bike jumped on neutral

[artistic rider]

Sticking clutch plates would not make a difference if the bike was in netural.

Actually, it does. When your FJR is cold, put it on the center stand, put it in neutral and start 'er up. Does the rear tire spin? That spin is from the viscous coupling from the oil and the clutch plates. It's much worse when the clutch plates actually stick.

I agree. When I have the misfortune of not riding for a day or two, or its a cold morning, it will jump a little. I now have the habit of just starting it with the clutch in. It never happens when its warmed up.

 

[kid41]

The moving ahead on neutral only happened once and i tried making it happend again but no go. The shifting is stiffer and more clanky then usual which i hate, i m sure both are related issues.

 

[Fred W]

'mike25':....Sticking clutch plates would not make a difference if the bike was in netural.

Actually, it does. When your FJR is cold, put it on the center stand, put it in neutral and start 'er up. Does the rear tire spin? That spin is from the viscous coupling from the oil and the clutch plates. It's much worse when the clutch plates actually stick.

If the clutch is engaged -- it's out of the loop (complete drag -- solid). If it's disengaged -- it can/may cause some 'drag'; if the engine/oil is cold (thick), the plates are faulty or gummed, or it doesn't fully release.

It's the meshed gears on the rotating g/box shafts that can cause some minimal drag -- in neutral.

Gotta agree with CM on this one. When you start the bike in neutral with the clutch lever released (fully engaged) stickiness of the clutch plates would be moot. After all, the clutch is already fully stuck. Any unintended propulsion at this point would be due to the gearbox not really being in neutral. Thick (cold) oil in the gearbox is what causes your rear wheel to spin on the center stand. But that amount of thrust would not heave you into a wall.

If the scenario was that the bike was started in gear with the clutch pulled in (disengaged) and the bike jumped forward then I would suspect the sticky clutch plates thing.

FWIW I almost always start the FJR in neutral and I don't pull in the clutch. I've also never experienced a "false neutral" on the FJR. However, when I park the bike on flat ground, which is >95% of the time, I will find neutral before shutting the bike off. If I have to park on an incline I'll typically resort to using the centerstand (nose pointed uphill) as I don't trust the engine compression to keep the bike from moving on the side stand.

I'm guessing that getting a false neutral would be more likely when trying to shift from a gear into neutral with the bike engine not running, such as would happen if you are in the habit of parking the bike in gear and try to find neutral before starting the bike.

 

[dean]

1) always leave bike parked in gear, whether for one minute or one week.

2) always keep bike turned off, and then pull clutch in, rock bike back and forth to break loose the plates;

3) put in neutral;

4) turn on ignition;

5) always keep front brake squeezed, start bike.

6) smile.

( :

dean

cincinnati

 

[Geezer]

I am in the 'clutch doesn't matter if it's in neutral' camp. That assumes that the neutral light is working correctly.

I have a few more questions to help clear it up in my head:

1) Did the bike lurch forward immediately as you hit the starter or did it start first and move later?

2) When you caught the bike was the engine running?

3) After you caught it, did it roll freely or was it firmly in gear?

 

[Fred W]

1) always leave bike parked in gear, whether for one minute or one week.

Why?

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

I had my first mishap while starting my bike. It was in neutral so I didn't bother with the clutch; besides the oil was warm enough. The bike was on its side stand so I wanted to start the bike while I was getting ready. I hit the start button and she leaps forward!! Scared the *** out of me! I was lodged between the bike and my house. After it was all said and done, the mirror was scuffed but it could have been worse. I'm glad the house was there to stop me from falling and the bike from rolling on its side. Anyway's, I was dissapointed about getting my first scratch.
(Edited for those who are sensitive to proper English and blogging etiquette.)

Wow, sorry to hear this---- So, the clutch failed to disengage and it resulted in the bike jumping while you were starting it---- sounds easy enough for me to understand what was said.....

be very careful, try pulling the clutch in and seeing how easily your bike rolls..... mine still after almost three 3years does not seem to fully disengage.....

take it to the dealer-- tell them and have them try it- maybe there will just replace that mirror for you....Yep glad the house was there...you might have been laying there-----mister- mister, get it off me!!!!!!!

 

[kid41]

I am in the 'clutch doesn't matter if it's in neutral' camp. That assumes that the neutral light is working correctly.
I have a few more questions to help clear it up in my head:

1) Did the bike lurch forward immediately as you hit the starter or did it start first and move later?

2) When you caught the bike was the engine running?

3) After you caught it, did it roll freely or was it firmly in gear?

Answers to your questions:

1)the bike lurched immediatly as i hit the starter(lurched is and understatment)

2)the engine stalled

3)i cant tell you because i was to upset on what just happened(very good question)

 

[FuzzyRider]

Answers to your questions:
1)the bike lurched immediatly as i hit the starter(lurched is and understatment)

2)the engine stalled

3)i cant tell you because i was to upset on what just happened(very good question)

Well put me in the false neutral camp. It sounds like the bike's neutral light was on but the dog gears of the drive gear in the tranny was at least partially engaged. That would explain what happened.

As to you harder shifting that you've experience, that makes me wonder if you don't have a bent shift fork?

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

As to you harder shifting that you've experience, that makes me wonder if you don't have a bent shift fork?

This topic may need a thread of its own? -- but, since it's been broached (here) I'd like to add some salient points.

• When no part (gears and shafts) of the gearbox is turning it can (sometimes) be difficult, if not impossible, to change from one gear to another.
• You may get the shift fork (by way of shift lever rotating the shift drum) to disengage from one gear -- but, yet, not engage with the next gear.
• Put you right and left hands together (opposing) and touch you fingertips -- and push. That can be what it's like. Rotate one hand a few degrees and you'll get a sense of what it's like for gear 'dogs' to engage.
• The human foot may not be the best device for the delicate task of shifting m/c transmission gears?

So, whenever shifting a motorcycle g/box (constant-mesh type) have something turning -- either the engine running (rotating the primary shaft); or the rear wheel turning (rotating the secondary or layshaft). Ideally, both.

 

[Bounce]

1) always leave bike parked in gear, whether for one minute or one week.

Why?

because i've seen too many people walk away from too many bikes and watched them fall as the bike shifted because it was free to.

 

[Phugedaboudet]

If I bring in a few sheets of printed entries about soaking the plates, d'ya think I can get my dealer to actually do it?

You guys must be retired english teachers, maybe in the future you can fix my errors duhhhh
To answer the common sense questions:

1--bike was on side stand properly

2-- it was on 1st gear and i put it on neutral

3--i know about the little jerk when the bike is cold, but it was warm

4--one thing i did not mentioned is its been about 2 days that shifting started being stiffer or harder at times to get in gear

Did go to the dealer and they scratched their head and asked me what i wanted them to do :angry: , anyway buddy is suppose to call Yamaha(period)

Meanwhile i am making sure that i do hold the brake when starting.

Sure sounds like sticking clutch plates. Tell your dealer what to do (as opposed to where to go), have him call Yamaha and talk to them about the need to soak clutch plates to cure sticking. Click on search and copy paste this exact line, including the quote marks "sticking clutch plates" and it will lead you to 5-6 threads that will give you good history and an idea of what dealers are doing. This will help you get your dealers ass going in the right direction.

 

[FJRSTAR]

1) always leave bike parked in gear, whether for one minute or one week.

Why?

Because we do not have a park brake on our FJRs. Leaving it in gear ensures it will not move and if it does... very little.

 

[Fred W]

1) always leave bike parked in gear, whether for one minute or one week.

Why?

Because we do not have a park brake on our FJRs. Leaving it in gear ensures it will not move and if it does... very little.

Ensures? I don't think so.

Engine compression will only go so far toward braking the bike from movement. If you are parking it on a slope steep enough to be a problem I would not trust the engine to keep the bike from moving. Better to get it up on the center stand facing uphill or properly chock a wheel. If the parking space is flat there is no need to park the bike in gear.

But of course everyone is free to do whatever it is that makes them feel good...

 

[FJRSTAR]

1) always leave bike parked in gear, whether for one minute or one week.

Why?

Because we do not have a park brake on our FJRs. Leaving it in gear ensures it will not move and if it does... very little.

Ensures? I don't think so.

Engine compression will only go so far toward braking the bike from movement. If you are parking it on a slope steep enough to be a problem I would not trust the engine to keep the bike from moving. Better to get it up on the center stand facing uphill or properly chock a wheel. If the parking space is flat there is no need to park the bike in gear.

But of course everyone is free to do whatever it is that makes them feel good...

Wow. Just wow.

 

[Fred W]

1) always leave bike parked in gear, whether for one minute or one week.

Why?

Because we do not have a park brake on our FJRs. Leaving it in gear ensures it will not move and if it does... very little.

Ensures? I don't think so.

Engine compression will only go so far toward braking the bike from movement. If you are parking it on a slope steep enough to be a problem I would not trust the engine to keep the bike from moving. Better to get it up on the center stand facing uphill or properly chock a wheel. If the parking space is flat there is no need to park the bike in gear.

But of course everyone is free to do whatever it is that makes them feel good...

Wow. Just wow.

Back atcha'

 

[dean]

1) always leave bike parked in gear, whether for one minute or one week.

Why?

to be consistent. in gear it's less likely to roll off the sidestand. sure it won't if it's parked on level ground, but if you always park it in gear, then you're less likely to ever forget to do it when you're parked on a grade.

dean

cincinnati

 

[dean]

i'll never be mistaken for a m/c mechanic or an engineer, but it seems to me if your compression is so low as to not prevent the fjr from rolling, then i think you might have bigger issues to worry about than the bike tipping over.

dean

cincinnati

1) always leave bike parked in gear, whether for one minute or one week.

Why?

Because we do not have a park brake on our FJRs. Leaving it in gear ensures it will not move and if it does... very little.

Ensures? I don't think so.

Engine compression will only go so far toward braking the bike from movement. If you are parking it on a slope steep enough to be a problem I would not trust the engine to keep the bike from moving. Better to get it up on the center stand facing uphill or properly chock a wheel. If the parking space is flat there is no need to park the bike in gear.

But of course everyone is free to do whatever it is that makes them feel good...

 

[FuzzyRider]

So, whenever shifting a motorcycle g/box (constant-mesh type) have something turning -- either the engine running (rotating the primary shaft); or the rear wheel turning (rotating the secondary or layshaft). Ideally, both.

I absolutely agree - having both sides of the tranny spinning makes things easier. However, the original poster said:

4--one thing i did not mentioned is its been about 2 days that shifting started being stiffer or harder at times to get in gear

I took that to mean he found it hard to shift the bike while he was riding it, not when it was sitting still. I could be wrong about that though.

 

[Geezer]

Well, it looks like either the bike was in gear and the ECU thought it was in neutral and allowed the starter to spin, or the bike truly was in neutral but there is something wrong with the shifter or gearbox. Either way it would require some warranty work to resolve.

I'll take a SWAG and say that the neutral switch is loose or severely mal-adjusted. Not only could that give the false neutral indication to the ECU but it may also cause a bind in the shift mechanism.