Bike jolts forward when I put it in gear after first starting it; is this normal?
It’s normal for the bike to jump forward when it has sat for a while. The EX500 / GPZ500S has a wet clutch; the same oil that lubes the engine also flows in/around the clutch. If the bike sits for a while, the oil will be forced out from between the clutch plates; the bike jerks when you shift from neutral into first because there is not enough oil between the plates for them to slip.
You can avoid the bike jerking by pulling in the clutch after you start the bike, and then holding in the clutch while the engine warms up. If the oil is cold, pumping the clutch a few times isn’t enough. After the bike has been fully broken in (after say at least 5000 miles) you could switch to a synthetic oil; that will lessen the tendency of the bike to jump forward.
2 Comments »
August 25, 2007
martyn :
hi my gpz500s k reg will not start seams to be fuel and spark but no life is there any common faults?
October 11, 2007
Linton Rafferty :
Tried using synthetic oil in my CBR600. Actually caused the clutch to slip. Far better results using mineral oil. Found this is fine as long as its changed on a regular basis. (3000 - 3500 miles).