Clutch lever does not release bike from gear - normal when cold?

[AK Baller]

Hello all,

Tried to start my bike this morning at roughly 42F and noticed that the clutch lever did not disengage bike from the gear, when I started it later in the day and warmed up the bike it seemed to function normally.

Is it normal to have this issue on this bike in the cooler weather or should I be concerned? Also, is there a way to prevent this issue other than keeping the bike warm (I can only park it outside) - maybe by using a different oil, etc?

[adidasguy]

Normal. Sticky clutch plates. They loosen up when engine is warm.

Always start in neutral. Much less stress on the starter motor and battery.

[AK Baller]

Awesome... so I shouldn't have cancelled my ride... I do start my bike in neutral it's just that sometimes I have to roll it away from cars with alarms - they don't like bikes next to them, and that's when I ran into the gear issue.

[mister]

Awesome... so I shouldn't have cancelled my ride... I do start my bike in neutral it's just that sometimes I have to roll it away from cars with alarms - they don't like bikes next to them, and that's when I ran into the gear issue.

Slightly moving/rolling the bike, while trying to change gears, will allow you to change to neutral. 

[AK Baller]

Awesome... so I shouldn't have cancelled my ride... I do start my bike in neutral it's just that sometimes I have to roll it away from cars with alarms - they don't like bikes next to them, and that's when I ran into the gear issue.

Slightly moving/rolling the bike, while trying to change gears, will allow you to change to neutral. 

So moving the bike back and forth will get the clutch unstuck same as warming up the bike? That'd be nice since that would allow a push-start option if the battery is out...

[Badot]

Maybe a bit of confusion here. If the plates are sticking or dragging, the bike should still roll easily in neutral. Sometimes you may have to rock the bike back and forth a little to be able to get into neutral if the bike is stopped.

If the clutch plates are just dragging a little (and you're sure it's not a clutch adjustment issue) it won't go away until the bike is warm. If they're actually stuck (wheel is locked with engine even with clutch in) it'll take a bit of a jolt to break it free, such as putting the bike into gear with the engine running or with the bike rolling slightly.

[AK Baller]

Thank you for clarification - Yeah, going into neutral wasn't a problem; and when in neutral, the bike rolled fine.

Issue was that when cold and in gear, fully engaged clutch lever did not allow bike to roll.

[mitch79]

Yes its normal. Clutch in and preload the gear lever whilst pushing forward and it should pop into neutral.
Right or wrongly I've always parked in neutral unless on a slope.

[mister]

Issue was that when cold and in gear, fully engaged clutch lever did not allow bike to roll.

That is normal for this bike.

Also normal is, once ready to ride from such a cold start, putting into gear will be a small clunk and maybe like a small nudge forward on the bike. known to stall at this point if revs are too low. But only from cold and first gear engagement.

[AK Baller]

Awesome, thanks for all the replies - helps to know that it's a normal thing. The more you know...

[Old Mechanic]

I had a Kawasaki that was bad about the plates sticking together. I found that moving the bike with it in gear and the clutch releasd helped a lot. Do it before starting the engine.

regards
Mech

[steezin_and_wheezin]

Just ran into this after mine sat for a while in the basement. I had a dead battery and couldn't bump start due to the clutch not functioning correctly. I had pulled the clutch cover, front sprocket and clutch pushrod and thought I had screwed something up haha. It had me stressin' until I did a quick search, and found Adidas' older post noting it will loosen up after warming the engine.

I think I'm running a semi synth moto specific oil, It got me thinking - Do some oils cause sticky clutch plates vs other brands of oil?

[dinkydonuts]

Just ran into this after mine sat for a while in the basement. I had a dead battery and couldn't bump start due to the clutch not functioning correctly. I had pulled the clutch cover, front sprocket and clutch pushrod and thought I had screwed something up haha. It had me stressin' until I did a quick search, and found Adidas' older post noting it will loosen up after warming the engine.

I think I'm running a semi synth moto specific oil, It got me thinking - Do some oils cause sticky clutch plates vs other brands of oil?

There could be a million reasons why the plates stick together. Anecdotally, I use Rotella 15W40 in my GS and I've gone outside and fiddled with my bike in the garage on 20*F days without issues.

[adidasguy]

Reasons I don't think are your type of oil.
From experience here, it is motors that have gone a long time without oil changes and/or bad previous owners. Poor maintenance and dirty oil will make gunk get on the plates and collect between the friction thingies - resulting in glue that holds plates together (at least that's what I found when I took out a set of plates and cleaned them up).
Sometime when you;re ready for an oil change you might just take off the right side and clean the plates. Kerosene works then wipe off and soak in new oil before putting them back in.
Until then, start in neutral (which you should always do to reduce stress on the starter even if clutch plates are clean).
Hot motors are startable in gear, but I still am in the habit of neutral just in case I let go of the clutch before I'm ready to ride: don't want the bike jumping out from under me.

I had the side cover off of Phenix when I cleaned the clutch plates.
I could have the bike in gear with the clutch lever tied down and try to turn the rear wheel. Those suckers were glued together. Once I got the wheel turning, it was still hard (motor was cold and opened up). I could separate the plates with my fingers and things would turn. Yep - sticky plates. After cleaning and reassembling - the clutch works just fine. Still, like I said, I am in neutral to start but now Phenix will start in gear except when really cold and the oil is thick.