New, used bike having problems shifting into neutral/grinding | GTAMotorcycle.com

New, used bike having problems shifting into neutral/grinding

HonDerpa500r

Well-known member
I just bought a 2010 GSXR600 with 14,500kms on it a couple weeks ago.
I've put maybe 200kms onto the bike since getting it and am having the following issue:

This is the first time I've experienced this since riding it.
I'll be at a stop in first, attempt to shift up into neutral. No green "N' pops up, and the gear indicator doesn't read anything, when it should say 0. But, when I release the clutch while it's in that state, it acts as though it's in neutral, won't move when giving it throttle, can move the wheels freely.

When I'm riding slow and am coming up to a stop I attempt to shift down from 2nd and attempt to go into neutral, it does the same, no indication of it being in neutral. Then, when I try to shift down into first or up into second from that rolling neutral position, I can feel a grinding type of feeling on my foot, as if two gears are trying to line up.

I can shift through all the gears no problem, it just seems like neutral is starting to give me problems.


Two things that I can think of are -
Stretched clutch cable, so I need to tighten it up to ensure the clutch is fully disengaged.
Or,
I just changed the oil about 150kms ago to Rotella T4 15w-40, which might be causing problems. My bikes manual says to do 10w-40, and I've heard a lot of good things about T4, but also some people said they didn't like it.


Any suggestions?
 
short rides where the oil doesn't get to op temp
could be an issue with the higher, 15, cold viscosity number for that oil
and check the clutch adjustment

I prefer T6 full synth 5W40
but don't want to turn this into an oil thread
 
Anytime you feel gears grinding with the clutch fully engaged, clutch adjustment or proper function is suspect.

Lack of neutral indicator may indicate something more is going on though. Hopefully not something like a bent shift fork / bandaged transmission issue coming out of the closet.

What was the age of the previous owner, how long did he own it, and how many previous owners did it show on the UVIP?
 
short rides where the oil doesn't get to op temp
could be an issue with the higher, 15, cold viscosity number for that oil
and check the clutch adjustment

I prefer T6 full synth 5W40
but don't want to turn this into an oil thread

I think it got up to operating temps. I’ll have to look it up, but it was at 86c when I was having the issue.
I also found other posts on another forum of people having issues with neutral on the GSXR.

I’ll play around with the clutch tomorrow.

Also, on one of the posts, someone mentioned the chain being too tight. I adjusted my chain when I got the bike cause the notched didn’t line up on both sides, but when I corrected it, the chain was definitely tighter, but I didn’t think it was super tight. When I brought the bolt back in a little to allow the rear tire to move forward slightly to loosen off the tension on the chain, the rear tire didn’t move back forward as I thought it would. Do I have to give it a generous push to get the tire move forward a bit?
 
Anytime you feel gears grinding with the clutch fully engaged, clutch adjustment or proper function is suspect.

Lack of neutral indicator may indicate something more is going on though. Hopefully not something like a bent shift fork / bandaged transmission issue coming out of the closet.

What was the age of the previous owner, how long did he own it, and how many previous owners did it show on the UVIP?


24, married, kid on the way. So he was a more mature 24 year old than most, never dropped, seemed to be well taken care of. He never road it and it just sat for about a year with fresh oil and no gas.

He bought it new in 2011 I think.

edit- The indicator would come on every now and then if I kept messing with the bike by rolling it back and forth a bit and shifting up/down at a stop.
 
Last edited:
So he was potentially 17 when he bought it.

Yeah, it's probably been thrashed a little, hate to say.

Hopefully something simple - low oil temps could be the culprit, clutch adjustment, and it could just simply be the clutch plates sticking together as a result of having sat for a year - is this the first 150KM you've put on it since it was sitting?

Is this your first bike?
 
So he was potentially 17 when he bought it.

Yeah, it's probably been thrashed a little, hate to say.

Hopefully something simple - low oil temps could be the culprit, clutch adjustment, and it could just simply be the clutch plates sticking together as a result of having sat for a year - is this the first 150KM you've put on it since it was sitting?

Is this your first bike?

****, didn't think about his age when he bought it...
Thankfully it's still low km's, so hopefully the guts aren't too messed...

I put 200kms on it since it was sitting. He said he had it out 3 times last year, which is what I consider as sitting for a year.

This is my 2nd bike, but I'm still a new rider. Only been riding since September.
 
I think it got up to operating temps. I’ll have to look it up, but it was at 86c when I was having the issue.
I also found other posts on another forum of people having issues with neutral on the GSXR.

I’ll play around with the clutch tomorrow.

Also, on one of the posts, someone mentioned the chain being too tight. I adjusted my chain when I got the bike cause the notched didn’t line up on both sides, but when I corrected it, the chain was definitely tighter, but I didn’t think it was super tight. When I brought the bolt back in a little to allow the rear tire to move forward slightly to loosen off the tension on the chain, the rear tire didn’t move back forward as I thought it would. Do I have to give it a generous push to get the tire move forward a bit?

best way I've found to move it forward
is give it a boot
put a little tension on the axle nut
and move it back out with the adjusters
 
I wouldn't sweat it much at this point..if it was grinding gears on every shift of missing/skipping gears there would be more reason to be concerned..but it needs some more miles and higher temps to see if it sorts itself out - todays temps coupled with short run / slow speed city riding is not going to get the oil up to full operating temp.

Also, don't lollygag on your shifts - make things crisp and firm. If you're letting the clutch out when you're in neutral and stopped the gears in the tranny spin up again...and when you pull the clutch back in they don't immediately slow/stop - making your shifts from neutral to 1st firmly and authoritatively will reduce any grinding/meshing noises you may otherwise experience if you try to shift gently instead. Yeah, you'll get a "clunk" when you do a N-1 shift from a stop, but listen to any bike on the road shifting to first from a previously de-clutched neutral stop, and it's pretty normal. On many bikes you can get grinding between any shift if you're too gentle - whack that shifter, make it your *****. ;)
 
If you don't see the indicator but can find neutral, I'd look at the gear position sensor switch and its wiring. Do you ever see the N indicator (e.g. engine off, finding neutral "by hand"?)

Check your clutch cable adjustment/free play. Check for fraying of the cable near the lever. Make sure nothing is fouling the clutch lever, limiting its travel.

Cold, thick oil is pretty viscous; you might want to wait until warmer weather comes around to see if the problem persists when things are nice and runny and slick.
 
Your neutral wire connection under the front sprocket cover is dirty. The grinding you here is because you are slightly moving the shifter around to try and find neutral. Shifters don't like half movements. If you don't look at the dash, and just go by feel I bet it is working fine. You said it goes into neutral, just no light and the gear indicator. Both will work normally when the neutral wire connection is cleaned. And 15w is thick in the cold on start up, let it warm up for a good 10 min if it's below 10c. I can help you if needed but I'm 1.5 hours west of TO
 
Last edited:
I just bought a 2010 GSXR600 with 14,500kms on it a couple weeks ago.
I've put maybe 200kms onto the bike since getting it and am having the following issue:

This is the first time I've experienced this since riding it.
I'll be at a stop in first, attempt to shift up into neutral. No green "N' pops up, and the gear indicator doesn't read anything, when it should say 0. But, when I release the clutch while it's in that state, it acts as though it's in neutral, won't move when giving it throttle, can move the wheels freely.

When I'm riding slow and am coming up to a stop I attempt to shift down from 2nd and attempt to go into neutral, it does the same, no indication of it being in neutral. Then, when I try to shift down into first or up into second from that rolling neutral position, I can feel a grinding type of feeling on my foot, as if two gears are trying to line up.

I can shift through all the gears no problem, it just seems like neutral is starting to give me problems.


Two things that I can think of are -
Stretched clutch cable, so I need to tighten it up to ensure the clutch is fully disengaged.
Or,
I just changed the oil about 150kms ago to Rotella T4 15w-40, which might be causing problems. My bikes manual says to do 10w-40, and I've heard a lot of good things about T4, but also some people said they didn't like it.


Any suggestions?

If you are not getting a neutral light (assuming it is actually in neutral) the issue may be electrical, not mechanical. If it comes on intermittently (as you later described) it could be a little corrosion in the gear position sensor from sitting in a garage with changing temperatures and moisture.

If you are having trouble finding neutral from first or second that tends to be a different problem. I have found some of those bikes to be trickier than others, they always seem to come to a stop where the next gear doesn't line up well and sometimes you have to partially let out the clutch lever to move the transmission around to let them line up with less effort. From experience anyway. You are correct to first check the clutch cable free play and drive chain slack, but once those are set (again, provided the clutch plates are in good shape) you should be fine.

I'm not a fan of Rotella, but your oil weight selection is fine and it has a MA/MA2 rating, I doubt the direct cause of the problem is your oil. Did you notice this issue prior to your oil change?

Re: chain adjustment. The notches on your swing arm are for reference only, they are not an absolute measurement. You should always check to make sure the chain is straight and the slack is correct, regardless of what the indicators on the wing arm show. I've seen more than a few that are off.
 
I think it got up to operating temps. I’ll have to look it up, but it was at 86c when I was having the issue.
I also found other posts on another forum of people having issues with neutral on the GSXR.

I’ll play around with the clutch tomorrow.

Also, on one of the posts, someone mentioned the chain being too tight. I adjusted my chain when I got the bike cause the notched didn’t line up on both sides, but when I corrected it, the chain was definitely tighter, but I didn’t think it was super tight. When I brought the bolt back in a little to allow the rear tire to move forward slightly to loosen off the tension on the chain, the rear tire didn’t move back forward as I thought it would. Do I have to give it a generous push to get the tire move forward a bit?

yes, a tight chain is not a good thing. As another poster mentioned give the tire a forceful kick / hit with palm of hand to make sure sure tire is all the way forward on both sides to seat the wheel properly in the chain adjusters.

Check your manual for clutch adjustment...
 
Understanding why something feels wrong when you shift gears on a standard transmission begins with a solid understanding of how the gears shift inside your standard transmission. If you have to refer to your collection of helical and/or spur gears, shifter forks, countershafts and shifter drum as "guts" then it's time to step back and do a little research how the thing works.

In my experience if it shifts hard or doesn't end up with gears fully engaged, more often then not that's the result of bent or worn shift forks riding on a shaft or drum that is probably not moving freely as it should, those are the guts that move the gear clusters into their correct position. If the problem is just idiot lights not lighting at the appropriate time but your transmission is operating 100% otherwise, then you have an electrical switch wiring or lamp problem. (which might also be the direct result of a bent or worn shifter fork)
 
If you are not getting a neutral light (assuming it is actually in neutral) the issue may be electrical, not mechanical. If it comes on intermittently (as you later described) it could be a little corrosion in the gear position sensor from sitting in a garage with changing temperatures and moisture.
The neutral light will come on intermittently at first as it gets more dirty it won't come on at all. It's a simple dirty connector. Don't overthink it.
.
 
I just bought a 2010 GSXR600 with 14,500kms on it a couple weeks ago.
I've put maybe 200kms onto the bike since getting it and am having the following issue:

This is the first time I've experienced this since riding it.
I'll be at a stop in first, attempt to shift up into neutral. No green "N' pops up, and the gear indicator doesn't read anything, when it should say 0. But, when I release the clutch while it's in that state, it acts as though it's in neutral, won't move when giving it throttle, can move the wheels freely.

When I'm riding slow and am coming up to a stop I attempt to shift down from 2nd and attempt to go into neutral, it does the same, no indication of it being in neutral. Then, when I try to shift down into first or up into second from that rolling neutral position, I can feel a grinding type of feeling on my foot, as if two gears are trying to line up.

I can shift through all the gears no problem, it just seems like neutral is starting to give me problems.


Two things that I can think of are -
Stretched clutch cable, so I need to tighten it up to ensure the clutch is fully disengaged.
Or,
I just changed the oil about 150kms ago to Rotella T4 15w-40, which might be causing problems. My bikes manual says to do 10w-40, and I've heard a lot of good things about T4, but also some people said they didn't like it.


Any suggestions?

24, married, kid on the way. So he was a more mature 24 year old than most, never dropped, seemed to be well taken care of. He never road it and it just sat for about a year with fresh oil and no gas.

He bought it new in 2011 I think.

edit- The indicator would come on every now and then if I kept messing with the bike by rolling it back and forth a bit and shifting up/down at a stop.

The neutral light will come on intermittently at first as it gets more dirty it won't come on at all. It's a simple dirty connector. Don't overthink it.
.

That's not what (or how) he described it here, thank you for your input.
 
After going for a ride tonight and messing around with it, I’m under the impression that it’s electrical.

The issue I was having before about not being able to shift into gear was just me being dumb and not moving the bike (rocking it a tiny bit).

So the only issue is the neutral light doesnt come on and gear indicator doesn’t show 0, it’s just blank.
I got temps up to 105c after sitting still for awhile and tried it a little more and same issue.
 

Back
Top Bottom