Shifting in and out of Neutral

[Whunter]

I have a 2008 Nomad with 6,500 miles on it. I have a question that I would like some information on. The bike shifts into neutral when I am downshifting while moving. This is very frustrating!!! Is this normal or is there something I can do to keep the bike from doing this? Also when it does shift into neutral while moving it is often very difficult to get it out of neutral. It seems I have to really slam on the shifter to get it into either 1st or 3rd. It does not grind, but shifting out of neutral while moving seems very difficult. What can I do? Thank you for any help or advice you can give me.

[hammer]

I get that from time to time if I forget to shift firmly or my boot is on the edge of the shifter (lazy shifting). I go back to 2nd and then down again. Same thing sometimes coming up from 1st. Red faced after it revs up and your partner behind you (Duffy?) knows you blew a shift.

[MAS Tequila]

First NEVER slam a shift on one of these bikes.

That's how the shift forks get bent, requiring the engine to be completely disassembled to fix it.

A 'firm' shift will push right through the neutral finder.

[Top Cat]

Like MT said, never stomp the shifter on these bikes.
A 'firm' shift is all you need.

[DragonLady58]

A good, deliberate firm shift will be needed of overcome that famous kawaneutral finder, pratice it....till its second nature.

[Imsum12]

I had something similar on my 08 Nomad when I bought it this spring with 15k miles on it, was worried I had a bent fork from the previous owner to deal with. What I found out was due to the position of the shifter I was either resting my heel on it or not getting a firm shift up to 2nd or down to 1st.
I raised my heel shifter up one spline so it sits above the board about an inch and now I do not have the issue happening, and for me it is more comfortable to shift.

The other thing I read either here or on another site is with the shaft drive you do not want to shift down through the gears when coming to a stop. Puts way to much stress on the drive train and with disk brakes it is not as helpful with stopping as it was with the old drum breaks. It recommended just holding in the clutch and downshifting to follow your reducing speed in case you needed to find and escape path.

[Whunter]

Thank you for your responses to my question. I will try to adjust my heel shifter to make it easier to shift to 2nd from 1st. I will also no longer slam on my gear shifter. I don't want to have to do an engine rebuild. But, when your going through an intersection and this happens, it is frustrating and it feels dangerous at time.

[MAS Tequila]

Once you get 'it' down, these are some of the easiest shifting transmissions out there.

Try putting a Twin Cam into neutral, it definitely is easier on a 15/1600.

[andyvh1959]

You want particular shifting?? Ride any old airhead BMW twin, especially the 1000cc models. Hardly any better on the early 90's Oilheads. I know because I have ridden and still ride both. On BMW flat twins prior to the late 90's models you learned to shift on the bike's terms; shifter preload with your foot, take up the slack, minimal clutch lever action, VERY minimal throttle action (best to not loose much engine speed during shifts. A lot to learn/practice, but once learned, any shifting issues (like the false neutral between 2nd and 3rd on my 94 BMW) are soon realized to be caused by your own inaccurate technique. Over 250,000 miles riding my 76 and 94 BMW twins has proved this.

This past July I bought a used 1600 Classic, 30,000 miles in really great condition but obviously ridden and enjoyed. I got it cheap, $1200, because 2nd gear doesn't work, so I have big repair project coming up. This is my 1st ever bike with a heel/toe shifter and I learned right away not to hit/hammer/force/tromp on the heel shifter. I went at it easy to learn the shifting, but after 500 miles I realized I don't like the heel shifter for its lack of feel. So I adjusted the shift levers so I could use the toe shifter more effectively, and adjusted the heel shifter to be almost level with the floor board. Also, the huge flywheel effect of a slower spinning big v-twin is best shifted with minimal engine speed change.

I much prefer the toe shifter, mostly because that is what I am accustomed to on my BMWs. Oh, by the way, my BMW twins have shaft drive, and I have ALWAYS used downshifting and engine speed/road speed matching as part of my techniques. My BMWs easily get well over 100,000 miles on their dry clutches and the brakes easily go well over 50,000 miles before replacing the pads. So it is more about techniques than saying "don't do it this way". If you're not open to improving your techniques, then go without downshifting and only using the brakes as suggested. But what about road riding when you need to downshift smoothly to match your gear selection to the desired road speed.

[dhuttonkc]

A ten year old bike with such low miles. Barely broken in. Have you tried another motor oil.

Don't mean for this to become an oil thread, but several have smoothed the shift points by using full synthetic oils and a brief warm up before riding. My '06 became a different bike, shifting wise, with T6 in the crankcase.

You might want to check the clutch fluid, hoses, and action to make absolutely certain that the clutch is releasing properly at lower speeds as you shift.

[mick56]

Originally Posted by dhuttonkc

A ten year old bike with such low miles. Barely broken in. Have you tried another motor oil.

Don't mean for this to become an oil thread, but several have smoothed the shift points by using full synthetic oils and a brief warm up before riding. My '06 became a different bike, shifting wise, with T6 in the crankcase.

You might want to check the clutch fluid, hoses, and action to make absolutely certain that the clutch is releasing properly at lower speeds as you shift.

I dont understand how a different grade of oil, would make any difference to a gear change.If you were comparing oil with tar,i could.Someone enlighten me please.

[MAS Tequila]

Originally Posted by mick56

I dont understand how a different grade of oil, would make any difference to a gear change.If you were comparing oil with tar,i could.Someone enlighten me please.

Some do believe that different oils make a difference.

And as Forest said, 'That's all I have to say about that'.

I don't want to be responsible for an oil thread.

[DragonLady58]

Originally Posted by MAS Tequila

Once you get 'it' down, these are some of the easiest shifting transmissions out there.

Try putting a Twin Cam into neutral, it definitely is easier on a 15/1600.

My old ElectraGlide had a hair trigger getting her into neutral. Where the Vulcans have a kinda funnel between 1st and 2nd, The Harley had a notch, go into 1st, then bump the heal shifter sharply, quickly with the boot....there was neutral....
The Harley felt heavier, clunkier where the Vulcans are like watches, shifts perfect with the lightest pressure....
Go stomping on a Vulcan shifter, you'll regret it....

[mick56]

Originally Posted by DragonLady58

My old ElectraGlide had a hair trigger getting her into neutral. Where the Vulcans have a kinda funnel between 1st and 2nd, The Harley had a notch, go into 1st, then bump the heal shifter sharply, quickly with the boot....there was neutral....
The Harley felt heavier, clunkier where the Vulcans are like watches, shifts perfect with the lightest pressure....
Go stomping on a Vulcan shifter, you'll regret it....

That seems to lend itself to American engineering in general.Rather than build something that is well thought out,and works smoothly,make it so heavy, that it will withstand a bit of punishment.The Ford F150 being a typical example.Make a pick up truck with a huge V8 engine,that is fast in a straight line.Then fit it with suspension from a stage coach,and only 2 wheel drive.

[redjay]

I think there are plenty of 4 wheel drive F150's.