Difficulty w/ neutral

[46hand]

I am having a very difficult time shifting into neutral, though it is a little better now that I have changed the engine oil and gear oil on the secondary (which drained quite a bit of water when I changed it, no idea how that got there, though she sat a good while). I replaced and adjusted the clutch cable. The clutch is a "man-maker". Any ideas?
'80 850GT

[hjfisk]

Take your clutch cover off and pull the clutch, check the clutch basket where the clutch plates ride back and forth , you want to make sure that it is smooth, a worn clutch basket will cause the clutch to not completely disengage make gear selection a bit difficult . If you or PO has installed a Barnett clutch, the plates are thinner and have a tendency to wear a clutch basket.

[frozenfish66]

first of all how long has the bike been sitting and how much have you ridden it since you got it going? these bikes have a habit of not wanting to shift into neutral after sitting for a long time.

get fresh oil and filter in it then ride it around for 30 min at low speed 20-40mph shifting through the first few gears. once its all warmed up shifting into N should be cake, after doing it afew times you will have a much easier time finding N and the bike will shift into it easier.

must be all the old oil gunking up the works.

[dr_fosg8]

^^ what frozenfish said.

I had the same problem on mine. Was sitting a good long time and had a very hard time finding neutral. After a couple hundred miles with some fresh oil she slips into neutral easy as can be.

[waterman]

I am having a very difficult time shifting into neutral, though it is a little better now that I have changed the engine oil and gear oil on the secondary (which drained quite a bit of water when I changed it, no idea how that got there, though she sat a good while). I replaced and adjusted the clutch cable. The clutch is a "man-maker". Any ideas?
'80 850GT

Welcome to GSR. Search out BassCliff, he loves his 850 and has a website with all things for your bike including service manuals.

Replacing oil and cable are usually the best remedies. Is this a new to you bike or have you had it a while? If you are bringing it back into service, it may take a few miles to get the cobwebs out of it.

I have always found that it is easier to shift to neutral from second as opposed to first. At a standstill, shift up into second from first and then drop gear shifter down only halfway and I end in neutral. It is a lot more positive than from first. If you need neutral and can't find it, hit the kill switch. Unloading the transmission with a dead engine makes neutral real easy. Don't force it.

The clutch pull shouldn't require tremendous force. If so, I would check and possibly replace the outer clutch springs. If you replace springs, purchase stock Suzuki springs, they are cheap. For some reason, most owners assume that heavy duty springs will cure a slipping clutch better than the stock springs. Unfortunately, the heavy duty springs will wear out your left hand in hurry.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. 46hand,

It's actually a little easier to get to neutral from 2nd rather than 1st gear. If you're sitting still, rocking the bike forward or backward a little bit (to take the strain off the transmission) can make it easier to find neutral.

As for the clutch, did the previous owner install some APE heavy duty clutch springs perhaps? Six of those bad boys will give you Popeye arms. A lot of riders will use 3 APE springs and 3 stock OEM springs if they need to stiffen up their clutch because of performance modifications to the engine. But the 850 is not a very good racing platform. Otherwise, six new OEM clutch springs are plenty for most street applications.

You'll find lots of GS850G goodness on my little website. Please stop by.

Anyway, let me dump a TON if information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[1_v8_merc]

Bass took the words I was gonna say!
haha.

It's MUCH easier to shift up into 2nd, THEN down to N.

I usually have to do that Several times....as my shifter is Very delicate when coming to a stop!


You just get used to it....You gotta learn to feel the shifter and Trans.

I'm used to just flippin threw gears many times....just how a lot of these older bikes are.


Sometimes my bike gets stuck in Neutral from 1st when taking off....if I don't flip to 2nd quick enough.

I consider it good Theft Protection....my bike has all kinds of quirks and things your gotta know about before riding it....haha!

I love that **** though!
It gives the bike a personality or originality!


That's why I can't stand NEW bikes or cars....they are BORING....no character!

I love when my vehicles have "tricks" to start them...or to drive them.

[46hand]

Wow, amazing advice from everyone!

@frozenfish66 and dr_fosg8- I haven't had her out, aside from a trip up and back down my street (less than a quarter mile), because I just got her registered yesterday. She has been sitting around a year and a half. I am now tackling an unexpected carburetion issue, and staring down a rebuild. It has also come to my attention that further maintenance is due (ie valve clearances). So once all that is handled, I will address the initial ride.

@waterman- yes, there most likely are cobwebs to be shaken out (figuratively and literally). Thanks for the reference to BassCliff, I will certainly be checking him out. Plus I will definitely be looking into the outer clutch springs.

@hjfisk- who knows what PO did... aftermarket instr. cluster, aftermarket fairing (now removed), aftermarket signal control... The list goes on. I will definitely check into the clutch basket if the cobwebs don't shake out.

Separate note, can anyone recommend where to get a clutch rebuild kit (?) and a tappet depressor? I am very new to this, and getting in the weeds.

Thanks for the warm welcome, very very glad to be here!

[DanTheMan]

Hi Mr. 46hand,

It's actually a little easier to get to neutral from 2nd rather than 1st gear. If you're sitting still, rocking the bike forward or backward a little bit (to take the strain off the transmission) can make it easier to find neutral.

As for the clutch, did the previous owner install some APE heavy duty clutch springs perhaps? Six of those bad boys will give you Popeye arms. A lot of riders will use 3 APE springs and 3 stock OEM springs if they need to stiffen up their clutch because of performance modifications to the engine. But the 850 is not a very good racing platform. Otherwise, six new OEM clutch springs are plenty for most street applications.

You'll find lots of GS850G goodness on my little website. Please stop by.

Anyway, let me dump a TON if information on you and share some GS lovin'.

I just stopped by to welcome you to the forum in my own, special way.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Wow, amazing advice from everyone!

@frozenfish66 and dr_fosg8- I haven't had her out, aside from a trip up and back down my street (less than a quarter mile), because I just got her registered yesterday. She has been sitting around a year and a half. I am now tackling an unexpected carburetion issue, and staring down a rebuild. It has also come to my attention that further maintenance is due (ie valve clearances). So once all that is handled, I will address the initial ride.

@waterman- yes, there most likely are cobwebs to be shaken out (figuratively and literally). Thanks for the reference to BassCliff, I will certainly be checking him out. Plus I will definitely be looking into the outer clutch springs.

@hjfisk- who knows what PO did... aftermarket instr. cluster, aftermarket fairing (now removed), aftermarket signal control... The list goes on. I will definitely check into the clutch basket if the cobwebs don't shake out.

Separate note, can anyone recommend where to get a clutch rebuild kit (?) and a tappet depressor? I am very new to this, and getting in the weeds.

Thanks for the warm welcome, very very glad to be here!

Check out all the stuff on BassCliff's BikeCliff site, it's all there. I recommend Z-1 Enterprises off of that site for both items. How do you even know you need a clutch rebuild kit? Don't buy it yet. My bike has over 92,000 miles of hard riding on it and I haven't replaced the clutch yet.

[cowboyup3371]

Agreed with Dan. Adjust it first. If need be, then get new clutch springs AFTER measuring them and while replacing them measure your clutch plates.


EDIT to Add: I thought something was seriously wrong with my clutch after replacing my springs and the sprocket cover. I had a tough time shifting into neutral and second gear. The bike would also lurch forward while starting it in first or would die when shifting from neutral to first. Fixed everything by adjusting the cable just a tad bit more until I found the sweet spot.

[1_v8_merc]

The clutches pretty much last forever on these bikes.

The clutch springs are what usually need replacing on the GS bikes.

[46hand]

D'oh!! Apparently I had the reply window open long enough to completely miss the two replies prior to my last post. Further, I mistyped and put "Clutch rebuild" when I meant "Carb rebuild"... So... Definitely not trying to get into the clutch atm.

And since my last reply I have been engrossed in Cliff's website (wow, awesome!!!) I am going to take my time and do the valve adjustment before I do anything else. Does anyone know a good source for the clutch springs, valve cover gasket? I think I have a handle on the rest, thanks in no small part to this awesome community's support!

[cowboyup3371]

I picked up my clutch springs from Z1 for a decent price. But I get my gaskets from the local shop so I don't know, which ever you prefer.