2012 RT SE5..... .....I still have a bad/noisy shutter when first putting into 1st or Reverse. It goes away when warmed up. Thank you.
That first gear selection clunk/shudder is pretty much mandatory on all the Spyder V-twins with a centrifugal clutch - the first selection of first &/or reverse each day/ride does it basically due to the design & way the clutch functions.... hey, the very first gear selection of the day/ride on ANY wet clutch machine is likely to do this to some degree - it's a well documented & basically harmless feature of the design & of moving parts engaging stationary parts!! And yes, it can be quite loud & many people will turn their heads in horror upon hearing it, but it's also
NORMAL for these machines/engine/clutch designs!! :dontknow: So I'd be
very carefully comparing YOUR Spyder & its noises to quite a few other SE5 Spyders of similar vintage before shelling out
any $$ on getting a 'repair' done that will very likely still leave you with exactly the same clunk/shudder, or at best, likely only reduce the noise/clunk/shudder
marginally, & possibly only until after your first cold start! :shocked: Unless your clunk/shudder noise is making the bloke mowing his lawn a block away look up at the noise; or it's startling the birds outta the trees that're beyond the next paddock; or at the very least not unless it is
significantly louder/more violent than that of
every other SE5 Spyder you've heard, then I'd guess that your dealer is either reluctantly doing something to the clutch because you've insisted, or maybe he's just taking advantage of your unwarranted concern & making some money for jam... :sour: (Ps: I
HAVE had a bloke mowing his lawn down the block come up to ask me what was wrong because of the clunk noise on my first gear selection of the day - it was a cold morning & the oil level was down a little bit, so the noise was a tad louder than normal.... but that was 25,000 or so miles ago; nothing wrong then, still nothing wrong now - the bike simply clunks/shudders loudly/solidly on the first gear selection of each day/ryde!
)
Most of us who have this issue (read = virtually
ALL SE5 Spyder Ryders!) see/hear/feel other SE5 Spyders exactly the same issue & concerns, & listen to the horror stories from those who've chucked significant $$ away in their fruitless attempts to 'fix' it before we decide to
just live with it as one of the 'undocumented features' of ryding our SE5 Spyders - it doesn't seem to hurt anything or get any worse over time just so long as you use the right spec oil & top it up often! It might be a little less obvious if you let your Spyder warm up for longer after starting before first selecting a gear, or maybe if the ambient temp is reasonably high anyway, or possibly if your Spyder has been sitting in the sun for a while before starting, but it's pretty much always there to some degree & the only real 'damage' it seems to be doing is to the 'peace of mind' of those who let it do so! Sooo, unless it's noisy/violent
way beyond anyone/everyone else's, then you'll likely do better to just ignore it, & over time as you get used to it, it will become a non-issue.
However, these V-twins
DO use some oil & the clunk/shudder from the SE5 on the first gear selection of each ryde WILL be worse if your oil level is low, if your oil is cold, &/or if you are using the wrong spec oil..... so check/remedy all those first if you can. :lecturef_smilie:
Then.....
Ryde More, Worry Less!! :thumbup:
