Worn out clutch plates or you are in need of a clutch cable adjustment.

 

Welcome to the forum!

I'd try an adjustment of the cable 1st.

I'm not sure if you know, but the Rebel must be below 20mph before dropping into 1st gear. Otherwise grease the linkage & make sure that the shifter is in the correct position.

 

Diagram here.
Tool | Honda Rebel 250 & 450 Forum (hondarebelforum.com)

 

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I went out and checked the clutch cable on my bike, and it had zero slack from the original owner. Thus, it was trying to creep forward a little with zero slack and when I tried adding more slack it didn't seem to change much. Any more advice on the next thing to try?

 

So you adjusted the cable to the recommended amount of free play at the end of the lever?

 

So you adjusted the cable to the recommended amount of free play at the end of the lever?

Yes I did. It still wanted to creep forward a little after being adjusted, and about half of the time it was still hard to shift up and down.

 

Lubricating the shift linkage usually makes shifting easier. Looking at the diagram below, bolt 15, the joints under the number three rubber caps and the needle bearings in the left rear crankcase cover where the shift shaft passes through it should all be cleaned and greased. Note that there are indents on the shift linkage and shift shaft that need to be aligned when putting things back together. Shifting is easier when the bike is moving. Finding neutral when stationary isn't possible until the transmission is aligned. Rolling the bike slightly usually get things aligned.

Honda Motorcycle 2009 OEM Parts Diagram for Pedal | Partzilla.com

Shifter Diagram | Honda Rebel 250 & 450 Forum (hondarebelforum.com)

 

After reading all the posts. Everyone's suggestions are spot on. The one thing I can add is it could very well be that the clutch plates have swollen some over the years. Especially if the PO. used regular car engine oil. Honda had significant issues with clutch slippage and the plates swelling in the late seventies and through the eighties. Thus why Honda came out with their own Oil. They had additives in the oil to prevent the shearing effect of the transmission gears, that car oil didn't, and eliminated the ingredients in car oil, that was causing the plates to swell. Honda couldn't control the oil industry so they made their own. Hope it helps

JTS

 

We've had oil discussions many times.
I've always used standard automotive 10W40 in my Rebels w/o an issue. 49,000 miles on my '85 & now getting close to 20,000 on my '86. No issues here.

 

A study done in the 1970s compared automotive and motorcycle specific oils, including Honda (Gold?) oil. Mobil 1 outperformed them all and Pennzoil may have been second. IMO, motorcycle specific oils are overpriced and no better. One forum member put over 100,000 miles on his 87' 250 with no engine repairs.

 

Ehm, that's 50years ago.....

Things might have changed over the years.

 

Yes, oils have changed and improved. But I've seen zero independent studies that show motorcycle oils outperform automotive oils. The motorcycle oil manufacturers still claim that their products are superior, just as they did 50 years ago. But to my knowledge, they have never funded an independent comparison test and published the results. If they are so much better, wouldn't it benefit sales to do so?

When Honda was presented with the results of the test, their response was basically "our oil is very good". And it may be very good, but it wasn't the best back then, and I've seen no evidence since that it is superior to good quality automotive oils.