Two questions:
Does it shift into first OK if you're rolling, say at 5 to 10 mph?

Standing still with the the engine running and the bike in gear, how far is the inside of the clutch lever from the handlebar when you feel the clutch start to engage? Is it about the same point whether cold or hot?

Oh, one more question. With the clutch lever pulled in, can the bike be started in gear both cold and hot?

 

Are you downshifting at speed, like 45 35 25 15 5 or trying to go several gears at once. I've found motorcycle transmissions like to be downshifted at speed.

 

Only trying to downshift into first at an idle. Sometimes downshifting into 1st at may be 5 mph. (this helps). even when I park it in the garage it will only go to 2nd. For the post (above) Holy crap! Yes a mean chanic on cars for almost 30 yrs. 34yrs is a stretch! Need some good input as to how this system works!
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Read post 8 especially the last sentance. Moving means rolling along at 5 mph or so up to 15. If above 15 and you go into low you need throttle open a little so it does not use engine so much as a break.

 

In most ways it isn't substantially different from a car. In reality going from one car to the next will often involve greater differences than the difference between these and cars. (It's why we use motor manuals) The major difference with the clutch on these is that it is a wet clutch with multiple friction plates instead of a single clutch disk. If you have ever worked with a limited slip differential or auto tranny stators/frictions then it is essentially the same thing they use. Since it is a wet clutch the oil will cause the plates to expand some after the bike is warmed up. The actual purpose of the wet clutch with oil is to keep the clutch cool but it will only stay as cool as the oil. If the adjustment on the clutch itself (not the cable) is incorrect then it can cause the clutch to stick after it is warm when the clutch plates expand. The cable can be adjusted when it is like this which could make it feel right at the clutch lever even though it isn't. When you do adjust the clutch you adjust the clutch itself first (accessible under the derby cover) and then adjust the cable to match it. I doubt this is a moving vs. stopped issue or even a mechanical issue since it is doing this only when it is warmed up. (I also do not think you are shifting it incorrectly for the same reason) When stopped the most that should be required to shift to first would be to rock the bike back and forth so the gears will move allowing the gears to mesh and the shift to occur. When it is moving it will always be easier to shift and can even be shifted without disengaging the clutch. I do not suggest doing so because it's a crap shoot as to whether the gears will mesh together easily when downshifting (Got to match the RPM to the road speed) and it will cause undue wear on the transmission components if you don't hit it just right. (No difference from manual tranny cars here) Really, any automotive mechanic with any experience at all should be able to figure out how it works after looking at a parts breakdown (It may be daunting at first but after a few minutes you will see what is going on) and adjusting the clutch is actually one of the easiest things to do on these. - Pull the derby cover, loosen the lock nut, adjust the tensioner bolt, tighten the jam not, replace the derby cover, then adjust the freeplay in the cable. - Use a manual to do this though as I left a step or two out such as getting the bike level first so oil doesn't poor out when the cover is removed and I'm not sure if all of them have the same tension setting either so I left specifics on it out.

 

When down shifting, I find I can't baby it. I have to push, not hard but with purpose. If I lightly press 2nd to 1st, it'll grind.

 

So if I understand correctly, the problem mostly happens with the bike stationary. If so, this may be normal.

A dog style transmission needs torque or movement of either the input or output shaft to engage, unless the dogs just happen to be lined up. When the bike is cold, viscosity of the primary oil is high enough to make the clutch drag a little bit, even when it's disengaged. It puts enough torque on the transmission input shaft to aid engagement.
When the primary oil is hot, there's not nearly as much drag between the clutch plates when disengaged, so not as much torque on the input shaft.

When the output shaft is spinning, that can do the job of getting the dogs to line up too. So try always shifting down to first before you stop. If you use neutral while waiting at a light, release the clutch lever, and only pull it back in just before putting it in gear. That way, the input shaft will still be spinning, and it should go into first with a bang.

 

Read through most of the posts. The primary oil was changed, has the primary chain been adjusted? I did not see a post about the primary being adjusted.

 

What did you put in your tranny when you did the new fluids? I always ran AMSOIL and I never had a problem. I got talked into trying Redline and I can't wait to get that junk out of my tranny. It's hard to shift, clunks, harder to find neutral and it whines all the time. With my AMSIOL, I never had 1 of those issues. I am just glad I only have a few 100 miles on this Redline stuff because my bike just does NOT like it at all. Back to AMSOIL for sure my next day off!!!

 

I'm not sure what's in it. I only know that a tune up, wires, fluids changed, new drive belt, new rear tire, etc were done before I picked it up. Thanks for all the posts...I found that by blipping the throttle into first seems to work just fine. Just wanted to make sure I didn't have an issue and all was normal. I think it is.