1st gear, neutral problem, still

[dtrider]

When approaching a stop sign, I shift down to lst gear and tap the
shifter another time or two to be sure I'm in 1st gear before I stop.
If no traffic, I just want to stop and go. About once every 5 times
I let out the clutch to go and .....I find out I'm in neutral and now
starting to roll into the intersection a little and I have to stop, put my foot down and hit the shifter again to get into 1st gear. I don't think that I should be having this problem and it is a little unnerving. Is it me? or should I have this checked out. Bike is 05 Nomad, 9500 mi. I have followed the suggestions made concerning problem shifting into 1st from neutral when stopped. (older post) Not sure if these are related or not. I have tried to check the neutral light when stopping but sometimes the sunlight blocks it out.
All suggestions appreciated,
Thank You
Don

[radco]

Don, I have had the same problem till I raised the Kick down pedal a bit.. SEMS I hit it with my heal and kicked in neutral...I raised it and its been fine,,ALSO a couple times I didnt seat it in neutral firm enough.....BUT now that Im used to the bike that hardly happens now..... could it be other issues??? Im sure the gear heads will pop in with better info for you.........Rich

[spirello]

When your pulling up to stop lights are you pulling the clutch in holding it and going 3rd 2nd 1st with out letting the clutch out inbetween? If this is the case you will almost always hit neutral. Try letting the clutch out between downshift and see if this helps. You also might try bleeding your clutch. Best of luck

When I stop, I always shift down to 1st. But then I rock the bike & check to make sure I'm in first. There's nothing more embarassing than letting out the clutch when the light changes only to find yourself in neutral, EXCEPT letting it out in 2nd gear & stalling the engine.

[spirello]

Also if you are not putting it in first until you stop it wont go in without rocking the bike. I put mine in first before the bike stops rolling>

[VulcanE]

Like the others said, have it in 1st before you come to a full stop, and let the clutch out between gear changes. If I'm lazy, and down shift as I'm rolling up to a stop without letting the clutch out, I almost always will be in Neutral, even if I repeatedly tap the toe shifter down, it won't come out of Neutral, untill I let the clutch out, then pull it in, then it'll go into 1st

[dogdoc]

most of the shifting problems are pilot error, just have to do it alot to become routine.

[redjay]

Hi Doc, unfortunately that is not the case. My bike sometimes gasps for fuel after I shift from first to second. Others have reported the same problem. It must only affect a few bikes but it is there. Pilot error, I dont think so.

[radco]

I have tried to start in second , mmmmmm I mean someone I know has tried to start in second gear,,, and stalled the bike/almost dumped it,, Rich

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by redjay

Hi Doc, unfortunately that is not the case. My bike sometimes gasps for fuel after I shift from first to second. Others have reported the same problem. It must only affect a few bikes but it is there. Pilot error, I dont think so.

I think Doc was talking about SHIFTING problems. You know, not going into gear, stopping between gears, lazy shifting and grinding the gears.
You are talking about a FUEL feed problem. Not the same thing ;)

[redjay]

Hi, hard to say what Doc was thinking. Too bad my bike does not shift like I would like it to despite trying all the recommendations of the good folks on here. It is detracting from what is otherwise a nice bike ( apart from the front forks that are almost useless at soaking up the bumps).

[dtrider]

Hello Everyone,

Thanks much for all the tips. I have been downshifting into 1st gear
before coming to a stop. This was suggested after my last post when I had stopped in neutral (on purpose) and could not get it into 1st gear. I did remember that, but I have not been letting out the clutch
between shifts so I will start to do this. I will check the Kick-down
pedal height to be sure I'm not accidently hitting that.
I will let you know in a few days how this has worked out.
Have a nice weekend,
Don

Originally Posted by redjay

Hi, hard to say what Doc was thinking. Too bad my bike does not shift like I would like it to despite trying all the recommendations of the good folks on here. It is detracting from what is otherwise a nice bike ( apart from the front forks that are almost useless at soaking up the bumps).

I think many Nomad buyers have suffered the same feelings. The suspension on a Nomad is made to work best at freeway speeds, and it gives up lots of in-town comfort because of that. Mine is harsh over bumps at 25 MPH but smooth as silk at 100 MPH. If you're going to ride slow all the time I'd put some much thicker oil in the forks. Like 30 wt.

But expect it to be like a rigid at 100 MPH then.

As for the shifting, I do notice that it shifts worse at low to moderate RPMs, if I don't have the fuel mixture set up right. (I tend to change settings between hot and cold weather, so say if we get one cold day in the middle of a consistantly hot summer, I'll really notice the change.

One of the first things I did to my bike was buy a TFI, and I think that made a nice difference in the way the bike performed, even stock.

But if you haven't tried it, I'd try bumping the TPS voltage up a little first. You may find a surprising result once you do so.

[redjay]

Hi, The only time my bike acts up is the shift from first to second. I have had the front forks rebuilt with Race Tech springs and emulators. There is a little improvement but not enough to justify the cost ($600) They installed 10wt oil. I am seriously considering the Cobra billet tip baggers, Cobra FI2000 and the now famous Caddman mod. Got to get the seats worked on first to see if I can get the bike more comfortable for the long haul. The performance mods probably wont happen till the Spring now, if I decide to keep the bike.

[VulcanE]

When you shift from 1st to 2nd, have it aroud 2500 RPM (mininum) and shift as quickly as you can, as long as I do this, shifts (all of them) are much smoother.