Total Motorcycle Community Forums

hey. i've got a 1975 honda cl360 and finding neutral is getting progressivly more difficult. at first it was fine. then it would rarely go from 1st to neutral, it would skip to 2nd and i've have to lightly tap tap tap it in to neutral. now from a stop it's almost impossible to go from 1st anywhere. the bike pretty much needs to be rolling in order to shift into neutral. when it is rolling it's easy to find, even from 1st. so what's wrong guys? gimme good news, i'd rather not buy a new bike.

thanks in advance!

When is the last time you changed the oil? And what kind of oil was it? Run the best oil your bike will tolerate, like a good moto-specific synthetic.

If that don't help, and your clutch is properly adjusted, you may have defective hardparts, like a shift fork or detent spring or something. And the only way to know that for shore is to open 'er up.

i changed the oil about 3 months ago, 500 miles or so... it certainly wasn't the best oil available... got a recommendation?

Is this only a problem when the bike is running? Can you get to neutral when the engine is off?

If it is only a problem when the engine is running, you might be idling too high. If the idle is too high, the transmission might be avoiding a false neutral - going into neutral while you are riding instead of going to second.

Not sure how high is too high - surely depends on what the bike thinks it is, or how touchy the tranny is - if you are idling above 1.5k RPMs, you could probably stand to lower it a bit closer 1k.

--Dave

no, the problem occurs when the bike is off as well...

I find Shell Rotella 15w40 semi-synthetic works well in my FJ-1200... not the smoothest shifting bike ever made by a long shot..... but others have had just as good results from Mobile 1 or similar oils. Most bike manufacturers have at least one good full or semi-synthetic oil branded as their own and for sale in their dealerships. Just be careful to avoid automotive oils with 'Energy Saving' and the associated sunburst symbol on the bottle. The additives can cause your clutch to slip.

if the problem is getting progressively worse, i would think that your clutch is slowly going out of adjustment...

that would go along with it not shifting into any gears nicely
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One Tree Hill Forum

try finding N from 2nd to 1st...sometimes its easier that way
tapping down is sometimes easier than tapping up...

yeah going from 2nd to N is easier, but it's getting to the point where when the bike is parked going from 1st to 2nd is a pain in the "O Ring". i'll change the oil this week and see if that helps...

if not...

what's involved in re-adjusting the clutch?

one more thought
on my yamaha, i have a wet clutch, meaning that it uses the same oil as my engine.
If i use a certain oil, that says ENERGY CONSERVING on those doughnut ring in the back, i'll have some issues w/ my clutch. I think i am also not suppose to use oil w/ some additives for Diesel engines either....
Double check the type of oil the manuf. recommends and see if that helps- and what i mean is see what rating or other specs. of oil the bike needs, not necessarily the weight ( which might be slightly less important)