Issue with getting bike into 1st gear

Hey eveyone, I just picked up my 07 on monday. When I was leaving the dealership, I noticed I had a hard time getting moving without snubbing the bike. Once I got rolling, I never had a problem the whole 45 min. ride home. Due to my work schedule and weather, today was the first time I could get it out and go for a quick ride. So anyway, I went out in the garage started it, let it warm up, hopped on, shifted into first - or tried anyway - and it died. Tried again and again with the same results. What I ended up have to do is give it throttle as I shifted into first, enough that I was rolling away, in order to shift into first and not let it die. Once I was rolling I had no problem. Went for 20 min. ride with no problem. When I got back home I shut the bike, restarted it, and tried shifting into first. Had no problem. Seems once it's warm it's fine.

So, my question is, does anyone else have this problem or know what it might be. I thought I would ask here before contacting the dealership. Another thing is I have a hard time down shifting. I have to hit it 2-3 time and hard sometimes to downshift. But other times it works fine. I'm wondering if the two are related to a clutch issue. If anyone has any thoughts, I'd love to hear them because frankly I'm pretty dissappointed right now. A brand new bike shouldn't have these issues in my opinion.

Try doing a search on sticking clutch plates. Seems that several bikes got assembled at the factory with grease on the clutch plates instead of soaking the plates in oil before installation. Results are similar to what you described.

There have been some issues with clutch plates stuck together. This causes the clutch to not fully release when you have the lever in, so there is drag on the transmission when you attempt to shift. That's why it's hard to get into gear.

In some cases this improved with new bikes over a short time. Other bikes were fine at first, but then displayed the problem and only got worse over time. There have been a few with major damage to the clutch due to being constantly forced into gear.

Go back to the dealer and describe the problems. Start with just that and see what they do. You may want to leave the bike so they can start it cold and experience what you have. They should have a technical bulletin about hard shifting, but let them find it. That way you won't sound like an asshat trying to tell them what's wrong.

When you go back to pick up the bike, let them know that you want to start it cold that day. Especially if they haven't done any work to the bike and say it's "fine". Then get a tech with you when you start up and see what happens. Hopefully they will see what you do at that time if there is still a problem.

This is a worst case scenario. Your '07 has been sitting around for a while and it might just need an oil change and some riding to be fine. You need to decide if you want to try an oil change or just take it back and make them deal with it until it's the way you feel it should be.

Good luck and I hope that helps. You can search HERE to find the forum threads for "clutch plates sticking" or "hard shifting", etc. Poke around the forum with that search engine and you should find some more info.

First, an easy freebie -- When you start a cold bike your tach should be showing 1,500 to 2,000 rpm, when it gets warm it should be 1,100 rpm. If it your idle is low you FJR will want to stall when you put it in first gear. If your idle is ok then you are looking at the sticking clutch plates.

ionbeam, the voice of reason. Cool :fan_1:

I had a similar problem on my '06. it gets better over time, like after 10k miles. I still start the bike in Neutral every morning, while on the center stand, put it into first gear while still on the center stand, and then roll it off the stand. I haven't noticed the problem for awhile, but I just got in the habit of doing it that way. I had the same issue with my V-Max, FWIW.

My clutch started sticking noticeably at about 1200 miles. I had most of my problems with downshifting. The shifter just felt stuck for a second or 2 after pulling in the clutch. At times I felt the bike lurch forward when going into first before riding off. The dealer called Yamaha who reported that they hadn't heard of any problems with the clutch on the 07 but authorized tearing into it. They found sticking plates and soaked them in oil overnight. The service tech also said something about a cylinder or push rod that was binding when he disassmbled it. It was hard to remove. He checked it for scoring but it looked fine so he lubed it good on reassembly. I have ridden 600 miles now without a hint of anything sticking.

Yamaha blamed it on the amount of time that my bike sat idle before purchase.

gtman said:

My clutch started sticking noticeably at about 1200 miles. I had most of my problems with downshifting. The shifter just felt stuck for a second or 2 after pulling in the clutch. At times I felt the bike lurch forward when going into first before riding off. The dealer called Yamaha who reported that they hadn't heard of any problems with the clutch on the 07 but authorized tearing into it. They found sticking plates and soaked them in oil overnight. The service tech also said something about a cylinder or push rod that was binding when he disassmbled it. It was hard to remove. He checked it for scoring but it looked fine so he lubed it good on reassembly. I have ridden 600 miles now without a hint of anything sticking.
Yamaha blamed it on the amount of time that my bike sat idle before purchase.

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I had the same problem with my 07. Took it back to the dealer who then soaked the clutch plates in oil for two days then reassembled. Runs great now and have had no problems since.

If you've already started bike (in morning) , work the clutch lever in/out about 5 times (in neutral) . That should help alot.

In a month , there shouldnt be a problem anymore

If you can remember this before starting,,,,, You'll notice it's hard rolling/ pushing your bike, while in gear & clutch pulled in ,(engine off) . Just rock bike back/forth , (while clutch in),,,,,clutch's break loose,,,, end of original problem (engine dying/clutch stick ).

Maybe this is why "08's have a lube line to clutch pack, might keep clutch's lubed / saturated more

Don't know if related, but my '05 had plates that stuck and produced a "shudder" until rolling. In fact, if you held the brake and let the clutch out slightly, the rear would actually jump up and down. With time, it gradually worked its way out. At the time I was told that before assembly, the plates need to be "soaked" in oil for a specific length of time and this doesn't always happen.

I had this problem on my YZ250F when brand new.

It was bad enough if I put the bike in first (the first time for the day), the bike would lurch and stall.

I remove the clutch cover, sprayed B12 chemtool on the disks, followed with brake cleaner, dried with compressed air, then drizzled oil on the clutch stack (about 4-5 times over the course of a few hours). Problem solved.

You could also have a tight clutch pack from a larger than standard spec plate, spring, or spacer (if there are spacers in the FJR?).

Try the other suggestions first.

Well, I called the dealership and asked if there were any bulletins on the bike and they said no. I brought the bike in on Thursday and told them the problem. They called back Friday and told me they noticed a little stickiness in the clutch but called Yamaha and they said that was normal. The service guy told me it never died on them.

Now this is the part I'm really happy about. They said they can open it up and look inside to see if anything is wrong, but if everything looks good, Yamaha won't pick up the tab because it's not warranty and they want me to pay for it. I laughed at them and told them I better get it back in good working order and I won't be paying anything. I haven't heard back from them yet.

One other thing you can try is adjust your clutch lever out more.

RTSR1/FJR said:

One other thing you can try is adjust your clutch lever out more.

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That was the first thing I tried, no luck.

RTSR1/FJR said:

One other thing you can try is adjust your clutch lever out more.

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???? not sure what you are suggesting there. If you are referring to the 'adjuster' on the clutch handle then IMHO it won't do anything to 'fix' his problem.

Like others have said.....depress the clutch lever a few times...then it will 'snick' into first gear no problem at all. If you really are concerned about it...get the plates soaked. My '07 has 8500kms on it...no more issues. I just 'operate' the clutch a few times, and everything is fine.

FJR Steve said:

RTSR1/FJR said:

One other thing you can try is adjust your clutch lever out more.

Click to expand...

???? not sure what you are suggesting there. If you are referring to the 'adjuster' on the clutch handle then IMHO it won't do anything to 'fix' his problem.

Like others have said.....depress the clutch lever a few times...then it will 'snick' into first gear no problem at all. If you really are concerned about it...get the plates soaked. My '07 has 8500kms on it...no more issues. I just 'operate' the clutch a few times, and everything is fine.

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Do you still operate the clutch a few extra times, or after so long does it just go away?

It's gone away......can't recall the last time I had to 'pump' it.