Difficulty finding Neutral when running hot in traffic?

OdysseusXS

XS650 padawan
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Hi everyone,
I don't understand why, but when my XS is in traffic and getting a bit hotter than she would be on the open road I have difficulty selecting neutral, especially at standstill. It is always easier to downshift to neutral while she is rolling but pulling up to the lights once she is hot and still in second means that getting her back into neutral gets pretty interesting. The clutch isn't slipping as far as I can tell. Is this a common problem?
 
I hear what you are saying. I only go for neutral when I pull up at the stoplights, otherwise I'll hold the clutch and give myself that little bit of extra response time to avoid the vehicles that keep trying to turn me into roadkill. :)
 
It's seems that when these bikes are hot, best way to get neutral is down to low, up to second and just barely down into neutral. There has been a lot of fiddling around with clutch adjustments, cold and hot, and trying to find the sweet spot. As Jim said, I don't use neutral in traffic. But if you happen to stall it in traffic at a stop, your on the clock, especially if you use kick only as I do. Good luck with your adjustments.
 
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What you're experiencing is pretty common on these bikes unfortunately. The problem seems to stem from a barely adequate amount of clutch plate separation when cold that becomes even less as the bike heats up and parts expand. You may have noticed how the clutch lever develops more freeplay as the motor get hot. More play means it's moving the pushrods less which means the clutch plates are separating less.

Many readjust the lever when hot but that's a pain. You have to readjust it again when cold or it will be too tight. A better approach that many of us use is to set it as snug as possible to begin with, a bit tighter than the manuals instruct. The manuals tell you to turn the adjuster screw in down on the worm until it makes light contact, then back it out 1/4 turn. We don't back it out that much, maybe only 1/8 turn at most. I also apply a technique I call "fanning" the clutch lever as I adjust the worm screw. I pump the clutch lever in and out, not pulling it all the way in but just through it's freeplay range. What this does is stack the series of balls and pushrods between the worm and the clutch tightly together. If you keep tightening tension on the adjuster screw while "fanning" the clutch lever, you will often find you'll get it to turn in nearly another 1/4 turn. Only then do I back it off that 1/8 turn and lock it down. Any freeplay left can now be adjusted out up at the lever perch. I set this quite tight as well with barely any play. This is all done cold. Now, this may seem like things are set too tight but as soon as the motor is running and heating up, more play is going to naturally develop in the system.
 
Thanks 5twins, you just confirmed why becoming a supporter of this site is money well-spent. A piece of mechanical insight that I won't find in my Clymers manual. Experience-based and priceless. I'm going to start an XS650 mechanical recipe book to keep track of all the good advice I get from the long-standing members of this forum..
 
What 5Twins said.
Also, I noticed my bike goes into neutral much easier when the oil is fresh so I am on an every 1000 miles oil change regimen.

I forget who said it but...He pulls the clutch in and kicks the bikes thru a couple of times before he starts it. ( when the bike is cold) Kinda breaks the clutch free and helps prevent stalling, klunk and the big lurch when you first shift into first. I liked it!
 
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