Hello; 1996 vulcan 1500 classic 14,600 miles.When I shift in to second gear I get a chatter sound as I am hitting the gear happens only going into2nd and sometimes down shift to 1st.I called local dealerthey ask about clutch engagement and what type oil all was proper, Then said bring it in 100.00 just to look at.I can repair myself just need to what to look for. In advance I Thank for any help you may give.

 

Sounds like a shift fork/dog may be hanging up. If you're inclined to troubleshoot, (read: Motorhead), pull the clutch cover off and make sure your clutch is as it should be (even though I don't think this is the problem.) It may be a good time to replace the clutch pack, just to eliminate one possibility. That's a relatively easy procedure.
If it happens every time and is really causing you grief,see what other posters on heresuggest, but my suggestion would be to a.) have a very experienced biker friend listen to it and potentially help fix it (not for the timid) or b.) bite the bullet and take it to a dealer.
(I'm assuming you'veaddressed properclutchadjustment, and the problem clearly occurs only with 1st and 2nd gears?)

 

Yes olny happens on upshift 1 to 2 > I will be tearing into it to put in new washers and spring and Replace shift lever seal. Figured I do it all at once if I can find problem. Thanks

 

Just curious, what kind ofoil are you using and when is the last time you changed it. Some oils are better than others when it comes to being kind to internal parts. The other thing may be a worn clutch cable (it is a cable, right?) Sometimes they will stretch and regardless of how far you adjust, it just doesn't quite fully disengage the tranny. I'd really suspect the cable if the noise was occurring in more gears. The 1st to 2nd gear issue is not that uncommon by virture of neutral being in the middle, though. Does it help if you double clutch (i.e., pump the lever once, shift, KKKKKKKKKKKK, pump the clutch, then shift again and it engages?)Does it do it all the time; cold engine/warm engine? Cold engines have a tendency to be a bit more grabby in the tranny than warm engines.
Let us know how it turns out.

 

Not sure if this helps or not, but I had the same bike and mine would jump out of first into second by itself when
Igot on it hard.
Sounds like a little bit diff. problem than you have, but it's something to be aware of.

 

I have a 2003 1500 Classic, and it consistently has a small amount of grind when shifting from first into second. It seems minor, but it bothers me a little bit because I can’t shift cleanly into second. But shifting into all other gears is trouble-free and I love the bike. This is just speculation on my part, but I thought it might be a characteristic caused by the neutral-finder technology. And by the way the Vulcan’s neutral finder is really nice. Recently I rented another make of motorcycle, and I had continual difficulty in finding neutral.