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Where's neutral when I need it?????

23K views 102 replies 44 participants last post by  Jackstand Johnny 
#1 ·
When I first start my bike, and the engine and transmission is cold, neutral is super easy to find. So I start the bike in neutral and let it set until warmed up enough to ride. But when I get everything warmed up and come to a stop and want to put the transmission in neutral, I can't find it.............I mean, like it's not even there!!:eek2: Why is that?
 
#2 ·
I find it easier to down change to neutral as i am slowing down to a stop works for me.:thumb:
 
#4 ·
Like I said.............it's just not available when the transmission is warm!

Not sure, but it sure is easy to find the darned thing when you want another gear instead!:nonono:
I've only hit neutral a couple of times when shifting..........and yes, it's really embarrassing when you let the clutch out and the engine races! :lol2:
 
#5 ·
If you raise the engine off idle slightly it makes easier to find neutral. in my experience anyway.
 
#6 ·
Believe me, I've tried everything to find it...........idling the engine, slightly increasing RPM's, reving the engine, shutting it off and then trying to find it. Nothing seems to work. I'm trying to find out if there is something incorrectly adjusted. (I've never felt the clutch was adjusted correctly even thought I've adjusted it as instructed in the manual.)
 
#7 ·
In MSF class last year, I was quite aggitated( doesnt take much) when I couldnt find neutral to rest my hand between excersises, I kept asking and was told not to worry about it, I didn't need it. Well when you have hands that like to go numb, YES, YES you do!!!! The Lady was NOT happy at all when I then tried to hold it with the other hand for a second to shake it off. Gave up and just let the bike die.
Now when I go to park, I find it pretty easy. If I miss it I go back to 2nd and gently tap down. Usually find it first try that way now.
 
#11 ·
You should be able to tell just looking at it. Adjustment is very easy, just loosen the lock nuts and turn the link.
Here is Cagie's alignment drawing.

 
#13 ·
Thanks, BG. That ought to do it.

If I'm not going to ride the next day, I turn the gas off a block from home, park in the garage, and let it idle til it dies. If I don't hit neutral the first try or two, it's easier to find neutral with the engine off and restart. Mine is always easy to find with the engine off. I seldom look for neutral anywhere other than parked.
Sometimes, I like to come to a stop........say to take off my gloves, or change jacket liners or the faceshield on my helmet........and like to pull up and leave the engine running for a minute of so. It's those sort of times I'd like to be able to find neutral.
 
#12 ·
If I'm not going to ride the next day, I turn the gas off a block from home, park in the garage, and let it idle til it dies. If I don't hit neutral the first try or two, it's easier to find neutral with the engine off and restart. Mine is always easy to find with the engine off. I seldom look for neutral anywhere other than parked.
 
#20 ·
Well, BG, I used the picture to check my linkage and it was off just a little. I adjusted it. But there's still no neutral to be found while the bike is warm. Just turning it off won't help either. Boils down to "if the trannie is warmed up, I can't get neutral for love or money!". Guess I'll need to drive it to a shop and get them to check it.
 
#30 · (Edited)
I got my first bike two weeks ago. I love it except for trying to find neutral. very frustrating. I am glad that I found this forum as as soon as the rain lets up I am going to try some of the suggestions to see if that helps.
I'm new here too and have had issues finding neutral in my 09 Rebel. By far the easiest way to find neutral (for me at least) is when you are slowing down and gently tap down from 2nd, just like bandit posted:

I usually go up to 2nd and gently tap down, and it pops right in.
What irritates me more is when I stall my Rebel and have to find neutral to start the bike...if I'm not paying attention it gets quite frustrating...especially at a stop light with a train of impatient car drivers behind me.
 
#22 ·
I taught a course this weekend, and had one student complain about not being able to get neutral on a CBR125. He struggled with it for a while.. I looked at the clutch adjustment, and there was a lot of slack in the lever which would indicate good potential for a dragging clutch since much of the lever travel was doing nothing to release the clutch. This could certainly cause sticky shifting.
I adjusted that up, and he found it was still troublesome. I showed him the need to roll the bike a little while applying pressure on the shifter, and nothing seemed to help. So I put on my Helmet and took the bike for a ride. It shifted flawlessly as near as I could see, and snicked into neutral with little effort. I repeatedly dropped it into first, and pulled it back into neutral (usually before coming to a full stop). Based on that I could only surmise that he was pulling the lever too hard and it was going right through neutral every time, although to me it felt fine.
 
#98 ·
When I first started riding again I couldn't find neutral unless it was the gear I didn't want! Now, with a few thousand miles behind me I am always able to find neutral, going down or up, whether in a lane or my garage at home. So I'm with you Duckster - I think experience plays a factor. Gear finesse comes with practice, just like counter-steering sweeping curves on a consistent line. I started picking two days a week to "ride smooth", always striving for smooth on-time shifts, consistent lines in turns and curves, and smooth braking. It has done more to improve/restore my riding than any other single activity.
 
#26 ·
I've never bought into the "shifts easier with clean oil theory" because of the following.

The basic issue when neutral is difficult to "find" is that the tranny "sticks" in either first or second, and then releases all of a sudden and blows right through neutral to the next gear.
Motorcycle transmissions shift by locking constantly meshed gears to adjacent gears and their shafts using "dogs" or pegs to slide into matching slots on the adjacent gear. These dogs are "undercut" so that load on the gears locks the pegs into the slots to prevent jumping out of gear under load.
With no running engine force to hold load on the gears, the dogs slide out of the slots easily, and its easy to find the "neutral detente"
If this was caused by just dirty oil, it would be equally hard to disengage a gear whether the engine is running or not. My take on it is that the gear dogs or pegs on one gear will not pull out of the slots on the adjacent gear as they must to shift gears. The undercut dogs resist sliding out of the slots when there is any load on the gears. Just for fun try pressing up on your shifter lever when accelerating in any gear. As long as you have the throttle open and the engine pulling, you will not be able to move the shifter lever even when pulling quite hard. If you then roll off throttle just for an instant, the transmission will shift instantly and smoothly up.

So what would apply load on the gear dogs to make them hard to move when the clutch is pulled in and engine running? A draggy clutch of course. The solution might be a simple cable adjust, or the problem may be more serious, like a warped clutch basket, or notched basket slots where the friction points engage. There may be a mechanical problem in the tranny, but the draggy clutch is the most plausible.
 
#28 ·
Shifter

I read through this post and even tried other posts related to the gear shift lever on a Rebel 250. My shift lever is horizontal and is very difficult to shift when upshifting. Can the lever be adjusted, so that it is pointed higher?

Thanks for any suggestions,
Dean
 
#29 ·
I read through this post and even tried other posts related to the gear shift lever on a Rebel 250. My shift lever is horizontal and is very difficult to shift when upshifting. Can the lever be adjusted, so that it is pointed higher?

Thanks for any suggestions,
Dean


Yes. There is a small bolt at the end of the shift lever that clamps it in place. If you look closely, you will notice a mark punched into the end of the shaft that lines up with a similar mark on the arm. Remove the little bolt, pull the arm straight out, rotate it a few degrees until the splines line up, and slide it back on. Replace the little bolt, and you're done. Don't try to adjust the shift lever by changing the adjustments on the linkage. It will cause rough shifting, and stress on the parts.
 
#31 ·
You should start the bike in gear with the clutch pulled in that situation. That's why the Rebel has a clutch switch to override the need to be in neutral for starting. If you happen to stall in traffic, you just want to get going fast, so forget about neutral.
 
#33 ·
Last week as I was inspecting the bike I noticed the bolt that pivots the foot shifter was sloppy like it was worn.So I took it off and added some grease and also added a shim so when tightened it keeps the foot shifter much more tighter then it was.I also can now find neutral much easier now :greetings10:
 
#37 ·
It's not worn.. It's a non precision plain bearing to start with so there is a little play in it that doesn't hurt anything. The grease made your shifter work a lot easier not the shim. When dry of grease, the lever can actually stick down and not return to center position like its supposed to.
 
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