when clicked into 1st, idle drops...

[Johnny K]

My sig is my bike. The valves are about .06-.08. The carbs have been synched. My bike idles awesome around 1100 rpm. My question is when at a stop light I usually have it in neutral and when ready to go I click it into 1st. The idle drops to around 900 range and stays there until I throttle a tiny bit (boggy but after that its fine) and let out. The idle always drops when clicked into 1st and doesn't return to 1100, but doesn't stall either. If I were to click it back into neutral, the idle would go back to 1100. I think the mixture screws are somewhere between 2-3. Floats are around 24mm. It is boggy when a tiny throttle is applied, but after that is music to my ears going to about 9000 and letting off with no back fire. Although when just holding the throttle at any constant rpm there is a tiny bit of stumbling, so I just throttle up and down a tiny bit and all is well. I guess any suggestions on why the idle drops and a tiny bog when throttling say to about 1/4 throttle? Thanks in advance guys.

[Nessism]

Sounds like you have some clutch drag. What kind of oil are you using and does the idle behave the same way when the engine is hot compared to cold?

[Johnny K]

Im using Rotella 15w-40. It is the same if I let the bike warm up for 10 min or riding for an hour and will still do it.

[Nessism]

The Rotella oil is good stuff. Don't see a problem there.

You might want to tighten your clutch cable and see if that helps. The wave spring clutch plate on the shaft drive GS's tend to add some drag to the clutch system. My 850's clutch sometimes drags and I'm pretty sure it's the wave spring. Not sure what to suggest other than this.

Good luck.

[Zooks]

I only needed to read the thread title and I instantly thought "clutch problem". As Nessism said - check adjustment, cable etc.

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. Johnny K,

In really cold weather I get a little clutch drag until the bike warms up, especially if I have 20w50 in the crankcase. Now I use that only during the hottest part of the summer. The rest of the time it's a 15w40 diesel oil (like Rotella).

Also, when was the last time you changed your bevel gear oil? It never hurts to have fresh synthetic gear oil in there. I use either Castrol synthetic or Mobil1 75w90 gear oil.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Johnny K]

I changed the clutch springs last year and the clutch disks were fine (as I heard they last forever I did put a new cable on about a month ago. I will tighten the cable and see if that helps. I can't remember the last time I changed the bevel oil. I will have to do that. Should I run around the block to get the oil warm before changing it?

[Zooks]

I changed the clutch springs last year and the clutch disks were fine (as I heard they last forever I did put a new cable on about a month ago. I will tighten the cable and see if that helps. I can't remember the last time I changed the bevel oil. I will have to do that. Should I run around the block to get the oil warm before changing it?

I would think that running around the block will just tire you out and leave you out of breath won't it? I can't see how that will help your bike.

[Johnny K]

Lol. Yeah it would leave me very out of breath.

[headsbikesmopars]

Cable out of adjustment with too much free play and not full engaging clutch,..or steels are warped, only takes one. It isn't anything to do with your carbs or ignition. On properly adjusted clutch you should be able to shift to 1st and back to neutral and back again while stoped with engine running. Any drag at all will load the trans and keep it from shifting while at a stop. Good luck and keep us posted as we are all still learning.

Terry

[Johnny K]

It's really hard to click into neutral while the engine is running and stopped. Usually I just click into neutral when coming to a stop or at a traffic light. I'm going to change the bevel oil and check the cable adjustment. Thanks.