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Normal for bike to jerk when shifting from neutral to first?

22K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  3/4 LITER GSX-R 
#1 ·
I've noticed when sitting at a light, that when I shift from neutral to first, the bike jerks a bit when the gear engages. Is this a normal occurrence?
 
#6 ·
Its just the clutch plates not being in perfect alignment...when you shift into gear and engage the drivetrain, it forces the clutch plate (in your case the larger diameter first gear) into alignment with the drivetrain. Keeping up with regular full clutch adjustments (including the worm gear adj) will help keep the clunking to a minimum. Hope this helps.
 
#8 ·
I come to a complete stop and then put the bike in neutral. I slightly blip the throttle and let the idle settle. If I put it into first gear after this, I usually don't experience that "jerk."

If I need to move before coming to a complete stop, I usually just put it into second gear, keep the clutch in, blip the throttle a bit to get the idle up and go.
 
#9 ·
Thanks Downsc123...

I have 4300 miles in the bike now and the 'clunk' is no better or worse then it ever was, whats odd is some times the 'clunk' is soft and sometimes it slams pretty hard. I know nothing about bike transmissions so it had me a little concerned just like the OP and i'm sure many others. I knew it was normal to do so but really didnt know why... thanks again
 
#12 ·
I'll pass Down123, i am not a fan of harly's




I know the how a transmission/clutch work, more so in a car not a bike, but the principals are the same. The bike tranny is different then a car tranny, so i really don't understand how it works. The article u posted is very basic and does not give any insight as to why the tranny cluncks when put in gear. If the clutch is pulled in then the trans and engine are completly seperated therefor no tranny parts should be moving but when you put it 1st you get a clunk and a slight jerk forward signifying that something in the trans is in fact turning or the engine is not completly disengaged from the tranny??

My theory, b/c the prior statment doent make sense to me, is that the oil circulating in the transmission is causing something in the transmission to rotate slightly (like a torque converters does in an automatic trans) so when you put it in gear you mateing a rotating shaft to a stationary gear. hense the clunk..

any thoughts? or does someone truely know and can explain what is actually happening?
 
#13 ·
When your bike is in N the main shaft on the tranny is still moving and some of the gears are moving a bit even with the clutch pulled in. You then go to first and have a gear that is moving and a gear that isn't moving and then...clunk. It's very normal.

another nice one is many bikes when on a rear stand in N will still have the rear tire spin. It's just slight friction on everything in there still passing through. You can normally even stop it by grabbing the rear wheel. It's just a tad bit of force slipping through via friction on parts.
 
#16 ·
this is what i found to eliminate 1st gear clunk, if i wait for the traffic light and my gear in Neutral position, before i go and put it in the first gear i slightly move the bike backwards while i'm shifting into the 1st gear no clunk, problem solved :D try this you won't hear the clunk and experience smoother transition
 
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