Hula and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

 Pretty Shifty

 
"....my XV1100 isn't good at changing down while stopped. Of course, I wanted to get out of there before someone hit me from behind so I was perhaps a little more anxious than normal. I let the clutch in and out a few times and rocked forward and back and bit and eventually got it into first.
Do other people have this difficulty, or is this something unique to my bike or to my skills??...."

So far, all the bikes I have ridden really prefer that the back tire be rolling to shift. Even the most recalcitrant can usually be shifted by rocking. I got stuck in my overdrive after I took my Nighthawk "off roading" and had to put it on the centerstand and spin the back tire to get it to downshift. Once in first, I was abe to shift normally.

 

 

Check by sitting on the bike and pulling in the clutch. Are you having to roll your hand forward, bending the thumb knuckle back? if so, you need to readjust the clutch. Forward motion of your hand should not be too great. Just pick up the fingers and put them on the lever. Also, it should not be tight up against the stop. Depending on the bike, there should be about 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch "play." Now put it in neutral, fire it up, pull in the clutch and drop it in first. The bike should sit there rather well-behaved, not lunge into first. If it jerks, play with the adjustment until you have a comfy balance between the pull of your hand, and the pull of your tranny.

That looseness really irked me at first. I kept thinking something was broken because I'm not used to having machinery parts with any floppiness. I kept wanting to tighten it up so it was nice and snug. My mechanic had me practice adjusting my clutch until I could get it right by myself. 

NOW, this is previously owned bike. The former owners may not have kept the cables lubricated. WD-40 works, but I like real cable lube better. There is also a gadget to make lubing cables easier. It comes with instructions on how to clamp it to your clutch cable and then squirt the lube in. Except for the Seca, which was owned by an MSF instructor, I have had to clean the clutch and throttle cables on every bike I have ridden because I hate sticky controls. Just take your time, force the lube into the cable sheaths at the bar end, and work the cables until clean lube starts coming out the other end. The first time you do this may take a while. Ypu'll know it is good when you roll on the throttle and it snaps back into position, and you pull on the clutch, and it snaps back. (Ummmmm, do this with the engine off !-)(