Hello I've got a 1985 or 1986 I believe Lt230s I just bought a couple of days ago and everything seems pretty good on the bike except I can't seem to down shift into neutral. I can up shift and downshift through all forward gears just fine but I can't seem to get into neutral. Every great now and then it'll go right in but very rarely. Any ideas would be great because I'm not familiar with this bike

 

How fresh is the engine oil and is it the propery viscosity, I'm thinking 10W40 is what is required? Is the clutch in proper adjustment.....freeplay? Is the idle speed correct? Is the gear shift tight? Just a few things to look at.

 

It appears the shifter is very wore out and has a lot of slop in it. I just changed the oil with fresh 10w40. Also the carb won't idle at all so that could be some of it. What is the right amount of free play for the clutch? Also thanks very much for your help

 

Turns out I didn't have the shift pattern down yet. I didn't realize it was all the way down and up once for neutral. I've never had a Suzuki lol

 

Now you have her figured out then. But you still may need a carb rebuild if it idles poorly. The clutch freeplay should be 4 to 5mm or so. If you have a manual, it should give you the exact amount....I just eyeball them.....

 

Haha yeah I ordered a carb kit so I'll rebuild it pretty soon. Is there anywhere to get an actual shop manual instead of just the clymer manuals? Is the shop manual even any better than a Clymer's manual

 

Never used a Clymer nor any for an LT230 but the Suzuki shop manuals are difficult to navigate. They assume a complete strip and rebuild for any engine problem, so you have to wade through the whole engine section to find, first how to remove the part, then how to refit it can be 40 pages further on.

 

This is where I get my manuals, usually $5 each. I think these are set up like the OEM style manuals.
https://www.tradebit.com/G/manuals/14-atv

 

Alright thanks everyone. I got a manual coming if I ever need it. So far the bike is running good now and doing great for the $500 I gave for it. Here's some pictures if anyone's interested