Topic: 75 CB400F Can't shift into neutral

[broken]

Hey all, first year riding still green on mechanics. Changed the oil on my '75 CB400F today and everything seemed to go alright, put in some SAE 10W-40 EXL motorcycle oil, engine was sounding much better however after about 30-40 minutes of riding I can't shift into neutral when stopped, if the engine is off it's fine, if the bike is moving it's fine, but as soon as I stop I can't shift out of first, could anyone shed some light on this and possible fixes in newb terms? Thanks. Also I'm getting tons of front wheel squeel, brake cleaner alleviates it for a bit but it comes right back.

bro`ken

[bryanj]

Your clutch dont like the oil you used, is it a synthetic?

[broken]

No, wasn't synthetic and is specifically for bikes, darnit. How serious is it to keep riding with this oil if that's the case is it going to trash my clutch?

bro`ken

[bryanj]

Probaly not just get into the habit of hitting neutral before you stop and make sure the adjustments are correct. If you just got the bike i would advise a change at 500 miles and again 1,000 after that then go to the 1500 recommended by Honda

[DammitDan]

I have a similar problem on my '82 CB650.

All I have to do is rev it up to around 3k and it shifts into neutral real easy, then drop the throttle back down again.

[broken]

I noticed that a litre of 20W-50 must've snuck onto the shelf w/ the 10W-40 same brand etc, could that be the problem? 2.7 litres of 10W-40 and 1 litre of 20W-50?

bro`ken

[R. Hykawy]

My, 77 does the same thing, even after doing all the adjustments. All, I do is lift my foot off the gear shift lever and then shift to neutral. It seems to work,guess the weight of resting my foot on the lever is to much for it to shift easily.

[78_SaltLick]

if your at a stand still, rock your bike back and forward a little then try again. Or try getting it into neutral before you come to a full stop. Some Harley sportsters have the same problem, you cant get them into neutral easily, and you have to rock it back and forth a bit, on some models.

[seaweb11]

Mine does the same thing, even after a clutch rebuild.
As said before, as I come to a stop I give her a bit of rev in 1st and it clicks right in.
When starting the bike, as said before.....roll forward 2 inches with clutch pulled and let it roll back, clicks right in.

Seems to be part of the deal to enjoying these old beauties

[CB750R]

Hey guys, When I bought my bike it shifted ok, but nuetral was a #$%*, when I went to replace the sprocket I accidently took off the cover for the shifter instead, and man was I lucky I did!!!  I have no idea what the mechanism is called but its the circular thing that the shifter turns when you shift, has a single screw holding three pieces together, and there is a little notch in the rim of the circular thing that lets the nutral arm drop into it, so you can feel neutral. but the mechanism was all floppy so the arm wasn't hitting the notch, and probably in the not too distant future, the bike would have failed to shift. So a little blue locktite later, and having thanked a few of those luckier stars out there, my bike shifts like my old VFR! (almost)   This is VERY easy to check, and I'd say worth checking before rippiing your clutch out!