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Finding neutral on 2009 883L

J

JayTea

Member
Hello all,

I am a novice rider and this is my first post, so please be easy on me :D

I just bought a used 2009 883L (1400 miles) in great condition and I love it. The only thing is that it's kinda difficult to find Neutral between first and second gears (either up or down shifting).

When up-shifting from first gear, most of the times it seems to skip "neutral" and goes straight to 2nd gear and vice-versa even if i tried to be as slight as i could to half-shift it into neutral...So sometimes it goes to neutral successfully and most of the times it 's very easy to skip neutral.

Is this normal or something wrong? What should I do to test this correctly?

Thank you very much.
Jeremy
 
Welcome JayTea to HDTimeline forum...there is plenty of things for the enthusiast or seasoned rider to help make your HD experience enjoyable and make servicing your ride a snap.

Regarding finding neutral, sometimes it is tough to find the right touch in between 1st and 2nd and even toughter from 2nd to 1st mainly due to the fact when stopped, the clutch drag may come into play (more slack when hot) and sometimes if the tranny is slightly overfilled, and also being new. Some of it is skill also, shifting and slightly releasing clutch to take tension off the gears may make finding neutral easier.
 
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sometimes easier to find neutral when the bike is moving, either change gears
while coming to a stop, or even rolling the bike a little while stopped may help as well.

A better oil in the tranny will help too ;)
 
Hi jaytea,

I'm no expert.
Usually when difficult finding N, the clutch gap is too close. I mean, the bike can move with the clutch lever released less than halfway.
If that's what u have, U can do some tweaking on the clutch adjuster (thick cable by the chassis on front left side) slide the rubber cover, then u'll find the adjuster.
If u adjust the clutch too lose, u'll find it hard to get into 1st. So u want it right in between.

But if that's not the case, then maybe its the tranny oil overfilled.
 
tobaman said:
Hi jaytea,

I'm no expert.
Usually when difficult finding N, the clutch gap is too close. I mean, the bike can move with the clutch lever released less than halfway.
If that's what u have, U can do some tweaking on the clutch adjuster (thick cable by the chassis on front left side) slide the rubber cover, then u'll find the adjuster.
If u adjust the clutch too lose, u'll find it hard to get into 1st. So u want it right in between.

But if that's not the case, then maybe its the tranny oil overfilled.
Click to expand...

That's just the cable adjuster, the clutch pack itself is where the adjustment should be done.
 
As ive been riding motorcycles a long time this is a problem thaht ive encounterd on many motorcycles
i find that if i raise the revs slightly when i try to shift from 1st into neutral then it tends to go without trouble
if you still have problems then raise the revs let clutch out to the point that it starts to bite and a quick flick of the toe should have you out of gear

Hope this helps

Brian
 
Try revving it just a tad and see if it'll slide into neutral. Otherwise its likely in need of a minor clutch adjustment.
 
Hello there Jay Tea,

I'm new at HDtalking forum but must say it's quite helpful so are the other members. I would also suggest clutch pack adjustment. Have it checked by a good, qualified HD mechanic.

I am also having starting trouble with my Sportster 883 Custom & unfortunately for me (being in United Arab Emirates) the HD workshop is around 40miles from where I stay. I probably hotwire the bike & ride it there.

Wish me luck & Good Luck to U

Kash
 
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