issues getting in neutral

[naughtyG]

Hello all. I've just purchased an 06 VMAX -- ohh its all I knew it would be.

But, I've got an issue dropping into neutral. running, not running, sitting still and or slowly rolling to a stop. nothing makes difference.

I just cant drop it in neutral. I know how it should. Any advice?

Thanks all. JOhn

Hey John,

the best way to get in neutral - it's always worked for me on all the Vmaxs I've owned and ridden:

- with the bike running, from 1st or 2nd gear
- let the clutch out just enough to allow it to start to bite while putting mild pressure on the gear lever with your foot
- bike pops into neutral

It's just a knack to the right foot pressure to hit neutral without popping into the next gear. A little practice helps, but it becomes second nature very quickly.

cheers
nG

 

[jwerntl]

Guys - thanks for all of the help here- I ended up pulling the reservoir cap off to check the condition of the fluid and to bleed - I'm glad I did, it was very dark. very very dark.

I ended up bleeding the system - I caught the fluid out of the bleeder valve with a clear tube and glass jar. The fluid coming out looked like used motor oil.

Before bleeding I pulled all of the dark fluid out of the reservoir and cleaned it really well, so that, i was putting clear fluid into the system. I ended up bleeding it about 20x - i had to stop because i was running out of DOT4-

toward the end the fluid seemed to look better, but by all means, not clear - Im going to do a search on here to learn the process of completing a full fluid change. (??mightyvac??

And, too - this helped so much. 9 out of 10 times she'll pop right into neutral. - i think a complete fluid swap will make it 10 out 10 --

Thanks all.

**oh any idea why it was so dirty? It looked like used motor oil?

**And, you guys think there is anything else i should do?

 

[Traumahawk]

Do you have stock lines? I've heard that after so many years... the Inside of the lines will deteriorate.

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[Dragmaxster]

Just like blaxmax said "mity-vac to the rescue".

 

[caseyjones955]

The mighty-vac is a blessing, I also embrace gravity bleeding where possible. One reason it could have been so bad is that brake fluid, the moment it is opened, begins absorbing atmospheric moisture and becomes contaminated if left open for any length of time. Years are not kind to it and it must be regularly flushed. I have seen flushing intervals often from 2 - 5 years. I do mine at 2 years regardless of mileage.

This is one of those things people systematically ignore because it costs money and contaminated fluid is often asymptomatic, at least initially. It's on par with the automatic transmission flushing, it gets ignored, much to the detriment of the owner that wants to enjoy the vehicle well into it's "classic-hood".

It all comes down to lack of maintenance causing premature failure of other components like calipers, master cyl, slave cyl et al. Once a new vehicle looses it's novelty, the owners often forget about **** like this and only fix things that make noise. It's not unusual for hydraulic components to last decades on a properly maintained vehicle, or fail within a handful of years if ignored, its a crap shoot. You got it right by flushing it completely and continue with the normal maintenance schedule and if your lucky you have some years left in the master and slave cylinders.

Since the PO likely established a pattern of ignoring maintenance, guess what else is a pain in the ***... forks. I would look there next.

Generally speaking, anytime I am looking at a vehicle to buy I ask for service records first (I learned this as a German car nut), its imperative and indicates not only what was done and what was not but also how meticulous the PO was. If no service records are available just factor in the cost of ALL maintenance into your offer, also consider the more expensive components that can fail as a result. Lucky for us Japanese vehicles are more tolerant of this than Euro ones.

I'm glad you brought this up, I'm going to do some flushing this afternoon.

 

[Wirenut]

I've been having a similar issue with my '97. Difference is getting into N after bike is warm at a stop from 1st. Did bleed and replace fluid with no change. I'm thinking possible bent plates.


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[Wirenut]

Prematurely hit the send button... Original clutch. 22,500 miles. Right path?


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[Traumahawk]

So first question.....what type of oil are you running, and when was your last oil change?

 

[Wirenut]

Changed it before I put it away last Nov. Yamalube 10w40.


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[blaxmax]

I've been having a similar issue with my '97. Difference is getting into N after bike is warm at a stop from 1st. Did bleed and replace fluid with no change. I'm thinking possible bent plates.


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Bent plates in the clutch?
I would think shift segment but isn't yours the newer one?

 

[Traumahawk]

Changed it before I put it away last Nov. Yamalube 10w40.


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Ok, I would say go ahead and bleed it. Its easy to do, and its one easy variable to deal with. The reason why I asked about the oil, some people say that when its time to change the oil, neutral is harder to find.