Cant find neutral

Hosk Engineering

Hosk Engineering

Hosk Engineering
Messages
47
Reaction score
4
Points
8
Location
Rochester Michigan
Cant find neutral, I can hear it clicking through the gears but when I try and pull it up to get it in neutral from first it never goes. When I first got it I was able to get neutral but it was difficult. When I first got the bike I was told it was dumped on the shifter side and he had trouble with the gears but he was able to get it home.

Before I started working on it I tried moving it and no neutral. I removed the clutch and the side panel and everything looks ok from that end. I've ordered a new clutch cable and lever since the old was broke when it was dumped.

Now I am going to pull off the other side and check it out there. Any advice on what to look for?

full
 
1 - That clutch worm throwout arm is past overcenter, check with new cable and lever that it's before overcenter.
2 - Look at the starwheel and it's indexer, look for gouging.
3 - The obvious: check neutral indent.
 
Clutch side looking ok. A picture of the assembly would have been helpful. Did you check the change lever for proper adjustment and excessive wear. The push lever assembly in the picture should be serviced dissembled cleaned and greased. The push screw housing check for cracks.
 
Do you have a repair manual? If not get one.
The pics you show don't have much to do with the shifter. That's the alternator and front sprocket. The clutch push rod sticks out just in front of the sprocket.
In the cover is the clutch worm mechinism. Un hook the cable from the lever on the worm. Now that part will unscrew from the other part. Watch where the lever is pointing when it comes out of the other part. That way you put it back where it came from.
Now clean both parts very well. In spect both parts for wear or cracks. If in good shape, regrease with the grease from your grease gun. Both parts liberally.
Reassemble.
Now reattach the cable. Reinstall the cover.
Properly adjust the cable. At the lever loosen the adjuster so there is plenty of slack in the cable.
Now diown on the cover pop off the small round cover. Loosen the lock nut. Use a screwdriver to loosen the screw, back out a few turns. Now spin the screw in and out a few times to get a good feel of how hard it is to spin the screw, now slowly turn the screw in untill you just feel resistance. This means you have taken all the clearance between the adjuster and the clutch pressure plate. You need some clearance so back the screw out 1/8 turn. Hold the screw so it won't turn, snug the lock nut down.
Now back at the lever adjust for 1/8 to 1/4 inch play.
This should improve finding neutral. If the clutch is set too loose thye clutch has excessive drag and makes finding neutral hard.
If you still have a hard time you need to drain the oil and pull the rightside engine cover to check adjutments on the shift shaft. Your repair manual will tell you how.
Leo
 
The pictures don't show the arm or if it is adjusted properly. Place the transmission in second third or forth gear. The dogs on the shifter should at an equal distance from the pins. If you have a Clymer manual page 80. If you do a google search top of page won't go into neutral. There is a thread that covers it better and a picture of the arm.
 
Hey, Hosk. Great pictures!
Since you're an engineer, this should be easy to try.
Familiarize yourself with the interaction of the shifter claw arm and the starwheel.
The starwheel turns the shifter drum, and if you can move the shifter with your left foot and watch the starwheel, you might see if it rotates or binds. It would help if someone could rotate/jiggle the rear wheel, to help the gears to engage/disengage.
If the foot shifter won't move it, try reaching in there and rotate that starwheel.
Counter-clockwise downshifts, clock-wise upshifts.
The round/flat spring-loaded disc (about 3/4" dia) is the stop/indent that keeps the starwheel in a selected gear.
At neutral, that disc stop/indent will sit atop one of the starwheel's pins, neutral is held in place by the neutral indent plunger atop the case, above the shiftdrum.
If you can, fiddle with this (rotating the starwheel, feeling for gear engagement), till you feel comfortable with understanding what it's doing, and how hard it is to rotate the starwheel.
If you find it too difficult to move, remove the clutch assembly, send us some more of your wonderfully detailed pictures...
Good luck, keep us posted.
 
TwoManyXS1Bs said:
??? There's a hair atop the clutch basket in that last picture.
I keep trying to brush it off my computer screen...
Click to expand...


should have gone to Specsavers :laugh:


if the bikes been standing I suppose the neutral detent plunger assembly (detent & and spring ) could have seized up with rust or the spring gone weak ?(No18.19,20 & 21) easy enough to pull it out and check.

I would have thought that it was worth removing the clutch basket and checking the complete gear change assembly properly including adjusting the change lever tangs to center and replacing the change lever spring (pg55 fig 1.12 ) to ensure correct tension .

Also replace the stopper assembly spring No22 all illustrated in Haynes Manual (pg 35 fig 1.3)
 
Just another pic showing all the shifting parts involved and how it's centered up so it shifts up and down properly.
 

Attachments

  • XS650 Right Side Shifter.jpg
    XS650 Right Side Shifter.jpg
    248 KB · Views: 508
takes a while of fiddling with a new to you bike. I just recently found the sweet spot for my clutch.
 
I have a 79 650 special, stock from what I can tell, and am experiencing similar problems. When the bike is cold I can find neutral no problem, but it gets harder when the bike really warms up. When it is hot it also likes to pop out of second mid-acceleration. Could this also be caused by a shifter out of adjustment, or the clutch?

The bike sat for about 10 years before I got my hands on it. This is my first. I have to thank everyone on this site for the wealth of information that I used just to get tho old girl running. Cheers.
 
nbaas said:
I have a 79 650 special, stock from what I can tell, and am experiencing similar problems. When the bike is cold I can find neutral no problem, but it gets harder when the bike really warms up. When it is hot it also likes to pop out of second mid-acceleration. Could this also be caused by a shifter out of adjustment, or the clutch?

The bike sat for about 10 years before I got my hands on it. This is my first. I have to thank everyone on this site for the wealth of information that I used just to get tho old girl running. Cheers.
Click to expand...

First, make sure you have the clutch adjusted properly down at the left side cover.

When the engine is cold and first started, you should have adjusted the clutch cable for about 1/16" free play at the lever. As the engine heats up, the free play will increase, so re-adjust the free play back to 1/16". Keep the free play at 1/16"................you can do this while you are riding along.

You can also drill a second hole in the clutch worm gear operating arm. A second hole closer to the centre will give larger motion to the push rod, and greater plate separation.
 

Similar threads

G
Weird Clutch Issue
Replies
9
Views
208
Jim
Jim
Fingerscrossed
In neutral: kickstart won't move, elec start won't engage
Replies
5
Views
290
gggGary
gggGary
Captmandel
Clutch adjustment xs2
Replies
6
Views
404
5twins
5twins
C
XS750 question, starter not engaging neutral
Replies
4
Views
655
Bruno_c
B
sailorsam
can't find neutral
Replies
4
Views
800
Jan_P
J
Back
Top