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I ride a gs500f and my friction zone is really small i have a hard time controlling my speed with the clutch (like they tell you at the msf course) when im going really slow in parking structures. also i have a hard time feathering the down shift. it just engages realy fast jerking me forward. I was wondering if thats normal and if there is a way of adjusting it.

Since you said you are a new rider I wanted to go over some of the obvious questions, please don't take any insult.

1. Are you sure the choke is completely off?
2. What does your Tach read when you go to engage the clutch?
3. When you idle what does your Tach read?

well first off, another problem is the choke. the manual says to choke it between 2k and 3k rpm. however there is absolutely no way it will choke there it'll choke between 3 and 4k rpm. if i try decreasing the amount of choke even a tiny bit the rpms drop between 1k and 2k and starts to bounce in there sputtering sometimes even stalling.

Now to answer the questions
1) yes the choke is off completely
2)if im staring to go from a red light ill rev to 3 to 4k and release the clutch. if im in a parking lot ill try to rev between 2 and 3 using the clutch to adjust the speed. but the friction zone feels so small that i end up fully engaging and disengaging the clutch back and forth. i have pretty good dexterity in my hands but i cant keep it half engaged to slow down or speed up.
3)when i bought the bike it was idling at 1600 rpm. but i adjusted the idle according to the manual to 1200 rpm. how ever the clutch felt the same at both idles.
oh yeah i bought used. it had 3700 miles on it and its an 04.

any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

I can't think of anything else helpful to add since my mechanical experience with motorcycles is limited. I was told by the guy that sold me the bike that I should have about a nickels worth of play.

Meaning that when the clutch is out and disengaged I should be able to put a nickel in the gap where the handle is I'm pulling back and it won't engage. But if I take the nickel out it would start to engage.

But then again that's the person who SOLD me the bike so I don't know

TKDean wrote:I ride a gs500f and my friction zone is really small i have a hard time controlling my speed with the clutch (like they tell you at the msf course) when im going really slow in parking structures. also i have a hard time feathering the down shift. it just engages realy fast jerking me forward. I was wondering if thats normal and if there is a way of adjusting it.

Should be able to adjust the cable to a preferred pull. Also, when you work the clutch and throttle, give it gas, but be sure to regulate the clutch and not let it all the way out. You may want to get into a clear parking lot and experiment a bit on different clutch/throttle inputs. The mechanics of your grip can change slightly as you're maneuvering the handlebars back and forth. You'll want to practice and get the muscle memory a little better in your clutch hand with the bars turned each way. I know I've had to really focus on this, clutch control in tight turns...with throttle...ggrrrr!


What may also help is doing some forearm exercises, so that your grip is strong and fingers are not the weak point. I know many people like doing that grip squeeze thingy...I hate it and think its not as effective. Use dumbbells to do several wrist curl exercises and the forearm twist. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the control on the clutch you'll have, not to mention you'll like what your forearms look like when they're in shape Believe me, with only one arm doing all the work, both gross motor skill and fine motor skill, I've invested a lot of time staying in shape and being strong and coordinated enough to handle the complex demands....not to mention that degree I carry in this field.