1st gear...

[mohawk miss]

Quick question.

What things would make a bike stick in first when cold/ first starting off?
I'm talking about my-foot-is-going-to-break-if-i-push-on-this-lever-any-harder kind of stick.
Won't drop into neutral for about 1 min, then wont go into 2nd for another min, then clunk! and its fine.

Supposedly been checked and "can't find anything wrong"

Ideas/ suggestions appreciated, thanks

[z900/zx9]

After riding kazzs zzr 600 there gear box is really clunky compared to my zx9.I think they are contancoras little buggers

[MickLC]

Simple things first.

How old is the oil? A fresh dose might smooth things up a bit.

Does the clutch cable need adjusting? (Assuming you haven't got a hydraulic clutch of course)

Does it go into neutral easier if you give the bike a bit of a rock back and forth?

You aren't trying to get it into second while stationary are you? Cos it won't work until you are moving thanks to Kawasaki's Positive Neutral Finder.

[mohawk miss]

a)bike was serviced <600km's ago....

b)see a)...

c)no....and

d)no

even when moving (at first) it wont go into neutral

I think z900/zx9 is right, its just "quirky"....

[MadKaw]

I'll be working on bikes all weekend so if you wanna bring it over I can have look...

[MickLC]

Yeah, get Dave to look at it...then you can be sure to get at least a couple of laps out of it

[MadKaw]

Yeah, get Dave to look at it...then you can be sure to get at least a couple of laps out of it

Better than no laps Mick...

[MickLC]

Yeah, get Dave to look at it...then you can be sure to get at least a couple of laps out of it

Better than no laps Mick...

Well if it gets really bad maybe you could borrow Lorenzo's pushie

[mike-s]

i would have said clutch cable adjustment myself.

[Jonno]

Some service mechanics like to play with levers and adjustments and don't have time to test them properly or forget, as mentioned above the clutch cable may have been adjusted incorrectly or needs further adjustment if it has one but if the issue disappears once the engine has warmed up then it could be the oil.

It might be the oil type being a different brand or of a thicker viscosity when they serviced it, do you know what was in it before and what is in it now? Sounds like it since the service was the only change done to the bike?

From what little I know some bikes take a while for the oil to heat up and thin out enough to get into the clutches, what I do in this case and is only a suggestion, is to try a different brand such as Motul or whatever but make sure it is the correct type specified for the bike, sometimes this can be the solution. I have heard it many times and experienced it myself that a bike likes "x" brand better than "y" brand.

I have found some bikes can take a minute to warm up enough to allow the clutches to work and for the gear selector to move with ease, if this is the case I would live with it and warm up the bike for a few minutes like we all should, right

Just a thought plus 2 cents.

[photomike666]

Best case senario Oil, worst case neutral finder problem??

Change the oil, and if it doesn't improve just carry your kit out to the bike and put it on while the bike warms up. It's much healthier for the bike to warm like that anyway, and may easy your gear change issue.

[MiG]

"It's much healthier for the bike to warm like that anyway"
No it's not.

[mike-s]

what do you mean MiG?

btw r.e. clutches sticking, on my RF it takes a couple of shunts backwards to roll it out of the garage with it in first and the clutch in (and engine off). With my old LTD450 it used to literally jump a cm or so at the front whenever i put it in first after it was left standing overnight. try the clutch setting, at the worst you'll just end up slipping the clutch or be unable to (dis)engage gears while you fiddle with its settings.

[Neka79]

"It's much healthier for the bike to warm like that anyway"
No it's not.

u dont think its healthy to warm the bike up and get oil thru the motor etc before riding it??

[Gosling1]

......"It's much healthier for the bike to warm like that anyway".....No it's not.

.....u dont think its healthy to warm the bike up and get oil thru the motor etc before riding it??

As soon as the motor starts spinning on the starter motor, oil is pumping. Its cold oil , but its circulating, and lubricating what it needs to.

I think what MiG is referring to is the practice of starting a new computer-controlled fuel-injected motor running tight tolerances, and getting it under load to warm up - instead of letting it warm up "naturally", by having it idle for a few minutes (maybe up to 5 minutes) - before you put it under load and ride it out the driveway......

This is how old air-cooled motors warmed up. But they only need a couple of minutes anyway to get the heat into the motor......I know on the old Pearl it literally gets started, I do up the lid and put the gloves on, then its off the sidestand and out the door......generally less than 2 minutes after first kick...

The owners manual for the Prado recommends driving the vehicle as soon as it is started, and getting the heat into the motor by putting the motor under load, by simply driving it normally. Not letting it sit in the driveway for 5 minutes *warming up*.

I don't know how relevant this is to a ZX10 for example, but I do understand (I think) the logic behind that first statement. The MFP12 gets at least 2 to 3 minutes until the temp.guage has moved 1 notch. I have to do this, the secondary butterflies have been removed, and it actually does need to have some heat in it otherwise it just burps and farts for the first 200 metres...... its worth the minor inconvenience for the improved top-end !!