Vulcan500.com

I'm new to Vulcans, coming off a Honda Rebel 250. Eight months riding experience and already 5,300mi in the saddle on the Rebel. Bought an 07 Vulcan 500 last weekend to graduate to something that'll do highway speed. But she won't drop into neutral from 2nd when rolling to a stop? Just clunks straight down from 2nd to 1st no matter what technique I use for finding neutral (abrupt tap on the shifter or slow gradual foot pressure). The neutral light does flicker when I pass from 2nd to 1st, but there's just no neutral there. I know I'll catch flack from people saying I shouldn't be sitting in neutral at intersections anyway, that the proper method is to disengage clutch, drop to first and just sit poised in gear in case a danger develops behind. But I hate sitting on the clutch through red lights. My normal stopping method is slow, gradual, probably overcautious: begin my decel way behind a red light, engine braking all the way down, and on the Rebel's healthy neutral I'd half-click down from 2nd, hit neutral reliably every time, release clutch and finish off my stop with both brakes.

I know the Kaws have a positive neutral finder but I thought it only stopped you going to second from first at a dead stop. Its not supposed to prevent you doing the opposite right? That is, hitting netural from second while rolling?

Early on I thought I was just too new to the bike, so I shot the better part of a whole day and a tank of gas in an empty parking lot practicing, just creeping in 1st and 2nd trying to hit neutral. Out of perhaps 100 tries I got it 10? Only thing that helps is creeping absurdly slow, and I mean I have to be lugging the motor in 2nd and rolling slow enough I'm about ready to fall over, then I can sometimes acheive my half click from 2nd to N. But even that doesn't always work. Worse, once I've unintentionally clunked down into first while aiming for N, it won't come up from 1st into N either. I'll just sit there flip-flopping between 1st and 2nd. The only sure path to N is to pull clutch, dead stop the bike in 1st, and then, while stopped in 1st, the familiar half-click detent magically appears and N is easily found.

So is this normal for Vulcans? We have to stop dead in 1st and only then can we half click it up from 1st to N? Or does it sound like my Vulcan has a problem? Sorry for the long post, didn't want to omit important details...

What you describe mostly sounds normal. I would think you only have a problem if you can shift into 2nd while stopped. The whole positive neutral finder is designed to prevent you from shifting to 2nd so you don't go past neutral. You can find neutral downshifting from second but in doing so as you have noted it's difficult not to zip past N to 1st. In practice I don't see any reason to try to go from 2nd to N. The only times I've even tried was just to see if I could. The few times I want to be in N when coming to a stop, I simply downshift to 1st then back to N while still rolling. I'd say 90% of the time I don't do this. I just wait till I'm stopped and shift to N just before getting off the bike (it's easier with the positive neutral finder).

One thing I have noticed with the Vulcan 500 is that the clutch plates are sticky when starting a cold engine. I always make sure I'm in neutral to save wear'n'tear on my starter not to mention it starts easier.