Hitting neutral on the upshift

[bajakirch]

I'm a new rider getting my riding technique down. I've been using the NH as a commuter for almost a month now and I know I'm getting better, enough that I'm feeling much more comfortable during my rides (no more Death Grip on the handlebars on the highway )

But I do notice one problem that persists. Occasionally (and, admittedly, less frequently the more I ride) I will upshift from 1st into 2nd, only to end up in Neutral. Is this a common thing for newer riders, or should I be concerned about something with the transmission?

[fishmeister]

       Maybe you gotta lift your instep a little more.....I get lazy on that myself.

       You can go right through neutral on the way up, but better to pause there when downshifting.

[gammer]

It might be a bit of both...user and mechanical.
I would try to make a mental note and make sure you are shifting 'fully', from first to second.

I would classify myself as a intermediate motorcycle driver, and I seem to hit neutral when down shifting from 3rd to 2nd...its almost like it goes past 2nd and right into neutral. Its probably from a bit of wear and I notice that it happens more often when the revs are up, or if I blip the throttle while downshifting...so I've stopped doing it.

One thing I will recommend: when you hit neutral, when you are up shifting, I bet when you hit the throttle the bike revs up but goes no-where correct?
Whatever you do, don't jam it into gear when the revs are up...you will damage the transmission that way. Instead, hold the clutch in and wait for the revs to come back down to idle speed, then put it in second and go.

[bajakirch]

One thing I will recommend: when you hit neutral, when you are up shifting, I bet when you hit the throttle the bike revs up but goes no-where correct?
Whatever you do, don't jam it into gear when the revs are up...you will damage the transmission that way. Instead, hold the clutch in and wait for the revs to come back down to idle speed, then put it in second and go.

Yeah, that pretty accurately describes the situation. And I'm guilty as charged. Of course it tends to happen when I'm taking off from a stop light or something, with traffic behind me, so I semi-panic and end up slamming it into 2nd. I'll try to be more gentle.

[FallenMonk]

My bike usually doesn't go into 2nd from 1st smoothly unless my idle is between 2-4k. I find it much harder to kick it in above 4k rpm. Hopefully that's not a sign of transmission problems. Insight anyone?

[Bumblebee]

But I do notice one problem that persists. Occasionally (and, admittedly, less frequently the more I ride) I will upshift from 1st into 2nd, only to end up in Neutral. Is this a common thing for newer riders, or should I be concerned about something with the transmission?

Pilot error. Netural resides between 1st and 2nd. Go two continous clicks up from 1st or down from 2nd to stay in gear in a single movement of your boot. IOW, quit being wishy washy while shifting.

If it happens between the other gears, that's mechanical.

My bike usually doesn't go into 2nd from 1st smoothly unless my idle is between 2-4k. I find it much harder to kick it in above 4k rpm. Hopefully that's not a sign of transmission problems. Insight anyone?

While stopped? Or while rolling? If while stopped, most likely clutch adjustment or the clutch itself.

Whatcha doing at 4000rpm in 1st anyway?

[skramer360]

Happens to me too if I'm lazy. It must be me because it has happened on all the rides I've had.

[FallenMonk]

While stopped? Or while rolling? If while stopped, most likely clutch adjustment or the clutch itself.

Whatcha doing at 4000rpm in 1st anyway?

Moving of course!

LOL I'm an attention whore in front of big crowds...Besides, I gotta put my yoshimura can to good use

[LuminousPube]

I have this on my 125

I do it alot when Im rushing but not when im pootling about with no where to go.

I clunk it into second after the revs have shot up high.

I put it down to foot position etc as its happens more when i wear different boots.
Also i have foot plates on my cruiser not pegs and it took a while to adjust to it.

[fishball]

I've been doing the same thing bajakirk.  It seems to happen more when I'm accelerating harder.  I think it will just take some time to get better.

[bajakirch]

Now that I'm paying attention to it, it hasn't been happening. I suspect it was just sloppy footwork.

[LOKi]

While stopped? Or while rolling? If while stopped, most likely clutch adjustment or the clutch itself.

Whatcha doing at 4000rpm in 1st anyway?

What are you getting at Bumblebee? 4000rpm in 1st doesn't sound so outrageous to me. In New Orleans the speed limit in town on non divided streets is 25mph. I usually just stay in first if its just a block or two. In town I keep the RPM's up there. 4K minim. For two reasons. First when you need to scoot or get run over you have plenty of power to get on it fast. Second when you need to slow down, compression breaking works much better. Watch out if your new to bikes doing this because in 1st and 2nd at 4K+ RPM she is a bit twitchy.

[gammer]

Yeah, I usually hit 4 - 5k RPM before I shift. That's pretty normal.

[mwallette]

I've been doing the same thing bajakirk.  It seems to happen more when I'm accelerating harder.  I think it will just take some time to get better.

I don't know about you, but in my case, it's the 'Hawk keeping me humble, lol.  It only happens when I'm trying to do an impression of a carrier launch.  Hitting neutral as I roll throttle back on for that split second between leaving first and shifting into third is a good reminder that I'm still a n00b and need to be taking it slow and easy for a while 

[fishball]

I don't know about you, but in my case, it's the 'Hawk keeping me humble, lol.  It only happens when I'm trying to do an impression of a carrier launch.  Hitting neutral as I roll throttle back on for that split second between leaving first and shifting into third is a good reminder that I'm still a n00b and need to be taking it slow and easy for a while 

Yep, me too.

[soyavenger]

something ive been noticing, i do hit neutral between first and second on occasion, but recently i seem to be hitting it between gears that it shouldnt be between. like shifting from third to fourth, no neutral light, but i get on the throttle and theres nothing there, the engine just spins. i have to up shift again to get it into gear, i imagine there isnt a half shift between every gear, is there? im hoping its my f* up, those are cheap to fix, or is it a clutch/tranny issue?

ps, didnt mean to  bajakirch, im never sure when to continue a thread or start a new one

[ROJ]

Soyavenger, it happens on these bikes, it's not just you. I get it occasionally inbetween 3rd and 4th as well. I just assume I didn't fully bring the shift lever up before I let the clutch out. Sometimes the gears just don't catch either. It shouldn't be a transmission issue unless it happens constantly (i.e. every time you shift between 3rd and 4th).

[fishball]

I have never had that happen on my bike.  The only time I have a vague gear response is between first and second and that usually happens when I'm shifting out of neutral.

[gammer]

HappyC's idea of Pre-Loading the shifter works well.

It has especially helped with my downshifts, in particular going from 3rd to 2nd. I used to do this and go from 3rd to Neutral all the time. Now it rarely happens.
I find getting your foot firmly under the shifter (or on top for down shifting) seems to help.

[mwallette]

Soyavenger, it happens on these bikes, it's not just you...

That's good to know -- it only happened once or twice to me, and it had me wondering what happened.  I didn't understand how I could miss a gear between 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 4th, for example, on a bike.

At risk of... ..., one other thing I've noticed is that I sometimes have a hard time getting my NH 550 into neutral when stopped.  I've found that rolling the bike forward or backward just a little while in gear helps when that happens.  First time it happened was like my 2nd day on the road, and I accidentally stalled the bike at a red light.  My bike won't start unless it's in neutral, so I'm sure it was pretty comical for the driver behind me watching me frantically try to get the bike started before the light turned green   

[detdrbuzzard]

i ride a 450 nighthawk, ya gotta rev it to 4 or 5000 rpm and i still find myself occasionally shifting into neutral regardless of which bike i'm on. just being lazy though

[Zaxeiler]

Here's another curiosity...  My 83 CB550SC has suicide shifting (as many of the NHs do).  Sometimes, when going from 1>2 or 2>1 the bike will get stuck in neutral.  However, pressing up or down will not remedy this, it's as if the shifting mech and not the trans/clutch has messed up (not allowing another shift).  In these cases I often have to let off the clutch a bit, and I'll hear a slight click, signifying I can shift again.  From there, I can resume shifting as usual.

[hap]

 Not many people know this, but the Japanese put a "second neutral" in the bikes sent to the USA just to mess with our heads.....

[muttstang]

Here's another curiosity...  My 83 CB550SC has suicide shifting (as many of the NHs do).  Sometimes, when going from 1>2 or 2>1 the bike will get stuck in neutral.  However, pressing up or down will not remedy this, it's as if the shifting mech and not the trans/clutch has messed up (not allowing another shift).  In these cases I often have to let off the clutch a bit, and I'll hear a slight click, signifying I can shift again.  From there, I can resume shifting as usual.

That sounds familiar.  Granted I was just shifting through the gears in the garage

[Zaxeiler]

Here's another curiosity...  My 83 CB550SC has suicide shifting (as many of the NHs do).  Sometimes, when going from 1>2 or 2>1 the bike will get stuck in neutral.  However, pressing up or down will not remedy this, it's as if the shifting mech and not the trans/clutch has messed up (not allowing another shift).  In these cases I often have to let off the clutch a bit, and I'll hear a slight click, signifying I can shift again.  From there, I can resume shifting as usual.

That sounds familiar.  Granted I was just shifting through the gears in the garage

Yes, I do find it happens more often for me while sitting still (or when the transmission isn't engaged, such as coming up to a red light with the clutch in).  It's more rare when I'm shifting up through the gears.  But it seems to be more a problem with the suicide shifting mechanism than the transmission.

Zac