Hello friends, I bring you an update and my new problems.

[Antaresia]

fuse update: so I blew the fuse 3 times in a row, left a fresh one in when I put the bike back together. For some reason the bike now starts just fine and the problem hasn't happened again. I've been on quite a few rides, always prepared for the worse. It's been fine. Yeay??

New problems: Went for a short ride tonight, bike decided stall out for no reason. I'd limp along, then it would stall again (usually when I was slowing down at a light, with the clutch pulled in). Really hard to get going again. Sometimes the engine would give me a little burst of speed despite the fact I was not rollin' on the throttle. Parking & giving it time seemed to help - but that could also be random chance.

My friend thought it might have something to do with the questionably old gas that's in it. It might have something to do with a really old janky clutch cable. Any ideas where to start looking would help - but I'm already looking for a new clutch cable.

Also, how bad is it when you down-shift but forget to pull the clutch in? Uh, asking for a friend...

PS
you're all wonderful, and my Haynes manual just came in yesterday.

[ShowBizWolf]

Woot for the Haynes manual!!

Gah, so sorry to hear about ya having more bike troubles. Yes make sure to fill with fresh clean gas! If you flip to reserve, does/did the stalling stop?

Idk how bad it is when you downshift without the clutch... it makes me cringe to think about it though 

Hang in there !!!

[Big Rich]

For the fuse issue: most likely a worn wire touching bare metal somewhere (positive wire rubbed off the insulation, usually inside the headlight assembly or around the starter relay). If it happens again, check your positive wires for continuity with ground.

Stalling and little bursts of speed indictate a fueling issue. Could be a vacuum in the tank / carbs, clogged fuel filter, floats set too low, etc, etc..

Good luck man!

[Watcher]

Old gas could be a culprit.  Old gas is always kind of funky behaving.  Adding fresh gas to a tank of old gas can mitigate it, but ideally you'd replace as much of it as possible with new gas so try and wait until the tank is near empty.



Shifting clutchless can be problematic if you don't do it right, its safer and way easier to UPshift without the clutch than downshift.

Aside from possible damage to the transmission, it puts extra stress on the drive-line and can lead to a loss of control if the rear tire skids.

For downshifting you would ideally rev-match by blipping the throttle as you downshift.  BUT, it's tricky as hell to get the timing since blipping too early or too late invariably makes the bike lurch.

It's entirely smart to clutch on all your shifts, especially downshifts.  It's EASY to learn to rev-match the downshifts and once you learn the timing you can get quite fast at it.  It's essentially the same process as upshifting but you reverse the throttle and shift directions.
Clutch in, roll on, downshift, roll off, clutch out.  Rinse repeat.
When you get really good at it, you can start leaving a finger or two on the brake and rev match your downshifts while you slow.  Makes corner entry freaking amazing 

[rscottlow]

It's EASY to learn to rev-match the downshifts and once you learn the timing you can get quite fast at it.  It's essentially the same process as upshifting but you reverse the throttle and shift directions.
Clutch in, roll on, downshift, roll off, clutch out.  Rinse repeat.
When you get really good at it, you can start leaving a finger or two on the brake and rev match your downshifts while you slow.  Makes corner entry freaking amazing 

And, this is the way it should be done. AKA heel/toe shifting in a car.

[qcbaker]

Watcher already answered about why clutchless downshifts could be problematic, so I wont re-iterate. But if you experience lurching when downshifting and you cant seem to get the rev match entirely right, one thing you can do is to release the clutch lever a little slower (similar to easing off the clutch when shifting into first from a stop). This gives the engine a bit more gradual spinup, which should reduce the lurchiness of the shift. Also, releasing the clutch lever slowly can give you an idea of what kind of RPM you should aim for when attempting to rev match.

Obviously, matching revs is the proper technique, and I wouldn't make a habit of riding the clutch too much on every downshift as it could cause premature clutch wear. But, as a way of teaching yourself what the engine should be doing when attempting a proper rev match, it can be beneficial.

[Watcher]

Obviously, matching revs is the proper technique, and I wouldn't make a habit of riding the clutch too much on every downshift as it could cause premature clutch wear. But, as a way of teaching yourself what the engine should be doing when attempting a proper rev match, it can be beneficial.

Being that 99% of bikes, the GS included, are WET clutch I wouldn't worry about this, they resist wear WAY better than a dry clutch.

Besides, you naturally use a moto clutch more than a car clutch.  For example, the friction zone is almost constant during low speed maneuvers.
Yeah, the more you ride the clutch the more you wear it.  That's a given.  But being heavy handed on a downshift is the last thing I'd worry about.
I've worn out a car's clutch but I've never worn out a bike's clutch.

[qcbaker]

Obviously, matching revs is the proper technique, and I wouldn't make a habit of riding the clutch too much on every downshift as it could cause premature clutch wear. But, as a way of teaching yourself what the engine should be doing when attempting a proper rev match, it can be beneficial.

Being that 99% of bikes, the GS included, are WET clutch I wouldn't worry about this, they resist wear WAY better than a dry clutch.

Besides, you naturally use a moto clutch more than a car clutch.  For example, the friction zone is almost constant during low speed maneuvers.
Yeah, the more you ride the clutch the more you wear it.  That's a given.  But being heavy handed on a downshift is the last thing I'd worry about.
I've worn out a car's clutch but I've never worn out a bike's clutch.


The more they do it the smoother they'll be the faster they'll run the clutch.  If they're focused on not riding the clutch too much they might not learn the timing and throttle.
Start exaggerated, tighten as you go.

Yeah, premature clutch wear not an super huge concern, I just didn't want to come off like "Ahh, dont worry about rev-matching, just ride the clutch a little and let the engine do it for you!" I was just trying to point out that proper rev matching is preferable to riding the clutch on downshifts lol.