Was wondering if I could get some insight on why the owners manual recommends not shifting the gears when then engine is turned off? "Shift to neutral before stopping engine. Shifting mechanism can be damaged by shifting gears while engine is stopped." I know some like to leave bike in gear (self included,) when shutting down to prevent rolling etc when parked. Is there really any harm rocking the bike back in forth w/ clutch pulled in when shut off to find neutral before hitting the starter??

Road King seems to be prone to surging forward if started in gear w/ clutch pulled in, so unless you are going to always leave in neutral, there may be issues over time.

Let me know your thoughts...

 

I wonder if my doing that also, led to the shortened life of the shift arm that goes down in to the tranny. My Ultra does the same(surges)when started in gear with the clutch in. I asked my indy and he said a lot of Harley's do that. I always shift into neutral before starting, just a habit from years of riding that I can't break..

Joe

 

Unless I park on an incline I put mine in (N) before I shut it off. When the side stand is down it ain't going to go anywhere on its own.

 

It's probably just to cover their *** because some people are not bright enough to realize that you may need to rock the bike to shift with the motor not running. These people would just stomp on the shifter harder and possibly damage something because the gears and or dogs are not lined up. Having the motor running helps alleviate this.

The reason bike lurches when started in gear is because of the small amount of friction between the clutch plates and the primary oil. This is also what helps shifting with the motor running because it is trying to turn the gear train.

 

It's safe to shift with engine off if you take care to unload tranny by gently rocking bike forward/backward while applying gentle pressure on shifter.

All my Harleys "surge" forward when started in gear but only when primary oil is cold....It shouldn't happen on hot engine if clutch is adjusted properly....You've got a wet clutch gents and the primary is full of thick oil, so expect it when cold.

 

Seems to be 2 questions here: answer to #1 - No you won't hurt anything shifting gears while the engine is stopped (not running). #2 - The clutch is an oil bath, multi-plate unit and the plates will stick together when the engine (and oil) is cold thereby causing the bike to surge forward as you describe because the clutch does not fully disengage when the lever is pulled in. This is remedied very simply by starting in neutral. If you park your bike in gear nothing will be damaged by finding neutral before starting.
Neutralling your bike before starting is a good habit to learn.

 

Not exactly.....Yes, you can harm your tranny attempting to shift forcefully with engine off, so rock the bike and apply gentle pressure to shifter....this action allows the backlash in the gear train to allow you to shift into neutral.

There ARE times you will want to park with bike in gear and not rely on jiffy stand upper lock....Steep down hill for one....There are also times when you discover some fool or kid has fiddled with your scoot and it ends up in gear, so expect it to lurch when cold, or learn to rock it to shift into neutral before starting.

A properly adjusted clutch does fully disengage when squeezed, but cold primary oil generates lots of fluid friction ....So much that it can cause you to drop the scoot if you don't expect it.

 

I appreciate the responses thus far. Wanted to make sure that there werent any issues w/ gently finding neutral w/ clutch pulled in when not under power. Sounds like I am on the same page as most.

Thanks for the clarification. Jeff

 

That's they way I've always done it, too. I think you can muck up the gears or linkage mashing them with the motor off. jmtc

 

Ok- See you learn something every time you read these threads. I just put a new shifter linkage on the other day and was shifting with the motor off to make sure that everything worked ok. I was asking a buddy of mine if he thought I was doing anything to the tranny and he told me no it is ok, I just shifted it up and down a couple of times.

Now for the other I never leave my bike in N when parked but I do put it in N when starting. So what does it do to the tranny if you leave it in gear parked if anything? Is that just for the fact that you may jump on it and fire it up without pulling in the clutch?