finding neutral on a 5 speed

[stroker800]

   Why are 5 speed trannies harder to find neutral than others???  My softail has always been a small hard to find N..  Its a Delkron case with stock HD gear set...It was put together by my motor guy ( has done alot) and yet my pan with a 5 speed has stock HD gears in a "El Cheapo" case from Asia,,,,easy to find N,,,,any tricks or tuning would be cool.
Dave

[JBarrettB]

Is the shifter pawl correctly centered? It is adjustable, and a sure sign that it is out is difficulty locating neutral.

JB

[bikerider58]

Two things work best on my 05 EG neutral before you stop rolling or if I forget give the throttle a little blip, my 1995 FXD slides right in every time. The primary fluid chain & clutch adjustment play a large roll 

Idle speed also has an effect.  My 86 FLH was a pain to find N, I checked the shifter paw when fixing the primay finish and it was okay.  After assembly, it was much better.  So, it was a combination of things being a little out of adjustment.  Works fine now.

Is your clutch fully disengaging?

[Buddy WMC]

The above suggestions are all good advice. What type of oil are you using in your trans? I found a definite improvement when changing from the stock dino gear oil over to Mobil 1 75-140 synthetic gear oil. I did reseal the transmission before making the change to avoid any possible leakage. Never leaked a drop and shifted like butter until I swapped it out for a Baker DD6.

[Hillside Motorcycle]

Is the shifter pawl correctly centered? It is adjustable, and a sure sign that it is out is difficulty locating neutral.

JB

I'd start there as well.

[Norton Commando]

A too tight primary chain will make finding neutral difficult.

[Tomahawk]

Install an M-6 primary chain tensioner. Do the suggested adjustments, clutch, proper oil level in your primary, shift pawl and idle. Since I put mine in a year ago, cured the neutral finding problem also the M-6 takes out that clunk as the tensioner keeps a constant even tension on the primary chain. Not pricey and easy to install.

[stroker800]

  The bike is runnin a 3" open BDL drive train ,,the fluid in the tranny is a 75-140 Royal Purple synthetic..I will take a look at the shifter pawls,,I find the HD manual to be a little vaque on tranny assembly and set up...Thanks for the help.
Dave

[TheSwede]

Difficult to find neutral,,is 9 times out of 10
a dragging clutch ,,140 W oil do not help 
try to find neutral with the bike not running
and you see.

Best Regards
TheSwede

[HeritageSpecial]

Stroker-- good points rasied by all and possibly a combination of several of the above have led to your difficulty.
Personally I too feel 140wt is probably too heavy and would consider 75-90.

The shifter pawl adjustment method by putting the trans in 3rd and rocking the shift lever to find centre is poor to the point where you would only notice if it was waaaay out.

A much more precise method is to pop the top cover off the tranny and with the bike in third gear slowly and gently rock the shift lever and physically measure the distance from the pawl pin to an equidistant reference point either side of the pawl, then adjust to perfection easily. This worked for me and neutral is just a snick away on my EVO's.

A fresh clutch adjustment also helps and the M6 is one of the best investments I ever made.

I use ATF Type F in the primary but other fluids can and do work fine too-- just don't go too heavy and be sure to get the fil level correct.

All of the above has made N super slick for me.

Regards,
HS

[60pan]

I couldn't believe the difference I noticed finding neutral the first time I used ATF in the trans. Try it. You'll like it. There was a thread about this on the old board.

[Grayrider]

I had a similar problem on my Heritage. Found that adjusting the clutch lever cable play was the answer to mine! 
The cable was not allowing my clutch to disengage completely and I needed to make [4] turns on the adjuster nut to get it to shift easily when stopped!
Now, I just look at it and it slips into neutral!     

[hdpegscraper]

Stroker,   the ATF as stated above works real nice- in the wet primary's,  But since you said its an open belt, I would double check the clutch adjustment. I like 3/4 turn backed out at the adjusting screw, and about 1/8 in gap at the cable to hand control to set the cable freeplay. It sounds like the clutch is not fully disengaging, so there is still pressure on the tranny gears, making it hard to disengage and find neutral (which is why the thin ATF helps in the wet ones).  Another thing to consider, is if you have oversize hand grips, or leather wraps on the grips, or clutch lever, the distance You pull the lever will be shorter, and possibly not enuf to fully disengage the clutch even when all else is set correct.

[60pan]

  "But since you said its an open belt"

Oh, I missed that part.