[minivan]

Curious on your thoughts..

New 06 Fatboy with 22 miles on it.. Due to the weather I have not ridden it much ( obviously)..
When I did ride it I found I could not get neutral without turning off the engine.. Either skipped into first or second.. NO creep at all and the clutch seems to have enough free play in it..

Dealer said to drive it some and get more miles on it before bringing it in for service to look at.. This make sense to anyone?? I have never had this with any other bike I have had... Thanks for responses...

 

[Harris]

For me, I immediately do a clutch and primary chain adjustment as soon as a I get a new bike home. Takes about 20 minutes to do both, and invariably I'm happier setting both to my likes, rather than the generic way it had been done. I suspect those two steps woudl solve your problem.

Harris

 

[Scorp]

Easy way to get to neutral from any bike from first gear. While in first gear holding in the clutch and having your foot apply pressure to the shift lever, rev the engine a little. While the engine is coming down in rpm's and you are applying pressure on the gear shift it should slip into neutral. This works on every bike, it make take a little while for you to get the hang of it. This method is full proof.

 

[w4egv]

try going to neutral from first gear while the bike is still rolling..

 

[8-Ball]

My buddy was having a hard time finding neutral. Added some oil to the primary and the problem went away. It might be as simple as that.

 

[steveusmc]

8-Ball has the most common reason for your problem. Primary probably improperly serviced.
Steve

 

[dashooter]

Curious on your thoughts..

New 06 Fatboy with 22 miles on it.. Due to the weather I have not ridden it much ( obviously)..
When I did ride it I found I could not get neutral without turning off the engine.. Either skipped into first or second.. NO creep at all and the clutch seems to have enough free play in it..

Dealer said to drive it some and get more miles on it before bringing it in for service to look at.. This make sense to anyone?? I have never had this with any other bike I have had... Thanks for responses...

typical harley if you ask me.

 

[Captain Bligh]

I'd rather have a hard time finding neutral than finding it too easily. My first bike was a Honda that often seemed to go no further than neutral when shifiting up or down. I was constantly over-revving the bike. I'd be upshifting and think I grabbed second gear, let out the clutch and hit the throttle only to find out I was resting in neutral. It's a wonder I didn't blow the motor. Wait, a minute, I did break a crank and have to replace it. Hmmm.....:huh:

I've had to search to find my neutral on a Harley but at least I've never ended up there when I didn't intend to.

 

[minivan]

Appreciate all the responses..

I will check the primary oil.. Kinda why I wanted the dealer to look at it.

I understand hunting for neutral, but mine feels like the clutch needs adjusting, except for the lack of any creeping.. it feels like its under a load when trying to get it into neutral.. Not right in my book.....

 

[Dog Folks]

I am certainley not an expert, but... I bought both an '05 Sporster and a '05 Softail . (Traded "up" from the Sporty) BOTH bikes had a hard to find nuetral, until they had about 500 miles on them. My Softail now has 6500 and nuetral is no porblem at all. Like you, when it was new, I really thought there was something wrong with the bike.

 

[RustyG]

If you can, put the bike on a stand with the back wheel off the ground. Put it in neutral and start it up. With the clutch engaged the rear wheel should spin slowly. It should stop with very light pressure from the brake, or use your hand or foot on the wheel if you are so brave.

Try just tapping the shift lever with your foot instead of "forcing" it into neutral. Just a light tap. My Road King is like this. It needs a gentle touch to hit neutral anything else will cause it to hit the next gear. Also see if it will move into neutral using your hand instead of your foot.

 

[marthared]

It was not impossible, but difficult, for me to get my 04 Heritage into neutral until I changed from putting Syn3 in the transmission to Amsoil 75/90 Gear Lube. Immediately shifted perfect.

 

[Black Maxx]

Neutral

My first guess is the clutch is dragging a little which puts some pressure on the gears. This makes it hard to disengage . Drive it a while until the gears are worn in smooth and the clutch is broken in. Make sure the free play is set to spec. I'll bet you will get it worked out. My Dyna is the best shifting bike I have ever had. It is my first H-D and I have NO complaints with the transmission. Neutral is there both up and down. I tap it into neutral from 2nd just before I stop rolling. I hate to shift into first while moving very fast. I hear my friends banging away at first gear at 20 MPH and it makes me cringe to think what is going on inside that gearbox.

 

[shedds]

neutral hard to find

i had similar with my sportster when (new) what i did was go to second then gently drop lever to hit neutral went in every time but as miles piled on went in neutral all the time no problem

 

[fauskar]

Seems all bikes have a little difficulty finding neutral perfectly. But lets not lie about it and be be honest, harleys have always had a more difficulty time finding neutral than others. With that said, they are still one of the most reliable transmissions around (dyna 6 speed not counted).

 

[TomB]

If the above doesn't fix it, at first service, replace primary fluid with Redline MTL and tranny fluid with Redline Heavy Duty Shockproof. You will be very happy with the improvement.

 

[steveusmc]

I have found that a properly adjusted clutch cable and a properly serviced primary have resulted in neutral being VERY easy to find.......from first gear. If you want to "search" from second that's a different story entirely. Wasn't designed to do that.

Steve....Pensacola
USMC 1972 - 2003

 

[minivan]

Thanks to all for the responses...

I too feel it is the clutch dragging some.. I have a grand total of 34 miles on it now and last time out, 2nd drive, it is working better.. I will check the clutch adjustment and primary fluid.... Its not that I am having a problem finding neutral, the tranny is fighting me over it..