850 won't shift from 1st until hot

[williamclloyd]

I tried the "Search," got 580-some "hits" on non-relevant posts...!

The '81 GS850G I recently bought will not shift up from 1st until the engine and tranny are well warmed up. I mean, quite some time. I do not remember that the '82 850 I had from '82 to '87 ever had such a problem. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

- Bill Lloyd

[bwringer]

First off, we need to sort out if you have a clutch drag problem or a shifting problem.

Does the clutch disengage completely when cold? In other words, does the bike creep when it's cold and the clutch is in? Is it hard to shift into first from neutral when the bike is cold?

[SqDancerLynn1]

What happens if you try to shift without the clutch ?? Have you changed the oil???

[pidgey]

I was experiencing this problem in the spring and fall after my bike sat in a cold, unheated garage. The clutch plates would stick and the tranny was very difficult to engage and shift. I changed over to synthetic oils for engine, tranny and final drive and this helped considerably.

[dwarf8]

I had a similar problem in the spring.
Clutch was working perfectly. The oil was just too damn thick and it felt like it was "in gear" because the syrup was being pushed.
I finally just crashed it into 1st, clutch in, and the brakes on.
No problem.
Since the weather has warmed it's fine. I'm expecting grief in the fall again.
Change your gear oil in the gear box and final drive.
It's never totally wrong to refresh the fluids in the bike.

If that isn't your problem, you now have fresh oil in both spots.
On the '80 850, you don't need to drain the crankcase to remove the clutch side cover to check that it's releasing properly.
If you have greased your gaskets when you installed them, it's a quick and simple job.
Set the bike on the side stand, not the centre stand and just follow your manual instructions.
If you don't have a manual, that's your first job....