Putting it in Neutral

[northantsrich]

Hi Guys,

Just wondering if any of you have any tips on how to put the bike in Neutral without it going into gear. I have an m600 and I keep kicking the thing into gear when I want to put it into Neutral. Its making me look a little amateurish at the lights!

Rich

[revver]

Mine is like that too it seems to be quite common, i tend to select neutral just before i stop it goes in easier then. Hope it helps.

[dunlop0_1]

Mine is like that too it seems to be quite common, i tend to select neutral just before i stop it goes in easier then. Hope it helps.

Ditto. :thumbsup:

[northantsrich]

thanks ill give that a try next time.

[He11cat]

Common problem .. as above when its moving still pop it in neutral or rock it back and forth.

[Dirty]

I just hold the clutch in, is that bad?

[benson]

No it's good for your wrist and finger muscles.....

[neilo]

I just roll it forwards or backwards a little, and then it pops in without any issues.

[Nottsbiker]

Tuono is the same - I've got into the habbit of selecting neutral as I roll up to a set of traffic lights etc. Can be a pain if stationary but goes in eventually.

[utopia]

I just hold the clutch in, is that bad?

Yes it is a little bit bad.....it puts unneccessary wear on the clutch components.
Though the clutch is obviously designed to withstand this, it will probably lessen the life of the bearings, accelerate the wear in the basket, and may cause glazing and faster wear of the plates. I guess the springs may go soft a little faster too.
Though I never do it myself, so I only speak from a theoretical position.

[JerryT]

Holding the clutch in for prolonged periods with a gear engaged & with the engine running can lead to premature wear of the clutch components. Best to learn to find Neutral! I've had problems with it but now seem to be able to get it most times straight away. If you can't manage to snick it into neutral just before stopping, try coming up from 1st gear veeerryy gently. That usually does it on mine. :thumbsup:

[Dirty]

Dam, will try and be a good boy from now then.

[LVC]

Try finding neutral without looking at the light - neither of my trial bikes have a neutral light and it takes a fair bit of practise to find the N position 1st go.

As has been said - it's much easier to find it whilst still rolling...clutch in and kick it down and then a gentle up once you hit bottom - when you get better at it you'll get there without going all the way down - practise, practise and practise ;)

[Phatty]

Mine used to be great, when I dropped it I snapped off the gear lever. Replaced it with a used one and used the bolt that came with that, it was a bit slacker than the original. It's now a complete nightmare to put into neutral. sometimes I park the bike in neutral and when i go tot start it again it's not in neutral any more! doing my head in, going to refit the original bolt sna see if that cures it.

Only other change since the issue arose is to Pazzo levers (genuine).

[the_adam]

Hmm...I'd heard the bit about clutch wear before, curious how much of a difference we're talking about, particularly if you're filtering all the way up to the lights anyway?

When I was learning we were taught never to put it into neutral unless getting off the bike because it makes it difficult to quickly get out of the way of anything - if you're stopped at the lights you should technically have your foot on the back brake in case anything runs into the back of you which makes selecting gears a bit tricky.

Of course if you're in gear it would make jumping off the bike far more interesting if that ever became necessary...guess there's a safety argument either way then :) I just hold the clutch in because it feels more natural to balance the bike on my left foot. I've also got short legs and prefer the bike to be leaning towards the kerb :chuckle:

[Nickj]

Make sure the chain tension is good, a little slack does make it more difficult.

It's either character OR character building (depending on how frustrating it gets) ;)

[northantsrich]

my chain needs to be tightened. on the todo list tomorrow.