Gets a little clunky under 10 mph?

[Chackster]

New rider here. I've had an '08 for a little over a month with almost 2k on it. By now I starting to notice all the little nuances of the bike. The latest one is that she starts to get a little clunky in first gear (haven't noticed it with other gears) under 10 mph with the clutch out. It feels like its a few hundred rpm above stalling. This may simply be the case since this is a high reving engine, but like I said I just noticed it recently and want to make sure nothing is wrong with my baby.

 

[AJ_rider]

Change out the stock front sprocket with a 15t sprocket and it will smooth out a lot, the FZ should've come stock with a 15t front sprocket. Also you may want to adjust your idle settings.

 

[necrotimus]

This is one of the things that was also discussed in our MSF class: In general 1st gear on most bikes is not as smooth as 2nd. If you can survive in second gear then it will be much smoother (even if it means holding the clutch in a ltitle and giving it more throttle).

 

[Cloggy]

Here's another link this was discussed on: Clunk hope this helps.

 

[reiobard]

i second the idle thought, as the bike breaks in the idle seems (or has with my last few bikes) to drop and need to be raised, the correct idle should be around 1200 when the bike is warm. that might help with a bit at least.

 

[interactive3]

New rider here. I've had an '08 for a little over a month with almost 2k on it. By now I starting to notice all the little nuances of the bike. The latest one is that she starts to get a little clunky in first gear (haven't noticed it with other gears) under 10 mph with the clutch out. It feels like its a few hundred rpm above stalling. This may simply be the case since this is a high reving engine, but like I said I just noticed it recently and want to make sure nothing is wrong with my baby.

If you're just idling along then the bike will clunk because of the necessary chain slack. It gets taken up on the top side, the bike pulls forward and then the forward motion exceeds the pull of the chain. The slack then ends up on the opposite side of the rear sprocket abruptly slowing the bike as the chain and bike match the speed of the engine. First is a high torque gear, so you'll notice it much more than with other gears.

I think this is what you're referring to. It happens to me when I'm stuck in very slow traffic.

 

[FuriousGeorge]

I've noticed that my FZ6 seems much smoother than my last two bikes at low speed. I'd definitely recommend checking the idle speed first. The specs call for 1250-1350 rpms when warm. Do you know if your throttle bodies have been synchronized? The first check is at 600 miles. It wouldn't hurt to do it if it hasn't been done yet. It'll smooth out your idle and low rpm operation. It's super easy to do if you have the right tool.