Stupid question (sorry): Starting with clutch pulled

[neilo]

Why do a lot of people pull the clutch in when starting their bikes? Does it free-up some of the mechanical components that would otherwise exert a tiny amount of resistance (against the starter motor) against the engine turning?

[jamiedan2009]

I do it as well, its in case the neutral light is faulty. Start it up in gear and the bike could shoot forward ten feet with hilarious consequences!

[Zimbo]

As above, certainly older Ducatis had slightly unreliable neutral lights. You only had to start your bike once on it's side stand, in gear and without pulling the clutch in. After you've picked it up off the floor, you always, always pull the clutch in whilst starting it, just in case ....

[Lima071]

Same, and I pull the front brake to.

[neilo]

Thanks guys. So it doesn't help the bike start any easier then? I guess not...

[Rally]

Neilo, It does take some pressure off the starter motor as well, as it isn't then having to turn over all the gears in the transmission because the clutch has dissengaged them. If you have a poor battery it may make all the difference on a large engined/transmissioned vehicle, but on a bike, it doesn't make much difference really.

[PhilLew]

I do it as well, its in case the neutral light is faulty. Start it up in gear and the bike could shoot forward ten feet with hilarious consequences!

+1, been there, done that!

except I had fitted a remote start to my old Monster so was standing about 10ft away at the time. (looks very cool when your outside the pub)
The bike started to jump forward, moved about 6ft on it's own before I could hit the remote kill switch.
Luckily the side stand didn't fold and the bike stayed upright but it could have so easily toppled!

[Lima071]

+1, been there, done that!

except I had fitted a remote start to my old Monster so was standing about 10ft away at the time. (looks very cool when your outside the pub)
The bike started to jump forward, moved about 6ft on it's own before I could hit the remote kill switch.
Luckily the side stand didn't fold and the bike stayed upright but it could have so easily toppled!

So if we are ever way up north and see a parked up monster, we should check it is in 1st just in case there is a flash git with remote start.

Thanks mate, you made me laugh.

[uksurfer]

Neilo, It does take some pressure off the starter motor as well, as it isn't then having to turn over all the gears in the transmission because the clutch has dissengaged them. If you have a poor battery it may make all the difference on a large engined/transmissioned vehicle, but on a bike, it doesn't make much difference really.

quite agree, heavy trucks and plant you sometimes have to have clutch in and out of gear to start

[neilo]

Neilo, It does take some pressure off the starter motor as well, as it isn't then having to turn over all the gears in the transmission because the clutch has dissengaged them. If you have a poor battery it may make all the difference on a large engined/transmissioned vehicle, but on a bike, it doesn't make much difference really.

Cheers Rally and uksurfer - this is exactly what I was wondering.
My battery is fine (~12.5v with ignition on; ~14.4v when started), and the bike has never failed to start, but last weekend I thought I'd try starting the bike with the clutch pulled in (on every occasion), and it 'seemed' to start even easier than normal... This is what got me thinking. So maybe it does make a slight, albeit a very slight, difference... OR, maybe the fact that it was warmer (last weekend) made the difference... It just got me thinking. Cheers again.

[PhilLew]

we should check it is in 1st just in case there is a flash git with remote start.

Cheers :D:D:D

[jamiedan2009]

+1, been there, done that!

except I had fitted a remote start to my old Monster so was standing about 10ft away at the time. (looks very cool when your outside the pub)
The bike started to jump forward, moved about 6ft on it's own before I could hit the remote kill switch.
Luckily the side stand didn't fold and the bike stayed upright but it could have so easily toppled!

i like the idea of being a flash git with remote start, did you buy a kit from somewhere or are you a genius with the elecktrickery?

[Twentytoo]

I don't know if I do or dont

[jamiedan2009]

I don't know if I do or dont
i think if you were to use it all the time the novelty would wear off and people would think you were a bit of a &#+? but once in a while - cool!

[Dirty]

+1, been there, done that!

except I had fitted a remote start to my old Monster so was standing about 10ft away at the time. (looks very cool when your outside the pub)
The bike started to jump forward, moved about 6ft on it's own before I could hit the remote kill switch.
Luckily the side stand didn't fold and the bike stayed upright but it could have so easily toppled!

Ha ha brilliant.

My mate had a similar system on his bike a couple years back. From time to time he'd start the bike by accident by nudging his pocket or putting his phone back in. Almost without fail I'd tell him his bike was running every time I walked in and saw him. He knew I was winding him up but simply had to check anyway just in case. :chuckle:

[Quantox]

Surely, one of the basics is to ensure that the bike is in neutral before attempting to start it?

Do the same folks dip the clutch on their cars before turning the key or pushing the button, after they've waved the stick around to check that it's in neutral?

If they don't then there's summat wrong with their bike handling.

Q

[Robot]

Mine won't start without the clutch pulled in (it's a Triumph thing).

[jamiedan2009]

Surely, one of the basics is to ensure that the bike is in neutral before attempting to start it?

Do the same folks dip the clutch on their cars before turning the key or pushing the button, after they've waved the stick around to check that it's in neutral?

If they don't then there's summat wrong with their bike handling.

Q

hmm, of course most euro boxes havent got enough torque to pull the skin off a rice pudding let alone start in gear with the handbrake on

[Quantox]

hmm, of course most euro boxes havent got enough torque to pull the skin off a rice pudding let alone start in gear with the handbrake on

The discussion was about technique and vehicle management, not about rice pudding skins!

Q
And, some of us don't drive under-powered euro boxes.

[jamiedan2009]

The discussion was about technique and vehicle management, not about rice pudding skins!

Q
And, some of us don't drive under-powered euro boxes.

i do apologize, you see im a troll at heart and cant resist trolling unsuspecting board members!

[utopia]

This thread had me worried at first....that I rely on the neutral light to be working correctly when starting up, and have therefore just been lucky to get away with it up to now.
But I now realise that I go through some sort of subconcious process of rocking the bike forward and back to check that all is well.
It was Quantox's comment about jiggling car gear levers that made me realise. You see, in a car I still often have a feeling of uncertainty even though I've already jiggled the lever, and I sometimes have to jiggle it again before turning the key, even though I already know the outcome.
I could never quite work out where this madness came from, but now I realise its because I haven't gone through the subconcious rocking process that I would have on a bike.
So thats good...I'm more sane than I thought.

As a slight aside, I sometimes start up and let the engine warm a little and circulate its oil, then switch off, engage first, pull in the clutch, and rock the bike against compression until the clutch frees.
I then keep the clutch in and start up in first gear.
Saves the big clunk when engaging first gear on a cold engine with a cold, sticky clutch.
I dunno whether its the same with a dry clutch though.

Then again, maybe there's a connection here....
If a cold sticky clutch is reluctant to free, then maybe pulling the clutch while in neutral still has some inertia related effect when the starter button is pressed, such that this also acts to free the clutch in readiness for the first gearchange....??

Personally though, I never do it in neutral.
But I will now be conducting experiments.

Ho-hum. Such a world full off intrigueing conundrums.

[Gilps]

I always start any vehicle with the clutch in just to take the load off the starter. It's just what I was taught as a kid. Before I put a new battery on my van it would make all the difference on whether it started or not.

[PhilLew]

i like the idea of being a flash git with remote start, did you buy a kit from somewhere or are you a genius with the elecktrickery?

A bit of both TBH,
I bought an aftermarket alarm which had this as a feature but the alarm was only designed for small engines (upto 125 iirc) so I wired it through a realy to handle the extra load of the heavier starter.
You also have to disable the side stand cut out switch and not use the steering lock if you want to fire the bike up from the remote, stick the keys back in your pocket and ride off :spin:

I also had the lights set up to go on and off with the ignition so not only did it fire up (with it's loud cans) it lit up too, great for frightening young children and old grannys when a big bad motorbike comes to life all by it's self :biggrin:
(and you wonder why bikers get a bad name LOL)

[Gilps]

My last BMW had an option to programme it turn turn on and start the engine at a set time so that you didn't have to get in to a cold car. That was cool.

[Char]

I'm always getting told off for leaving stuff in gear

Someone nearly crashed into the car in front once because he didnt jiggle it

[Lima071]

I also always depress the clutch to start any vehicle.

[Dukedesmo]

Do the same folks dip the clutch on their cars before turning the key or pushing the button, after they've waved the stick around to check that it's in neutral?



Some cars require that you start them with the clutch dipped, I had a courtesy car from a dealer last year and it would only start if clutch dipped, it also cut out in traffic if you put it in neutral and let the clutch out at traffic lights but then would restart when you dipped the clutch - had me worried the first time it did it - although the stop/start part was, thankfully, switchable. I certainly wouldn't buy one that did that and wasn't switchable as it would do my head in.

But I think these are H&S/manufacturer liability issues, I'd be surprised if in a few years time cars will start/run at all unless a multitude of conditions are met - seatbelt, clutch, breath-tester etc.

As for starting a bike with the clutch in I normally do it out of habit, some bikes used to require it and there is always the chance that a bike that 'is' in neutral actually isn't.

I also normally leave my bike in gear anyway when out and about as a precaution to it rolling of the stand, again just habit.

[mickyvee]

:eek: I got into the "Lift the clutch when starting" routine donkey's years ago, due to the notoriously unreliable neutral light on my Jota. I started her up in "neutral" once, only for the bike to shoot forwards, and topple over :cry:. Believe me, picking that thing up was something you only wanted to do the once! I now pull the clutch in on all my bikes, without thinking about it. A good habit to get into, methinks.