Clunk when going from Neutral to 1st

[Kohler]

Hello.

I've noticed my 2022 Himmy starting to do this. As I switch from neutral to first gear while standing still and idle throttle, the gear shift seems more violent. There is an audible clunk, and I can feel the Himmy "shake/rock" quite a lot as the gear goes in, (shake as in I can feel the himmy making a slight pull forward for maybe a fraction of a second.)


Is this something I need to worry about and how should I correctify this? The gear change to first gear used to be smoother.

 

[Hairy Potter]

Sounds like the clutch is not disengaging as fully as it used to, causing a bit of drag through the gearbox. Check that the cable is adjusted nicely with just a few mm of free play at the lever, does it have the correct oil in it?

 

[Kohler]

Sounds like the clutch is not disengaging as fully as it used to, causing a bit of drag through the gearbox. Check that the cable is adjusted nicely with just a few mm of free play at the lever, does it have the correct oil in it?

Oil level is correct. I'll check the freeplay next time when I get on the bike.

 

[CajunRider]

Cold engine... a small bump/clunk is normal.
Warm engine... check clutch cable to make sure the clutch is fully disengaging.

 

[Overdrive]

Pretty much every bike I’ve ever had has clunked when selecting first gear from rest. The design of the clutch and gearbox means it’s inevitable.
The clutch runs in oil, and there’s not enough friction in the gearbox to unstick the plates from each other when the lever is operated, so the gearbox box is still turning even though the clutch lever is pulled in. The design of the gearbox means’s a clunk is heard when the dogs on the gear engages and as a consequence the clutch plates will separate. (Or the rear wheel will turn)
The symptoms the op describes are normal, but it’s worth checking the clutch adjustment is correct.

 

[Andyb]

My Himmy is pretty quiet going into first.

A couple of years back I test rode a Triumph Street Twin that really did crash when going from N to 1 - the garage said ‘they all do that’……if so, they will all have buggered gearboxes at low miles. The noise really was bad.

Kohler - What oil are you using? A synthetic may help the clutch plates separate better than a semi-synthetic.

 

[Kiwiscoot]

Pretty much every bike I’ve ever had has clunked when selecting first gear from rest. The design of the clutch and gearbox means it’s inevitable.
The clutch runs in oil, and there’s not enough friction in the gearbox to unstick the plates from each other when the lever is operated, so the gearbox box is still turning even though the clutch lever is pulled in. The design of the gearbox means’s a clunk is heard when the dogs on the gear engages and as a consequence the clutch plates will separate. (Or the rear wheel will turn)
The symptoms the op describes are normal, but it’s worth checking the clutch adjustment is correct.

The gearbox is spinning when the bike is running in neutral with the clutch out. When the clutch is pulled in and first selected the gearbox will make a clunk as the spinning gearbox is instantly stopped when it engages the first gear with the wheel stationary. This is normal.

When my bike is started in neutral cold with the clutch pulled in the high viscosity of the cold thick oil causes the gearbox to spin up too which causes the same clunk going into first gear. With the engine is warm the lower viscosity of the hot oil doesn't cause the same thing to happen when I start the bike with the clutch in. Guess your temperatures are cold at the moment.

It could be all normal but as suggested check your clutch is releasing as the cable could have stretched over time.

 

[Hairy Potter]

Both the Himi's I've had have been very slick going into 1st, get a light clunk and the drive chain will give a little jump but no big noises or any feeling of the bike jumping forward a bit.
I tend to warm the bike up for a few minutes and operate the clutch a few times before engaging 1st, full synthetic in an older bike, semi in a newish bike.
Maybe a good tell if everything is ok is to try and select 2nd, after going into 1st, and see if you can? or neutral, if that is really hard then there is probably quite a lot of drag in the clutch. Both of mine have gone into 2nd or neautral quite easily, again with no jumping forward.

 

[Kohler]

My Himmy is pretty quiet going into first.

A couple of years back I test rode a Triumph Street Twin that really did crash when going from N to 1 - the garage said ‘they all do that’……if so, they will all have buggered gearboxes at low miles. The noise really was bad.

Kohler - What oil are you using? A synthetic may help the clutch plates separate better than a semi-synthetic.

Currently running Motul 5100.

I adjusted the clutch cable. There was definitely more freeplay than necessary. Now the thing is that with the cold engine the first gear goes in smoothly, but as the engine warmed up a bit, then the first gear engaging from neutral was not that smooth.

Rest of the gears go in definitely smoother now.

I'll do some testing today and see how it acts on a longer ride.

 

[Bikeruk]

I was going to start a new thread with a similar title, but thought I would add to this thread.
My Interceptor with just under 300 miles on the clock sometimes wont go into first gear from neutral having stopped at a junction for example.
I have had to stomp on the gear leaver to find first and then on one occasion by letting the clutch leaver out slightly it clicks into first gear!
The clutch cable has been adjusted to a few mm of play at the lever.
Sometime i have trouble going from 3rd to 4th gear and again by letting the clutch lever in a bit it goes into gear.

It could be me (I always question myself as usual) or is something is a miss?
Any ideas?
My bike is booked in for it first service next month so I will be bringing it to the Dealers attention for investigation.
Is it possible for the clutch setup to be excessively "disengaging" if there is such a condition?

 

[Bluestrom13]

I was going to start a new thread with a similar title, but thought I would add to this thread.
My Interceptor.......

Is now in the HIMALAYAN 411 forum, so good luck with relevant answers.

But STOMPING on the gear lever is never good for the selectors.
But just as we should "run-in" the engine, so the same applies to the gearbox. (To me, at least - YMMV). So SHOULD improve with miles.
My Himmi's gearchange is up to "Japanese" standard. (ie. is very good).

Perhaps the Interceptor / 650GT folks could be more helpful.

 

[Overdrive]

You risk doing damage to the selector mechanism by stomping on the lever to get it into gear, and as it’s a’dog’ box, won’t actually help much. Slight pressure on the lever whilst moving the clutch lever out slightly may help in the short term.
From your description it’s actually the clutch dragging slightly, or to put it another way, failing to disengage completely when the lever is pulled.
if the adjustment is correct, it is possibly slightly warped plates, or the plates/clutch drum hasn’t done enough work yet to bed the teeth together .
Is it the same hot and cold? Most wet clutches drag a little the oil is cold, as it’s thicker.
I’d mention it to the shop, adjust the cable to the small side of ok (2mm free play at the cable/lever joint) and put some more miles on the bike. A minimum of 1000 before worrying about it.
The gearboxes on the 650 twins I’ve ridden were really very good, although they did all have decent mileage on them.

 

[Bikeruk]

Ok thanks for the replies.
The " stomp" (one off) was a desperate attempt to get into first gear as I was at front of the queue at the stop lights with traffic behind me.
It appears to get worse with time.!
Having adjusted the lever at home, the slack increased during the ride so i stopped and made another adjustment.
It seems a lot better now.
When I pull the leaver in, go to change gear I feel a resistance then it goes into gear. (Not all the time)
Its not a "smooth operation" as such but needs a positive force to change gear.

 

[Bikeruk]

With respect to the gear change lever, there is a lot of movement down there.
Its not exactly a high tolerance configuration.
There isn't any bearings just bushes which in time are going to wear I would suggest.

 

[Andyb]

I seem to think that on the Himmy the bushes you mention should be greased every 3000 miles(?) - but your Interceptor is a different bike to the Himmy - as Bluestrom has said, you may get better information from the Interceptor list?

 

[petespace1]

Kohler,
In my experience:
Cold engine smooth into 1st from neutral.
But after warm up stopped at traffic lights in stop start traffic, both my bikes F800 and Himmi crash mildly into neutral. I usually have the clutch pulled in at traffic lights, but sometimes due to arthritic pain in hands I go to neutral when stopped.
However I find if I switch off the engine (like on a ferry crossing) for a few minutes then start up it is smooth again from neutral to first. All my previous bikes did this too as far as I remember. All this is given the clutch is properly adjusted. Hope this helps.

 

[Dartymoor]

Does sound like clutch adjustment would help here.

But for pedal adjustment, I've got into the habit of giving it a squirt when I lube my chain which keeps it smooth.