Neutral Issues

[DroneMaster505]

I recently purchased an 04 XB12S with 18k miles on it. Fell in love with it right away, even knowing it needed a little bit of love. The bike rode great on the test ride, however, later on that week I started noticing how hard it was to get in to neutral. After some google searching, I found out that these bikes as well as the sportsters are naturally a little hard to get in to neutral. OK, i can live with it I thought. However, it seems to be getting progressively worse. It is so hard to get in to neutral now that i don't even bother most of the time, hoping that the light changes fast because my clutch pull is super stiff! Last night, I stopped for gas and ended up getting stuck there for 30 minutes because I could not get it back in to neutral. I guess that brings me to another question: do these bikes need to be in neutral to start? Because mine will not start unless it is in neutral, clutch pressed in or not.

Any help would be much appreciated! Help me keep my love for this bike before I sell her lol.

 

[Cosworth]

Download the manual for the bike from the link above, primary adjustment procedure is the same for all xb series
Basically remove the inspection cover and verify 1/8" chain movement, adjust as necessary. Also check your clutch adjustment per the manual.

If you are new the the bike it may be a good time to change the fluid if you drain the primary it takes a quart of your favorite oil there's tons of opinion on the "best" personally I use type f trans fluid, again tons of discussion on this topic.

And finally if your clutch safety switch is malfunctioning or not plugged in then your bike has to be in neutral to start. Its very common for that switch to go bad.

If you jump the connectors on that switch and WITH the clutch pulled in try to start then you will know if its bad. http://americansportbike.com/newdir/Item/17398

 

[Cooter]

Very good info^^^

It sounds like it's hard to get into neutral even when the bike is not running? If so, check the shifter operation with your hand (bike off). Is it real stiff? Might be a bent shift rod in the primary (easy change, or hone the brass bushing in the primary cover) especially if it's been down on the left side. It could also be a stiff shift arm, caused by an overtightened shifter pivot bolt.

BTW, I use 20w-50 synthetic in my primary but opinions are like ummm… elbows...

 

[DroneMaster505]

Thanks guys. I ordered the switch and I am going to change the fluid as well as do the checks and adjustments. Anything else I should do or change while I am in that area?

 

[Cooter]

With the primary off and 18K of someone else's miles on the bike, I'd check the clutches and the little teflon tab on the adjuster bolt.

 

[user_deleted]

good info above and keep in mind that when all is right and everything adjusted to specs an XB will shift as smooth and have as light a clutch pull as any big bore jap cable operated clutch system ever built.
change fluid and let drain overnite. add 1 quart of amsoil 20-50 cycle oil.
adjust clutch pack. remove derby cover...add free play to cable via adjuster barrel...turn pack screw COUNTERCLOCKWISE till snug....then in 1/2 turn...then replace locker and spring and derby cover
with sufficient freeplay in cable, and you'll need alot, remove cable from lever and perch and lube the cable. makes a world of difference.
replace cable furrel in lever and cable end in perch and adjust cable.
as cooter said on the primary drive chain.
doing the above will give you smooth shifting and nice light lever action if all done correctly. this is assuming the contents of the clutch pack itself are within acceptable wear limitations.

 

[DroneMaster505]

Update: So I finally found time to do everything. Adjusted chain tension, adjusted clutch, changed the clutch switch, changed all the seals and fluid etc.

It smoothed everything out dramatically. I was able to shift it in to 1st, neutral and 2nd with 1 finger while the bike is off. Before, it was incredibly hard to find neutral. The clutch pull did lighten up substantially as well. However, after I was satisfied with how everything was feeling, I took the bike for a test ride and it is still incredibly hard to find neutral with the bike running. It does shift a lot better than before, but neutral is still an issue I am not sure where to go from here.

On a side note: is there supposed to be a little clutch contact even with the clutch lever completely pulled in? I have owned nothing but Jap bikes and I don't remember there being any kind of engagement with the lever pulled completely in. I tried to adjust it on the cable but any adjustments made the transmission shifting rough like it was before so I put it back to the original adjustment. I am starting to think that this slight engagement is what is making it hard to find neutral while running.

 

[Cooter]

It should NOT be trying to creep forward in gear with the clutch pulled in while you're on it, but the back tire may spin while on a stand though.

 

[DroneMaster505]

It does creep if I don't put any force on holding it back. I am not sure what I did wrong on the adjustment, I did it by the manual's instructions.

 

[user_deleted]

is there supposed to be a little clutch contact even with the clutch lever completely pulled in?

no

google...buellxb.com clutch adjustment. i've posted full cable and pack adjustment procedure many times on here. read it and see if it corresponds precisely with how you did it.

 

[DroneMaster505]

Problem solved. I just kept re-adjusting it until I found it's sweet spot. I think I was turning the adjustment screw a little too tight and I didn't have the clutch lever play correct either. I turned the adjustment screw exactly to the point where resistance was felt and not even a little over, then I turned it out 1/2 of a turn. The previous adjustments, I turned slightly a little too much in to the resistance and only turned it back out 1/4 of a turn. I also used a nickel to measure the free play in the lever. Smooth as butter in all gears and neutral engages easily now.

Thanks everyone for the help, now I just need to solve the sputtering and she will be cherry!

 

[Cooter]

[up]

 

[user_deleted]

then I turned it out 1/2 of a turn.

hope that is mis-nomer on your part because it is wrong.
with derby cover removed and clutch pack/primary cover at room temp and locking barrel nut/spring combo removed you turn the slotted screw OUT till you feel light resistance....then in approx. 1/2 turn.

 

[ocgreenmachine]

I believe the manual states tighten until resistance is felt then turn it out a 1/2 turn as DroneMaster stated.

 

[user_deleted]

I believe the manual states tighten until resistance is felt then turn it out a 1/2 turn as DroneMaster stated.

no sir, that is wrong. dave and grego will show you how.


watch this....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkfm6sAbuHs
watch this...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpMnccIMSIs

 

[DroneMaster505]

hope that is mis-nomer on your part because it is wrong.
with derby cover removed and clutch pack/primary cover at room temp and locking barrel nut/spring combo removed you turn the slotted screw OUT till you feel light resistance....then in approx. 1/2 turn.

You are correct, I wrote that backwards.

Further information for anyone this might help: I had to go through this again because I just changed my clutch cable. After doing the adjustment I took it for a test run and everything was smooth until I got back to my garage and the bike would not go in to neutral while running. Make sure to re-check the freeplay at the clutch lever housing. Mine had deviated slightly during the test run but after re-adjusting it, it has been flawless ever since.