imported post
I got rid of the heel and toe shifter and floorboards shortly after buying my LTD, and replaced them with stock pegs and shifter and brake pedal. Wow, what a difference. Suddenly the bike felt 300 pounds lighter, and handled and shifted much better. As for the clunk, that is normal for most bikes. I don't like it, and always leave my bike in gear when parked and at stop lights, and always start it in gear with the clutch pulled in. Only time it's ever in neutral is when I am warming it up, or pushing it around. Motorcycles do not have a synchronized transmission like a manual shift car, you have to match road speed and engine speed to get smooth shifts. I have found that when shifting and moving slow, slightly preloading the shifter and blipping the throttle will usually get it to go right in without a clunk. Once you have parked in neutral, and let it set for a few seconds, then shift into first, you have one gear moving and one gear not moving, and they clunk when the gear dogs mesh together. Using a little finesse while shifting will result in much smoother shifts, but shifting into first from neutral while stopped will still almost always result in a clunk. My solution is just not to do it.