what's wrong with my "neutral"??

[myGS]

sometimes i can get the bike in neutral and sometimes, i can't.  am i doing something wrong or is there something wrong with the bike?

[dionysus]

Since I just poked at RG for it...

Make the search be with you:
http://www.gstwins.com/forum/search.php

[myGS]

i can't find anything in the search function.  enlighten me with what u find.

[Cal Price]

I am guessing but are you fairly new to motorcycling? This is fairly common amongst newer riders, it is a skill or an instinct almost that you develop as you progress. Sometimes you are in nuetral but the light stays off, this can be annoying. Some riders find it easier to get to neutral from second than from first using very light taps with the foot. It's not a big deal it will come with practice.

[diamond_lady]

sometimes i can get the bike in neutral and sometimes, i can't.  am i doing something wrong or is there something wrong with the bike?

Same thing happened to me yesterday. But today it didn't happen.

If you discover the reason...let me know!

[myGS]

yeah, i'm a noobie rider.  so this is normal?

[scratch]

Yes. One of the things you can do is to roll the bike forward or backward and try again.

[pandy]

Another thing that often works is double-clutching. Pull your clutch in, let it out, pull it in again, and then go down to first.

My little darling bike often has this little problem just when I don't need it, so I've gotten good at overcoming.  :mrgreen:

[ditchdoc1017]

Hold the front brake rock it back and forward while shifting.

[myGS]

i see.  so i'm guessing this is common.  can someone explain why this happens?

[natedawg120]

motorcycle transmissions are made to be shifted in motion.  So a lot of the time they are hesitant or hard to shift while sitting still.

Edit:  That is why rocking it back and forth may help.

[dionysus]

A wet clutch(like in the GS) is never fully disengaged, so when you shift into neutral at a stop the gears* get slightly out of alignment sometimes, so you can't just slide it back in. Give it a little gas while you slide into gear, let the clutch out and scoot back and forth. Basically anything to move the gears a bit. And it probably didn't show up because you didn't click on "search all terms".

http://gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19062&highlight=difficult+neutral

*Yeah, not really the gears themselves, but who cares?

[Gisser]

i see.  so i'm guessing this is common.  can someone explain why this happens?

There's some confusing replies to this thread, most if not all most likely applying to shifting into gear not shifting into neutral.  Yes,  clutch drag loads the gears increasing friction and can make hitting neutral high effort or the aforementioned tap dance.  Rocking the bike will not help, shutting down the engine will.  Proper oil level also helps.

[marc]

Remember that it goes worse when oil level is low!

When I find Neutral difficult to engage, then is a clear sympthom
that my oil level is low.

[diamond_lady]

Anyway you have to get used to it. I noticed that practice makes it easier to 'feel' the clutch, and how much strenght you have to put in your foot to change gears.
When it happens to me I find that double clutching is the best way to solve the problem; and even push a little bit forward the bike helps, it's a problem you can solve in one second.  

[calamari]

One thing I mentioned before...

When bike is cold-warm, getting neutral while standing is a piece of cake.

When engine is hot (as in, after 15 minutes of riding or so), neutral it's just impossible to find (also, shifting while motionless will put your foot tendons to really work).

[diamond_lady]

One thing I mentioned before...

When bike is cold-warm, getting neutral while standing is a piece of cake.

When engine is hot (as in, after 15 minutes of riding or so), neutral it's just impossible to find (also, shifting while motionless will put your foot tendons to really work).

Yeah I noticed... neutral it's quite difficult to find when the engine is hot. That's why I keep the first gear even at stops or traffic lights  

[NightRyder]

I would say, take some time and work on it. If you have any time, that is. In fact, I plan on spending all day if I can today riding around in a parking lot. (after I go buy my helmet  :mrgreen:  )