shifting question

when i am trying to get to neutral while bike is warm i can only get there from second not from 1st...is this normal? also i feels like it get harder to shift the warmer it gets.

I have always had a hard time shifting into neutral from the 1st gear position, not so much when it is warm as when it is running. You probably have experienced going back and forth from 1st to 2nd while trying to get into neutral like I have and do! I'm no mechanic, but I think this is normal and have also experienced this on many different bikes over the years. Kind of a pain at times. When I ride the TW up to the mailbox, I want it in neutral so my hands are free to retrieve the mail, when I get back home, I turn the TW off first, turn key back on, then put it in neutral. Goes in easy when turned off.

Other than that I haven't had any shifting problems so I can't explain your shifting problem in normal operation other than to make sure the cable is attached and adjusted properly.

Disclaimer: I don't think your suppose to do this! Sometimes when I'm going uphill and I need to downshift quickly, I shift without using the clutch. I can tell it's a bit harsher, but hey...sometimes one needs to shift quickly.

Shifting can sometimes be a bit quirkey. Make sure to double check the spring on the 'clutch arm' comming out of the crankcase. Many of the 'return tension' springs were not properly hooked over the arm. The spring is there, just left unhooked and not doing anything. For me, this ment some additional frustration shifting and the clutch seemed to perform poorly. Just follow the clutch cable down to the engine case, you will see the spring, the end has a hook bent into it that needs be hooked over the lever to provide return tension. Gerry

My shifting gets to be a pain if the chain is adjusted too tight. First time I adjusted the chain I left the driveway and had fits shifting into any gear. It looked loose enough to me but the bike had other ideas.

interesting i did just recently tightened my chain...i left about an inch play with bike sitting...is this too tight?

Only takes a minute to loosen it 1 click and give it a go.

is that picture in your below your name you? i don't know if i would have the courage to ride across a log.

Here's the full size pic [img][/img]

The forest service tore down the only bridge to my favorite road system.

We found this fresh fall, took a saw and made a flat cut down the length of it. Then made a checkerboard of cuts for traction. after about a year the fs found it and cut it in half. So now we have some heavy commercial fishing rope and a pulley and scoot the light bikes over the creek that way. In september the creek gets low enough to just ride across. In the spring it can be over eight feet deep :(
My trail 90 was perfect for crossing. No way I'd risk a bigger bike then that.
I also had a dozen or so friends in case things got ugly.

that looks awesome and white knuckling at the same time...great pic. (i still think i would want a wider log LOL)

Very inventive using a fallen log and making a bridge out of it like you did. For me, I would have to be pretty desperate just to walk across it let alone ride. I'd be the one waiting until September to drive through the creek!

Bad thing is, bow hunting season opens labor day out there and the hunters are upset easily if they are stalking a deer and someone on a bike comes zipping thru the area.

people in full camo and face paint hiding in brush with weapons gives me the creeps.

Good grief, you are one adventurous fellow. My barber is a motorcycle guy and I bumped into him at the hardware store one day. He had cables,pulleys, I hooks and such. When I asked what was going on, Hayden took me he/they were makeing a pulley system to get their bikes across a creek to they could ride the other side. Boy oh boy, some folks are pretty hard core. Gerry

tkrrox wrote:

when i am trying to get to neutral while bike is warm i can only get there from second not from 1st...is this normal? also i feels like it get harder to shift the warmer it gets.

I have found shifting into Neutral to be a problem on about any bike other then a kawasaki which has a nice Neutral finder system on them.

My BMW F650GS had the same issue as my new TW200. I had to shut the bike off before I could shift into Neutral from 1sr gear after coming to a stop after a ride.

It's normal.