Trouble shifting into neutral

[archehorse]

My buddy's having a problem with getting his 2007 DRZ 400 to shift into neutral. From 1st to 2nd gear or 2nd to 1st the neutral click isn't there anymore. The dealership said it might be old oil, but he just changed it before the ride when the problem came up. Any words of wisdom out there? Thanks!

[timbanditos]

How many miles on the bike? I found mine shifted easier and smoother after I had broke in the motor and replaced the oil with 20w50. The oil change to heavier weight made a big difference. Do you know the weight of the oil that was put in?

[mdlifcrisis]

Can he find neutral with the motor off?

[archehorse]

The bike has around 1500 miles, and I think he's putting 10-40 in it. It does seem to go into neutral ok with the motor off. Thanks for the replies.

[iowaBClivewire]

you could pull the clutch apart to remove the 2 wavy spacers

[iowaBClivewire]

http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm/Module/Main/TypeID/26/Type/Motorcycle/MakeID/2/Make/Suzuki/YearID/46/Year/2005/ModelID/7050/Model/DR-Z400S/GroupID/304594/Group/CLUTCH

part #'s 13 and 14

[Erik Marquez]

you could pull the clutch apart to remove the 2 wavy spacers

Doing that requires you replace that first drive disk..

And I doubt that the anti shudder springs are the issue.. ?

Try a different brand oil, (not going to make this an oil thread.. ) Keep it fresh, check the clutch adjustment, check the shifter where it is attached to the shift shaft make sure it is tight

[MutualBill]

Sounds like another case of using car oil on long change intervals. Tsk tsk...when will they ever learn...penny wise and pound foolish.

[JustinF]

This may sound stupid, but if he has multiple pieces of footwear, that could be the issue. If I adjust my lever for my SM (thick toe Sidi Crossfire) boots, for the life of me I cannot get it into neutral in my road boots (thin toe Sidi Vertigo Corsa Air). Literally I can try 100 times and not get it, then when I adjust it for my road boots, I get it every time, and that is using 10w40. But then I can't even fit the toe of the Crossfire under it.

[HK416]

Simple fix.

Loosen your chain.

Adjust it with the rider sitting with his weight on the rear of the seat to get it set right.

Solved the missing neutral problem on my DRZsm right away.

[mdlifcrisis]

Good point:thumbsup:

Two things short of some mechanical problem..

Tight chain.

Contaminated oil. Dirt, metal, etc.. anything that will interfere with the action between the metal and fiber discs will cause this.

[archehorse]

OK, thanks everyone for the great replies. We'll check out the possibilities outlined and see how it goes!

[archehorse]

thanks everybody for the help, we tried loosening the chain and that did it!

[kman780]

Glad to hear you got it resolved.

I would also change out that oil with good MC oil if you are not using it. Also, 10/40 is too light for the DRZ in most cases try 20 50 next time. Next time being about 500 - 1000 mines from last change.