible.

On a side note to Jed1:
Are you are real Jed or is it just a nickname. Me it's not my legal name but it's all anyone has ever called me (including dear old mom) for my whole long life. Anyway cheers from one Jed to another!

[jed1]

[/quote]
On a side note to Jed1:
Are you are real Jed or is it just a nickname. Me it's not my legal name but it's all anyone has ever called me (including dear old mom) for my whole long life. Anyway cheers from one Jed to another! [/quote]


Hi Jed, yes its good to see there are other Jeds out there!! No, Im not a real Jed either. All my close friends started calling me Jed when I was in my early teens and now its stuck. I only get "Jeremy" when Im in trouble!!

To everyone, thanks for your input for this annoying neutral of mine. Im actually about to head down to Phillip Island (in Victoria at the bottom r/h side of Aus) for the Moto GP. A group of us are leaving in the morning, about a 3000km ride down and about the same back (going the long winding way). Ill try pre-loading the shifter and also paying a little more attention to the gear changes and see if the problem is really me.

Regards, Jed(1).

[hoflix]

mine does that too sometimes

but i will play along, and say it's user error...