Neutral at Stoplights?

[sv-wolf]

Not much of a problem for clutch and tranny. BUT can you say Carpel Tunnel!
At least with the Panhead I can lock the clutch engaged or disengaged.

It makes good sense to keep the bike in gear while waiting at the lights for the reasons given, but if I get a queue of stationary cars built up behind me so nobody can ram me, I'll sometimes put the box in neutral to save my wrists. There are no hard and fast rules about any aspect of riding a bike, just principles which you apply according to circumstances.

[Tennif Shoe]

Not much of a problem for clutch and tranny. BUT can you say Carpel Tunnel!
At least with the Panhead I can lock the clutch engaged or disengaged.

wow i hope that lock never slips while you are in gear. Just thinking about it scares me. Why would you want to lock the clutch in the disengaged mode? In a panic stop cannot pull the clutch, that scares me. Come to think about the idea of having this lock scares me in several different ways. Do not say for security because they make lojack for bikes now.

[Skier]

It's more of a problem if you ride the clutch in a car. Depress the clutch all the way and it's fine.

The throwout bearing has a load on it anytime the pedal or lever has any pressure at all applied to it. You'll burn out a throwout bearing with the clutch all the way disengaged just as fast if you rode the clutch all the time.

[Z (fka Sweet Tooth)]

On a side note, today at a stoplight I couldn't seem to shift from neutral to 1st. I did the normal motion but it seemed stuck or something and took me several tries. Normally I just flick it with my toe, but I eventually tried using more force which didn't work either. Was the shifter jammed or something?

What type of bike is it?

[Flipper]

On a side note, today at a stoplight I couldn't seem to shift from neutral to 1st. I did the normal motion but it seemed stuck or something and took me several tries. Normally I just flick it with my toe, but I eventually tried using more force which didn't work either. Was the shifter jammed or something?

This is exactly why I never shift into neutral at a light. Too much of a chance that you won't be able to get into gear quickly.

After you put the bike in neutral you may have moved the bike slightly forward or backward making it hard to shift into 1st gear.
Whenever this happens you should move the bike slightly until the transmission can slip into gear. Don't try to use force.

Side question.

I like to ride my clutch sometimes when I'm sitting at a light.
Rev forward a little, roll back, rev forward, roll back...(because it's cool and feels good).
Is this bad for my clutch?
I always thought that bikes were designed for lots of clutch action.

[flynrider]

On a side note, today at a stoplight I couldn't seem to shift from neutral to 1st. I did the normal motion but it seemed stuck or something and took me several tries. Normally I just flick it with my toe, but I eventually tried using more force which didn't work either. Was the shifter jammed or something?

Not unusual. As others have posted, you could move the bike backward or forward a bit. The easiest method I know of is to let the clutch all the way out, then pull it back in. You should then be able to shift down into 1st.

I leave my bike in gear at stoplights unless I expect the light to be unusually long and there are also several cars stopped behind me. I've replaced (abused) clutches on my friend's bikes, but never had to replace one of my own. I think your buddy overestimates the wear on the clutch.

[Spr0ckEt]

Agreed... only nueter it when a few cars are already behind me. My good buddy from work was on a nice ride here in AZ just a week or so ago and they traffic came to a stand still on the 51. Some cow was on the phone and didn't even notice the stopping traffic. He and his wife both ride and were side by side when they got plowed. They might've had a chance to escape if they were in gear.

[Kal]

Tell me they are both okay...

[shane-o]

I had a buddy of mine tell me that if you're going to be stopped at a stoplight or non-moving traffic jam for a while (over 15 seconds) you should just put the bike in neutral. He says that it wears the clutch too much if you keep it in for a long period of time, and I just wanted to know if that's true. I know a lot of people do it for comforts sake but I was wondering if it is actually bad for the bike.

On a side note, today at a stoplight I couldn't seem to shift from neutral to 1st. I did the normal motion but it seemed stuck or something and took me several tries. Normally I just flick it with my toe, but I eventually tried using more force which didn't work either. Was the shifter jammed or something?

If ya want to increase the chances of being cleaned up on the road, then employ this tactic

[talldude]

Well, I put it in neutral at stop lights because if I don't, sometimes I forget to shift down to 1st. Then when I try to go I stall the bike out. It happened twice in a crap load of traffic. Highly embarrassing.

That said, once I get a bit more experience and stop forgetting to down shift due to thinking about what the cager up on my right is going to do, I'll start to do the stay in first thing again.

Hell, I'm not skilled enough to get out of the way quickly yet anyway.