1st gear selection problem

[ricochet]

Hi ABC123. I understand your frustration with selecting first gear. I see this is your first bike as well. You should know, that almost every single motorcycle I've ever owned, from every manufacturer, you cannot select 1'st gear always when you are not actually moving. If you are standing still and try to get into 1st gear from 2nd for example, it won't always go. You do need to release the clutch just very slightly to get the cogs moving a little and it will snick into place.

If you can't get into 1'st AT ALL even from neutral, then you may have a problem... but just in general, selecting 1'st on a lot of motorcycles while idle does not always work. It's not a problem to be fixed, its just the way things are.

 

[Bondysbike]

Normal, sorry, I just double clutch, went away, mostly, as it broke in.

YUP...I JUST SWAPPED MY 2015 for a 2017...just same...just ensure when come to a stop in 1st and as As Tripp’s says. Bit embarrassing at lights though eh?

 

[Bernard Vinet]

Welcome to the club from Montreal,Qc. 1st gear thing basically not a problem. 1 out of three times for me I have to double clutch it and it goes. If the engine is not running it won't go into 1st & 2nd. If its not running and its in 1st gear can't get it into neutral. It works great as a parking brake , it won't come out of gear. Win,win. Lol

 

[Dawg68]

+1 as @Tripps said double clutch till 4/5k then she’ll be broke in!
You’ll be ok I promise!! Good luck with your new ride!!

Me as well on both the Roadster and the touring... double clutch

 

[Kubatura]

My 16 R3R with around 7k still has this issue. Many years ago I got used to rolling my race dirt bike back and forth to get first gear engaged, so i do the same for my Rocket

I will second that. At traffic lights, I always stop using both breaks while in 1st. At a complete stop, I shift to neutral and roll the bike a few inches back or forth (depending on the incline). This always fixes the problem for me. I will take this to a HD's perpetual built-in entertainment "Find the Neutral!". Hope this helps.

 

[hoopla]

Welcome from Maine, my 16 sometimes needs to have the clutch moved out a bit to engage when first getting the bike out of the garage, goes away once warm for me, not to worry it's a normal thing, my Bonnie did it too,

Hoopla

 

[dawb]

Shifting up and down gets way smoother with some miles on the bike. At 52k always double clutch from initial start. Consider it a free anti-theft device.

 

[ABC123]

Sorry to the guys I never replied to sooner with regard to my first post. I've spent a lot of time reading just about all the threads on here, especially the tranny problems! Thanks for all the advice and help.
This is a great forum with so many people willing to help.
I just ordered a Ramair kit at the discount price. Will the dealer fit it, as the bike is still under warranty? It's not something I would trust myself to do. I don't have the patience.
Also, do I need to tune the ECU at the same time?
Hope you all had a safe and merry xmas.

 

[warp9.9]

Sorry to the guys I never replied to sooner with regard to my first post. I've spent a lot of time reading just about all the threads on here, especially the tranny problems! Thanks for all the advice and help.
This is a great forum with so many people willing to help.
I just ordered a Ramair kit at the discount price. Will the dealer fit it, as the bike is still under warranty? It's not something I would trust myself to do. I don't have the patience.
Also, do I need to tune the ECU at the same time?
Hope you all had a safe and merry xmas.

That depends on your dealer. Most likely they won't. I ve seen some not care what you do but since they have to deal with warranty stuff they have a finer line to toe

 

[dawb]

Some miles on the bike will help smooth things out but my 13 with 55k still likes a clutch release in neutral prior to a N to 1st shift. Consider it foreplay.