My HD doesn't seem to go into neutral easily when I come to a stop light. Any suggestions? I have practiced

Question

with this but it soedn't seem to be happening any easier.

I don't think anywhere in my question it asks for your opinion on HD'S. You are just wanna bes anyway so keep it to yourselves.

Answer 1

Since we DO know what kind of bike, it's a little easier.
Kudos to Guardrail, he knows why.
When you slow down for the light, shift down a gear at a time while still moving. Neutral is sometimes hard to hit. I would suggest you not worry about it. Instead, downshift all the way to first. From there, you can quick-click to neutral and when you shift into first it will go smoothly and with out a clunk. I prefer, and recommend staying in first gear with the clutch pulled in. The only time I go to neutral at a light is if it's a real long one and there are at least two cars stopped behind me. My reasoning: I hear being rear-ended sucks and I can help prevent it this way.

BTW, It worked with the other brands too.

Answer 2

Question for Jim,,,

re: "When you're sitting still at a light, the engine is spinning the mainshaft.
The countershaft isn't turning at all because the rear wheel isn't moving."


I'm sure You mean when in Neutral and Clutch engaged?

Mainshaft doesn't turn when stopped,,in gear,with clutch pulled in.

Clutch gotta be Engaged to turn mainshaft,,,and that can only happen at a standstill while In neutral.

(Except for Burnouts,,,LOL :)

Sorry to be a nit-picker,,,it may sound a bit confusing to anyone who doesnt fully understand the powerflow thru clutch & which shafts/gears do what & when,,,,,
Inner & Outer clutch hubs,,whats Drive,whats Driven, which is splined and which freewheels and all that.

And that when stopped in gear any torque on any of the gear pairs must necessarily be from clutch drag holding a load on Mainshaft while it's not turning.

Which also accounts for why so many bikes clunk coming out of neutral and into gear at a stop.
Dragging clutch is allowing some power "bleed thru" to apply torque to mainshaft,,,rather than being broke open free & cleanly.


anyway,,no big deal either way

Take care Guy,,,You're a Good Man to make such a great & worthwhile effort to help others

You been around plenty long enough to Know how it goes with "Bike Advice",,,,
Most simply Dont KNOW and many who Do know,,Wont Help.

Which makes You a "GuardrailGEM",I'd say.

Answer 3

Because we don't know what type of bike it is there could be a lot of answers.

- Clutch cable could be out of adjustment.
- Clutch plates could be warn and not properly disengaging.
- Hydraulic fluid on hydraulic clutch could be low
- If it is a wet clutch, your engine oil could be low.

Try and think of the things that would make your clutch difficult to fully disengage.

That is the easiest to do from the beginning, if you have somehow messed up the gears in the tranny it would be much more costly to fix.

Rule out the easy things first.

Additionally, some bikes are just harder to find neutral than others. Meshing the gears as suggested by others works, but try to get the bike to operate easily (and normal) is better.

Answer 4

You don't have to be in neutral at a stop light, clutch in is fine.

If you are having trouble finding neutral on a regular basis ,be sure your clutch is properly adjusted( there should be just a very small amount of free play at the lever)
Also when shifting from 1st to N if you rock the bike forward and back a bit , that will often allow the trani to shift with less effort making in easier to get neutral without passing it over and ending up in 2nd.

Answer 5

Often times this is caused by your primary chain being slightly out of adjustment. The other side effect of the chain being out of adjustment is that when you are going as slow as possible, like in first gear and not using any throttle, the bike will pull forward in a jerkey motion. It sort of jumps for a quick second then seems to back off, then jerk again, and repeats. Have the primary chain adjusted at your next service or look into how to do it with that new service manual I advised you to get last week and do it yourself. It only takes like 15 minutes to get out the 3 tools you'll need, to adjust the chain, put it back together and clean up and put your tools away. No parts needed. Plus it's fun to do.

Answer 6

I agree with the clutch adjustment.
Also, of all the bikes I've owned over the last 32 years, most were easiest to go from 1st to neutral, but a few were easier to go from 2nd down into neutral.
As far as 51's answer, I don't (so I guess not EVERY Harley rider) blip my throttle as I'm coming to a stop, just to down shift, or to get some revs up as I'm taking off.

Answer 7

This happens to a lot of bikes (even brand new out of the crate).
There are 2 transmission shafts in a motorcycle engine.
The engine turns one shaft (mainshaft).
The gears on that shaft turn the gears on the other shaft (countershaft).
The countershaft turns the belt, or chain, which eventually turns the rear wheel (that's why the front sprocket is called the "countershaft" sprocket).

When you're sitting still at a light, the engine is spinning the mainshaft.
The countershaft isn't turning at all because the rear wheel isn't moving.

When you try to shift with the bike not moving, the transmission gears on the 2 shafts are binding against each other, making it difficult to slide on their shaft's and engage a different gear.

Shift to neutral while the bike is still rolling.
This way, both transmission shafts are turning together, allowing the gears to slide on their shafts without binding against each other.

If you're stopped while in gear and want to shift to neutral -
With the clutch lever still pulled in.
Rev up the engine.
When you let off off the throttle, as the revs are slowing down, SHIFT.
The slowing down of the engine will release the tension the transmission gears have on each other and allow them to slide on their transmission shaft without getting bound up.

Answer 8

Is the clutch adjusted correctly, if not it could be putting pressure on the gears making them hard to disengage and letting you slip past neutral.

Muski: I've ridden Jap Carp, I've ridden Harley's, there is no comparison, most Jap bikes go faster, but darn I've got no need to break the law doing 190MPH, but the real issue is in 2007 how many running 1960 Jap bikes have you ever seen? I still see 1960 model Harley's all the time and even much older ones. Makes you wonder if there such junk why they're still around and the next question is if they're such junk why does "EVERY" jap manufacture imitate it?

Well Indian was well out of business by 1960, and you have answered the question, you don't see any Jap crap out there more than about ten years old, except the stuff on ebay, the guy that bought a bike for s--hits and grins and never rode it and its been in a garage for 30 plus years and low and behold you've got an antique jap bike for sale and they still can't get 1 or 2 grand for it if that, be real you are always going to find a few if you look hard enough.

you did not address why all the jap bike makers copy Harley? Why?

Just a quick question for you, over the past 20 years what has consistantly been the number one selling bike in Japan?

Look it up! the answer might surprise you.

Answer 9

Down shift all the way to first and then up shift a half click while it's still moving before you stop. It should go right in. You didn't say what bike you had. If it's a belt drive Sportster, especially one of the new rubber mounted Sportsters, you may have the belt adjusted too tight and you're getting a little bind. Check it out. Good Luck

Answer 10

I don't have an H-D, but have had the same problem with my motorcycles. I just leave 'em in first gear and hold the clutch. It's not like I'm going to be stopped long.