1st gear slams into the clutch!
 

Hi All,

Just joined the forum - mainly because I'm looking for advice from fellow 660 owners! I'm in the Falklands and we have very few (zero) bike mechanics available, so we do all repairs ourselves. When my 660 is cold, selecting 1st gear engages the clutch immediately and the bike stalls - this is with the clutch depressed. I've tried adjusting the clutch but it makes no difference. After 5 minutes of idle running the gear engages properly, so does anyone know the cause?

Bit stuck with this......!

Thanks in advance,

Red

hi and welcome to the forum:ytiller:

Does sound a bit wierd, though at first it may have been the side stand switch.

Have you the year of the bike, milage, service history, any other issues you may have had or work done that could have effected it?

This may help others answer your question. Sounds like your clutch is sticking so could a be a few things but im not that technical enough, duct tape and cable ties are my fix to most problems!!!!:icon_pirat:

:hello: and :welcome: to :660:

aside from someone to actually look at the clutch plates and see which ones are sticking you can try and clean the sprung cantilever where the clutch cable is attached just above the engine, degrease it, spray with high pressure air and once it's clean apply some pentrating spray oil (wd40) and see if that works, if not it'll need surgery.

Good luck

Dont know the cause and this is not a real fix but.....thinking of a previous post - try pulling in the clutch, rev the motor a couple of times, release the clutch then pull clutch in and engage 1st - any difference?
Might be a temporary fix.:dontknow:

Are you using the correct grade of engine oil for your climate? It simply could be that the oil you've got in there is just too viscous when cold and the clutch plates are dragging, it then thins out after a 5 minute idle. I guess its pretty cold at the moment down there?

+1 Use the correct grade oil.

Sounds like oil...
had that on a few bikes over the year...
Cold think oil when cold..

Thanks for the welcome! Other members are suggesting the oil is incorrect for the climate - and its got a ring of truth as its bloody freezing here at the moment! I'll change the oil but if that fails I'll break out the duct tape.....

Red

Not sure if I reply to each post or just issue a 'blanket' thanks to all for your help. I'll be trying the oil suggestion over the weekend, as this is starting to become annoying! As I said, once the bike is warm the problem disappears - until next morning.....

Thanks to you all for your advice - much appreciated.

Red

+1 again on oil, although duff clutch plates/springs can't be ruled out...
I've seen the islands on TV, & followed the 1982 war non-stop. Always fascinated me, but not sure I could handle the cold. They say it'll be 30 degrees this weekend in SE England, so I'm off to the beach!!

Good luck - I hope you get it fixed!

Hi Mash101, Thanks for the advice - and enjoy the good weather!
I would be surprised if the clutch was faulty as the bike has only done 550 miles! I admit, its 550 miles of up mountains and down dale but still....
Yes, winter tends to be quite cool here.... though summer temps are much better than people think. We often get 'good' days when the sun shines and the wind drops - then we all hit the beach!
I tried to change the oil last night, but to my embarrassment I couldn't find the oil dipstick on the engine! I've got the service manual showing me where its supposed to be, but no sign of it....I'll have a proper look tonight. Are there any covers to remove to find it?

regards

Red

It's up on the right hand side of the frame just behind the headstock!

Ohlins did a really good step-by-step guide to an oil change. Follow this link...

http://www.xt660.com/showthread.php?t=18695

Thanks for the help - in my defence, I've never changed the oil before (on this bike) , and it was quite dark in the shed.....!

Red

No worries - there's a first time for everything.

Trick is to measure and fill in two stages and watch you don't overfill - it's easily done (at the first service on mine even the dealer managed to screw it up).

Hi there is the oil the wrong gradeblowup /check clutch adjustment first:popcorn2:

Reddwarf's bike has done 550 miles, so the oil would need changing anyway at 600 miles (but it would of course be prudent to check the clutch adjustment too!)

+1 on using the correct grade of oil.

...but as a quick fix (possibly) try freeing the clutch first, before you start it, that may help.
With the engine off, put it into gear, pull in the clutch lever, and push the bike backwards and forwards a couple of feet to free the clutch plates. Then back into neutral, switch on and start her up.

I often use this technique with my bikes if they haven't been started for a week or two, to reduce that "CLUNK!" when putting it into gear.

The same happened to my Ten after standing for a long time. Engageing first it sometimes jerked forward and stalled. Clutch certainly not seperating completely. Now i always give it a burst of gas when putting first in . Doesn't need a lot. Has never stalled since.
Never did it warm or after standing overnight, just after standing for weeks and cold. And the oil is correct.

Rob

Hi All

Thanks for all the advice and comments. I changed the oil over the weekend and the problem has gone - happy days! 1st gear just slipped in without a murmur this morning, so it was obviously the wrong oil.

What a useful forum! much appreciated.

Happy biking to all!

Red

Hi and welcome!, good to see you got sorted