hard changeing gears when cold

[craig dow]

hi when i first take bike out ( sv650s 1999 ) i find it very hard toget it into any gear when i first start off , once iv been up and down the gears a few times its no problem at all , like hot knife in butter , i did an oil and fillter change a month ago , is there any thing you can think what can cause this , dont want to adjust cable as i said there is no problem when iv been up and down gears , i must admit it is hard to get into nutral when im stoped as well , any ideas welcome :confused:

[Biker Biggles]

Double check your oil level.Bike upright on level ground.Did you use the correct oil?Also check you chain tension and condition.Worth lubing the gear lever where it pivots on the footrest too.If you need to adjust the clutch do it at the sprocket end using the worm gear adjuster before tightening up the cable.

[craig dow]

ok thanks for that

[-Ralph-]

Engine oil level, chain tension and cable adjustment all worth checking. Not finding neutral when stopped is symptomatic of bad cable adjustment.

Also, did you use the right oil viscosity? A clutch/gearbox problem when cold that disappears when hot can be symptomatic of too heavy an oil too.

[craig dow]

hi thanks for your help , iv checked oil leavel and thats fine , i used Silkolene Oil super 10-40w in engine , with a new filter so used right oil in bike , i have adjusted clutch cable and seems a bit better , so will see how it goes , if not will slacken whole cable of at weekend and do it again , iv found thread on here how to do it , thanks again for all your help

[johnnyrod]

Deffo sounds like clutch adjustment. Plenty of threads on here about adjsuting the lifter under the front sprocket cover, then the cable. The lifter mechanism dies fairly early on, the worm bit is plastic so gets chewed up, I can't remember if I replaced mine at 20k or 30k, so if you're near this then might be worth alook, they're not expensive.

[Dicky Ticker]

Some times people look for a problem that doesn't really exist,what I mean by that is when the weather is cold the engine/gearbox takes longer to heat up to normal operating temperature therefor the oil stays thicker for slightly longer,displaying the symptoms you describe. Cold weather can also make for harder starting first thing.
In cold weather my gearbox can be a bit sticky for the first couple of miles and my bike is garaged.



N.B. A simple way to check is on a rear paddock stand.
When the bike is COLD does the rear wheel turn due to thick oil? If yes this is normal
When the bike is HOT the rear wheel should not turn.
With the bike in gear and the clutch lever pulled half way from the end of freeplay movement[2-3mm] the rear wheel should come to rest,stop----------this indicates that the clutch adjustment and set up is correct,or near enough.

the above is only an indicator and not necessarily how it should be done according to manufacturers instructions

[-Ralph-]

The weather has turned significantly colder since the weekend, especially in Aberdeen, it's 8 degrees there just now with a low of 5 overnight, whereas at the weekend it was 23 degrees with an overnight low of 10.

[craig dow]

ok thanks for all your help , my bike is outside with a cover over it at nights so could be down to the cold i think , as when iv been up and down in gears a few times its great , thanks for your help . would you put some grease in the sprocket gear area , or does it not need it , havent jumped into that area yet , thanks

[-Ralph-]

the above is only an indicator and not necessarily how it should be done according to manufacturers instructions

Nightmare that you have to caveat everything you write in case some clever twaat comes along arguing that it's not the way it should be done.

[-Ralph-]

would you put some grease in the sprocket gear area , or does it not need it , havent jumped into that area yet , thanks

Front sprocket? Nah, chain lube should lubricate that.

[johnnyrod]

I've re-read the OP and the thing that makes me thinkn the clutch adjustment is needed is that it's hard to get into neutral all the time, not just cold. Classic symptom of clutch drag.

[Blueperson]

agree with johnnyrod. Sounds like clutch grab to me too. adjust at sprocket adjuster then adjust cables.

[craig dow]

hi thanks for that , sure your right jonny , will get it adjusted at weekend and see how that helps
thanks very much for your help

[johnnyrod]

No worries. It's easy to adjsut the cable a bit, if you can't get to the lifter yet then just do this for now, but try not to put it off for ever.