1260 Finding Nemo!....... I Mean Neutral!

I know this topic has been covered else where on the forum, but, I tried a search and couldn’t find it again. Apologies

So here goes. After putting over 900 miles on my 1260S and having had it’s first service completed around 200 miles ago, I still cannot select the big “N” after I pull up to a stop. This afternoon when I pulled up on the driveway I was determined to select it (Neutral), I spent at least the next 5 minutes with the engine ticking over trying to tease the N out between that pesky 1 and 2, rocking the bike forwards then backwards, easing the clutch out until it nearly stalls and quickly back in again, but all to no avail. I gave up after both my left foot and left hand were absolutely knackered. I killed the engine, (not literally) and then as if by magic (or to wind me up) she’ll drop straight into “N” with the lightest of touches.

Now I’ve had 4 Multis over the last 6 years, 2 of them I’ve been fortunate enough to buy from new (including this one) and none of them have had a gearbox quite like this one, between 1st and 2nd it’s fair to say that it feels a bit tight / clunky through the selector, then from 2nd to 6th it’s as smooth as a smooth thing on butter drinking a smoothie.

I’m also frequently trying my best to pre-select N as I coast to a stop, but that’s still proving difficult and not always easy to pull up at a junction whilst staring at the dash with my right eye to see exactly what part of the gearbox has been selected whilst simultaneously using my left eye to watch the traffic. Probably around 20% lucky with this technique

After talking to my supplying dealer I keep getting a repeat statement that it’s perfectly normal and will improve with miles / age / 1st service, also I was told that I need to ride the clutch a bit more to bed things in!! This absolutely does not feel like a clutch engagement/disengagement problem to me, my gut feeling is that it’s either a selector problem or an unusually tight spot in the gearbox between 1-N-2. And for the record the 1st service has made cock-all difference so far.

So my questions are:

How long or how many more miles should I be waiting for this to improve?

Am I being fobbed off with poor advice?

Is this normal, and should I/we put up with this on a nearly £20k bike? (I’m not the only one I guess)

Surely this is a safety concern, if you cannot select N when you pull up or stop!
(Can you imagine if you couldn’t select neutral on a brand new car for the first 1000 miles, it would be recalled by the manufacturer if it ever made it into production in the first place)

How could I tell if this is a genuine gearbox fault?

What can be done to rectify?

Thanks for reading my part rant / part plea for help, and all advice / opinions greatly received

P.S. apart from that the bike runs like a dream

 

I would guess the clutch lever moves around 40% out from the bars before it bites but I will double check that in the morning

Thanks for the advice

 

Wow! For my benefit are you saying that after 7500 miles finding neutral is just as difficult??

And by flat spot between 5th and 6th on the QS do you mean a big drop in acceleration for a brief second before it picks up again? It kind of catches you out as your arms brace for acceleration that that doesn’t happen. If that’s what you mean then mine has done that on the odd occasion too between 5th and 6th.

 

Mmm, that maybe where I end up with this despite the advice from them to persist.

Thanks El Toro

 

Thanks for the reply DarR, call me old fashioned but although it’s great that your gear change is now a “non-issue” should you really of had to wait 2500 miles for a significant improvement and 3800 miles for it to become perfect?

I fully understand a running in period for any kind of mechanical device, however this is not a consistent issue across all Ducati’s so I don’t feel confident at the moment to say this is just a running in problem, at what point do you say this is a fault and not persist any longer with the problem. Fatboy99 commented earlier that his similar problem is still there after 7500 miles!! WTF. Being able to select neutral is surely a fundamental function of any gearbox and not just a desirable feature somewhere down the line.

For me, 3800 miles will take around a year to clock up at my rate of riding and if by that time it’s not improved then I have spent a year riding my bike with something that should have been sorted by the dealer / Ducati from the start.

To be fair reading my post back, I think I’m answering my own question. It seems to be heading towards taking the bike bike to the dealer and get them to look into it. Like I said before if I had this problem on a £20k BMW it would be totally unacceptable so why put up with it on a £20k premium brand motorbike.

 

Thanks OMG, I can follow that logic. Do you suggest adjustment at the lever to increase travel or maybe having the clutch bled or anything else?

Thanks again

 

Morning all, thanks for the replies. Genuinely really appreciated

I have adjusted the clutch lever fully out as far as it will go to try and squeeze out a bit of extra travel, and razz, I will try your little experiment to see if I can detect any drag.

To be fair I will be over the moon if all it is, is a little bit of clutch drag. Everything else is blummin fantastic.

Thanks again everyone and I’ll let you know what happens later

 

Thanks Bobmg, sounds like your solution could be part 2 of my attack on finding Neutral if part 1 makes no difference.

Cheers buddy