Clutch issue? / Does your bike do this?

[skipperT]

Guys, it's NOT due to clutch plates not separating - it's due to drag from transmission shafts with gears on them that move - even in neutral - and then you suddenly ask them to STOP moving when you shift into gear. This is what creates the clunk, which is usually accompanied by the the bike jumping forward slightly.
 
This is a characteristic of 90% of the bikes on the road due to wet clutch/integrated transmission designs. One could argue that if the clutch released more fully that it wouldn't be an issue, and that's possible. I'm not an engineer. Everything is a trade off, it's something we deal with in order to have a slim, low weight, centralized mass engine design that sits low in the frame.
 
Skip

[rocky5000100]

Almost all sportbike rear wheels spin while in neutral with the rear off the ground.

[skipperT]

 

Sorry your feeling that way about the fj09.  I've owned three Yamahas in the past few years.  A FZ6, an FJR, and the FJ09. The FZ and the FJ did the same klunk when dropping into gear, never really bothered me as thier trannies are built tough and I think that just goes with it.  As for overall smoothness I've found great improvement by going to full synthetic oil.   

I expected the suspension to suck, and it does.  For me, at my weight, stock suspension always does.  It's worse than I thought it would be, but there is light at the end of that tunnel, new JRI shock arriving tomorrow and fork work coming up.   
The KLUNK tells me the clutch plates don't release fully.  If it was only when going from neutral into first it wouldn't bother me that much, but it is rough on all shifts.  N->1 is by far the worst.  Lots of transmissions are built tough without being hard shifting.
 
I put in full synthetic at the first oil change.  Made no difference at all.
 
One thing I find inexcusable about this bike is the horrible whining racket it makes until it gets warmed up.  I believe that noise is the cam chain rubbing on the cam chain guide.  I was horrified the first time the bike was started at the dealership, but they assured me it would go away.  Well it does go away after the bike gets warmed up, but it comes back and does it every single time when it's cold.
 
It often does not start when I hit the starter button.  Cranks fast, but does not fire.  It did it with the stock battery and it does it with the LiFE battery. If I fiddle with the throttle, it will eventually catch, then sputter, and smell real rich as it stumbles to life.  You should never have to touch the throttle during starting on any properly designed EFI bike. This is 2016, EFI bikes have been instant start, every time, for about 10 years now.  This problem is very common with this bike and very annoying, and Yamaha does nothing about it.
 
I have never before had to saw off part of the oil pan and replace the drain plug in order to help ensure the bottom of the engine won't get ripped out if I go over a speed bump too fast.  There is so much lack of attention to detail and cheaping out on this bike that although I will try to fix the things that are wrong with this one, I won't trust Yamaha to do it right again in the future.
 
 

 
Michael - sorry you are having buyers remorse. As a side note, if you think the fit and finish is poor and that there is a lack of attention to detail on this or any Yamaha- then you need to have a hard look at the other designs and manufacturers out there. I would like to know what brand you consider to be well put together.
Or we can agree to to disagree.
 
To you other concerns: How many miles do you have on your bike, and did you have the throttle body sync performed at the 600 mile service? Did you notify the service dept about your concerns? Did they address them?
 
If not, you need to speak with a manager or find a better dealership.
 
And you are correct: you should not need to give any throttle to get a FI bike to start. If that is not the case, then something is out of adjustment and needs to be repaired.
 
Based on what you describe as your starting technique, you may need your spark plugs changed before pursuing other repairs and adjustments - I would guess they could be partially fouled from the repeated poor, stumble rich starting symptoms you have described. Or checked at the very least.
 
Regarding the drain plug - just because several people have had a bad experience doesn't mean it's a design flaw.
They had a bad experience. It happens. Nothing is perfect. If it bothers you, change it. But don't make it out to be something bigger than it is.
 
Does the bike have any stored fault codes?
 
Let me know if these suggestions help or if you have already tried them.
 
-skip
 

[michael]

Guys, it's NOT due to clutch plates not separating - it's due to drag from transmission shafts with gears on them that move - even in neutral - and then you suddenly ask them to STOP moving when you shift into gear. This is what creates the clunk, which is usually accompanied by the the bike jumping forward slightly.  
This is a characteristic of 90% of the bikes on the road due to wet clutch/integrated transmission designs. One could argue that if the clutch released more fully that it wouldn't be an issue, and that's possible. I'm not an engineer. Everything is a trade off, it's something we deal with in order to have a slim, low weight, centralized mass engine design that sits low in the frame.
 
Skip

If the clutch disengaged properly, there would be no klunk.  I realize they never do disengage completely, even when the friction plates and plain plates are separated there is still some coupling through the oil.  Motorcycle transmissions do this to different degrees.  The FJ-09 has the worst feeling transmission I have encountered in the past 50 years, both in terms of the N->1 klunk and shifting between any other two gears. 
You did not need to point out that you are not an engineer. ;-)

[xpress]

Been on many a bikes, sport, dirt, whatever, most of them have a significant clunk when you shift from neutral to first. It's a characteristic of their design. Bikes with slipper clutches were significantly smoother though.
 
I notice if I pull the clutch in and wait a handful of seconds, the clunk is not as aggressive, it's components inside of the transmission that are still spinning just from the sheer momentum.
 
To me, my FJ transmission is butter smooth, aside from going from N to 1. Shifts like cream cheese, very smooth, even without using the clutch, I only use Yamaha dino oils. Maybe you got a lemon.

[checkereddemon]

>> I find if I give a quick little blip of throttle before shifting into first it is much smoother. Just like when down shifting while riding. <<
 
That's exactly what I've done in the past with other bikes and it works a treat. My bike's tire does not spin when in neutral and on the center stand, so apparently no clutch drag whatsoever. I've also found that switching to full synthetic can help if you have a dragging clutch. Plus, it lets me go with a 5k change interval, so very easy to remember to make the change at 5k, 10k, 15k, etc.
 
Also, I will probably *never* take my bike onto single track, backwoods roads, so I'm not to worried about grounding it there. Just gotta get up on the pegs with knees bent if you want to haul ass over speed bumps...
 

[cowboyrog]

I have owned over 30 bikes over my 50 years of riding.
I am 62 now been riding since I was 12.
Yamaha has been my favorite brand.
NEVER let me down, ever. Hated the suspension on the FJ but knew that when I bought it. Read my review on Traxxion in the suspension to get more info.
Changed it at 2500 miles.
Sounds like you have some issues that your dealer needs to address under warranty.
Not even the slightest problem with mine.
Sorry you are having problems.
RC

[ericm]

My dry clutch + separate gearbox BMWs also clunk (loudly!) when shifting into 1st from neutral, and their rear wheels turn when the bike is idling on the centerstand while in neutral.
 
I've owned 30 some bikes and ridden many others. The FJ's clunk is more than many of them but some were much worse. I don't think it is excessive. The transmission is not the smoothest shifting, it's like the detent spring is a little too stiff, but it's not bad. It may break in a little with some miles. It can be a bit difficult to get neutral at a stop with the engine warm, but that is not unusual either and it's not the worst I've experienced... with some bikes it's nearly impossible all the time.
 
I often blip the throttle when shifting from neutral to 1st, which helps with the clunk.
 
The neutral to 1st clunk is not going to break anything.

[bobaintstoppin]

When my bike was new, I felt the clutch engagement was inconsistent, and sometimes had a pretty hard clunk going into first. But this goes away with some miles. I'm something over 7000 miles at this point and the clutch works great. Some of the complainers may need to put some more miles on before claiming that this is a real problem. Also, the ecu flash helps with easier off idle throttle control as far as engagement goes.

[474kz]

My concern is that my clutch is dragging. Put the bike on the center stand, pull in the clutch, drop in into 1st. The rear wheel is spinning. I press my boot into the spinning tire and the tire wont stop with the clutch pulled it.. So, my clutch his quite a drag. Most bikes I've had spun the tire, but my boot could easily slow and stop the rear wheel. I'll ask my shop about that. It can't be good for the tranny. Funny, I don't notice this when riding. Perhaps it's my weight...

This is really late in the day, but I discovered this exact same thing today when attempting to warm the chain before a clean. Has me absolutely baffled - I've never seen this - on older bikes I could stop the tyre with my boot, not on this one though. @monterey10 did you ever figure out what the problem was and if so is there a solution? 
Cheers
 
 

[JJM]

My concern is that my clutch is dragging. Put the bike on the center stand, pull in the clutch, drop in into 1st. The rear wheel is spinning. I press my boot into the spinning tire and the tire wont stop with the clutch pulled it.. So, my clutch his quite a drag. Most bikes I've had spun the tire, but my boot could easily slow and stop the rear wheel. I'll ask my shop about that. It can't be good for the tranny. Funny, I don't notice this when riding. Perhaps it's my weight...

This is really late in the day, but I discovered this exact same thing today when attempting to warm the chain before a clean. Has me absolutely baffled - I've never seen this - on older bikes I could stop the tyre with my boot, not on this one though. @monterey10 did you ever figure out what the problem was and if so is there a solution? 
Cheers
 

 
This is completely normal. Almost all bikes do this. Some rear tires even spin when in neutral and the engine is revved up.

[duhs10]

I've had 4 motorcycles 2005 Ninja 500R, 2008 FZ6, 2008 Versys 650, and now the FJ. All of these bikes had very similar clunky shifting into 1st. All of these bike's rear tires have spun slowly when in neutral and lifted via stand. I find the transmission to be smooth while running through the gears. I blip the throttle to rev match during down shifts and close the throttle for upshifts. If the rider is letting the RPMs drop too much during up shifting it won't be as smooth.

[stevesweetz]

This bike always starts for me. Every single time. Except that one time I didn't hold the starter long enough.

Not to go too off topic, but I've had the starting problem on my 2016 pretty much since week one. 
It's weird, I turn on the kill switch, let the fuel pump prime until the noise goes away, then I hold the starter and it will crank and crank and not start.  Then hold the starter again and it starts on the first crank.
 
The bike always requires two starts - regardless of how many times I let it crank on the first start.  I.e. I can let it only crank once on the first start attempt, and it will still start on first crank of the second attempt - but if I try letting it like 8 times on the first start it still won't start until I left off an try again.
 
I don't get it, but I've seen many people report this behavior with FZ-09s and it's pretty much the second least annoying of the bike's flaws so it's not a big deal to me.
 
(For the curious, the least annoying flaw is the character line in the side panel, which totally should have been filled in with the trim color from the factory in the same way many owners have done )
 

[ericm]

 
 
Sticky clutches are common on bikes with wet multi-plate clutches, especially when cold.  I've had some bikes, mostly trials and MX but some street, where before starting it cold I had to break the clutch loose by kicking the engine over with the clutch pulled in (and in gear).  Otherwise the transmission would grind terribly when shifted into 1st.  Some of the low geared trials bikes would take off.  With those you make sure the bike is pointed in a safe direction and you are ready to brake.
 
However it should not drag so much when the engine is warm.  If it does check the adjustment.