1982 GS850 GL gearshifting

[DarkOnyx]

Hi everyone. I am new here and in fact, new to motorcycling in general. I am definitely a complete newbie and in fact got my wheels about a month and a half ago.

My problem is, when I am in neutral or sometimes second gear, randomly the gear will not change when I try to shift up or down. I pull in the clutch, and I damn near have to stomp on the gear select to get it to shift. Either that or I have to be repetitive with it to the point where it will shift on about the tenth try.

I got a bit worried today as I pulled onto a main road in traffic ... shifted to second... and couldn't shift any higher. Eventually, I could put it in third and all the gears up from that were fine. It has an easier time shifting down when it's at a total stop and an easier time shifting up when I am riding faster.

Any idea on how to fix this? (Keep in mind I am VERY new). I appreciate any advice. Thanks a lot.

[Nessism]

How close to the handlebars does the clutch release? If it is releasing fairly close to the bars the clutch may be dragging which is effecting the shifting. You can tighten the cable with the adjustment at the clutch lever and see if it helps. If it does not, you may have bent shift forks inside the engine.

Good luck.

[SPARKSS]

Howdy and welcome to the group! My first thought also was that I'd be checking the clutch levers (both the handlebar one and the one at the engine case) for wasted motion (slop or wear in the pins).....then try to adjust the cable to compensate (this is your basic clutch adjustment).

From reading your post though, I couldn't help wonder if you routinely drive manual shift vehicles? Even with a dragging clutch, upshifting should be effortless if you're rolling off the throttle at the same time you're clutching and selecting the next gear (in fact if you didn't use the clutch this will still work......though it may be notchy until you gained experience - I don't recommend this as a normal way of shifting though for a couple of reasons). Down shifting with a dragging clutch is usually notchy in feel especially at slower road speeds going to the lowest gears or when trying to engage first from a stop.

A shaft drive bike will usually make this problem more noticable due to less lash in the driveline (hopefully!)

[Dave8338]

Third time is a charm...adjust your clutch as Nessism and Sparkss have mentioned. If this does not work, you could have a bent clutch fork as was mentioned.

Does your bike seem to "pull or creep" when in gear and with the clutch pulled all the way in?

[emjay]

Also, these bikes don't shift too well if they need an oil change.

[DarkOnyx]

Wow

Wow, I want to thank all of you for your quick, informed replies. You all are GREAT!!!

Your assumptions are startlingly correct. Yeah, this bike is my first manual transmission vehicle, as well as my first bike. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!! I know it's 25 years old, and has 40,000 miles on it.... but I feel like I want to drive the wheels off of it... and when it breaks.... I'll just have it repaired instead of getting another bike. I LOVE THIS THING. They can have my motorcycle keys when they pry them from my cold, dead fingers.

And now that you mention it, the clutch does have to be pulled in nearly all of the way before it will shift. That's a good point. It's true that I am super inexperienced, but it's good that I am learning these things now. I'd like to do most of the maintenance myself if I can, it's just a good way of learning about my bike as well as saving some money.

In gear I guess it will start to creep when the clutch is out about 30 percent. I'll see if I can adjust the clutch cable tonight. I have a CLYMER manual and I'll flip through it.

Thanks again for the help!