I just bought a 2011 sportster 1200 custom. This is my first bike, ever, and i love it. Anyway, I now have 100 miles on it after my first ride. My questions is on how rough and jerky it rides in 1st gear at idle. The bike jumps and jerks a lot. Is this normal, or do i need to get the drive belt checked? if i work the clutch, i can get a smooth ride, but it seems like i should be able to roll in 1st smoothly.

Cn i grt some advice please?

 

Well, ya hit the nail on the head, working the clutch, known as the friction zone. Not to worry, though, it's a wet clutch and designed for that. One way to cure it is to do the stage one with a tuner, that will make slow speed riding a lot easier. Many threads in the forums about stage one and tuners. Oh, welcome aboard and congrats on the bike.

 

Yup take advanage of that friction zone, it help's alot in slow manuvers.

 

CapnAdventure pretty much summed it all up for you. You're going to have to work that clutch. One thing I've noticed about my sportster, it doesn't like to be ridden at slow speeds, it seems happiest at moderate to higher RPMs.

Congrats on the new bike.

 

If your bike is like my XR's engine, there's a really low spot about 2000-2500 rpm. You can really notice it when the power kicks in at about 3K rpm. You can retune the bike.

 

I have a 2010 1200c with 700 mi. The bike jerked quite a bit when it was brand new. I took it back to the dealer and the svc mgr worked a lot of it out. Part of it was that the clutch was a little too tight. BTW, the svc mgr also found the rear wheel was not aligned correctly. I still felt a little jerky behavior after the service, but it is now almost not noticed. Take it back for a check-up.

 

Put it in 2nd.

 

I'll call the dealer tomorrow and let you guys know the outcome.

 

Sometimes I like to jerk it at slow speed.


HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!!!!

 

Yeh I jerk at low speeds and a little lubricant will help that friction zone problem