Clutch Not Fully Disengaging?


flyingdutchman

New Member
Hey guys and gals!

Something has been bothering me about my bike and I'm hoping someone can provide some insight. Since taking it over, I've noticed two things as a constant - tapping down or even downshifting is very sticky and sometimes I can't even get it into first gear before stopping despite stomping on the shifter. The second thing is that if I start the bike while it is in first gear (with the clutch lever fully pulled of course) the bike gets shoved forward a little as of the clutch isn't actually fully disengaged. I also noticed when pushing the bike with the engine off (but in first gear with the clutch lever fully pulled) that I was having to push against the engine. I confirmed by putting it in neutral and pushing again, which was much easier. I also find that it's typically a bitch to get into neutral - even with the slightest push on the shifter, it will jump straight over neutral between first and second (from both directions).

Is my suspicion that my clutch needs adjusting accurate?

Appreciate the input!
 

Boost

New Member
Sounds like a clutch cable to me, when I first got my bike it took me a few tries to even get the bike to downshift whilst riding, it just didnt want to slot into gear. This was adjusted when the cable was tightened. Perhaps you might need an oil change too, if your struggling to find neutral this is a sign to change oil (in some bikes anyway). When the bike is in neutral and you select 1st it will give a quick nudge, this is completely fine, all bikes do this to my knowledge. Additionally with your write up, try not to push the bike in gear, its safer on the gearbox to use neutral. But again im no mechanic. Hope this helped.
 

flyingdutchman

New Member
Thanks for this Boost. Yeah the cable makes sense to me. The engine oil looks brand new (I've only had the bike for about a month or so) and is full, so I don't think that's an issue (unless I'm missing something?). Yeah normally I wouldn't push the bike in gear. I had it in gear because I was washing it and there was a slight incline.
 

Boost

New Member
Thanks for this Boost. Yeah the cable makes sense to me. The engine oil looks brand new (I've only had the bike for about a month or so) and is full, so I don't think that's an issue (unless I'm missing something?). Yeah normally I wouldn't push the bike in gear. I had it in gear because I was washing it and there was a slight incline.
In some cases having too much oil may make it hard to find neutral. But if it hasnt been happening since the day you bought I would just stick with the cable for now.
 

flyingdutchman

New Member
Hmmm...good to know. I think it has been doing it since the day I bought it. The level on the dipstick doesn't seem problematic, but it does seem to be harder to find neutral the hotter the engine is, which would imply increased oil volume due to temperature. Could be it!
 

Boost

New Member
Hmmm...good to know. I think it has been doing it since the day I bought it. The level on the dipstick doesn't seem problematic, but it does seem to be harder to find neutral the hotter the engine is, which would imply increased oil volume due to temperature. Could be it!
Let me know what it was once you fix it, im curious now. Haha
 

flyingdutchman

New Member
Let me know what it was once you fix it, im curious now. Haha
So update on this. Seems like the issue has resolved itself! I'm not sure if perhaps the previous owner didn't ride the bike much (bearing in mind it was the start of the season when I bought it) and so riding it more and shifting up and down a lot has gotten it moving, or whether it was me being a total n00b. Something I've discovered is that unless you allow the shifter to travel all the way back to starting position (in either direction) it won't shift to the next gear. I discovered this by accident when I bought some riding boots last week. Because the boots are so rigid I had to move my foot and ankle in a more exaggerated way to get the full motion done, so initially I was really struggling to upshift and I couldn't figure out WTF was going on haha! So who knows - seems to work slick now. Will keep an eye on it.
 

Boost

New Member
So update on this. Seems like the issue has resolved itself! I'm not sure if perhaps the previous owner didn't ride the bike much (bearing in mind it was the start of the season when I bought it) and so riding it more and shifting up and down a lot has gotten it moving, or whether it was me being a total n00b. Something I've discovered is that unless you allow the shifter to travel all the way back to starting position (in either direction) it won't shift to the next gear. I discovered this by accident when I bought some riding boots last week. Because the boots are so rigid I had to move my foot and ankle in a more exaggerated way to get the full motion done, so initially I was really struggling to upshift and I couldn't figure out WTF was going on haha! So who knows - seems to work slick now. Will keep an eye on it.
Good stuff, at least its fixed now (somehow). I sometimes find myself in the same dilemma of experimenting different ways of downshifting in regards to my foot position. I first thought this was the problem until the clutch cable was tightened. Soon after being tightened, a few rides was all it took to have a tantrum and not want to go into neutral or first whilst stationary, having left me in a pickle of embarrassingly trying to take off in 2nd or even 3rd a few times. I took it upon myself to say that it was time to change the oil, especially as the previous owner left me worried after the pure unintelligence he obtained of the bike that he had been riding for some time. The fact that he hadn't changed the oil at all since buying the bike didn't worry me as much as the fact that he hadn't once checked the tyre pressures whilst ever owning the bike. This led to a very interesting first test drive of the bike that was quickly resolved with some much-needed air. With the oil changed its only a matter of time for riding season to start for me to see if this had fixed my problem. Cant wait to get back on the bike... good to hear everything is now running smoothly.
 

flyingdutchman

New Member
Good stuff, at least its fixed now (somehow). I sometimes find myself in the same dilemma of experimenting different ways of downshifting in regards to my foot position. I first thought this was the problem until the clutch cable was tightened. Soon after being tightened, a few rides was all it took to have a tantrum and not want to go into neutral or first whilst stationary, having left me in a pickle of embarrassingly trying to take off in 2nd or even 3rd a few times. I took it upon myself to say that it was time to change the oil, especially as the previous owner left me worried after the pure unintelligence he obtained of the bike that he had been riding for some time. The fact that he hadn't changed the oil at all since buying the bike didn't worry me as much as the fact that he hadn't once checked the tyre pressures whilst ever owning the bike. This led to a very interesting first test drive of the bike that was quickly resolved with some much-needed air. With the oil changed its only a matter of time for riding season to start for me to see if this had fixed my problem. Cant wait to get back on the bike... good to hear everything is now running smoothly.
Yikes! Sounds like the previous owner really neglected the bike! Fortunately these engines are solid, so some TLC and some riding should clear out the cobwebs in no time :cool:
 


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