Dodgy Neutral

[k.currie]

Hello folks, first post.<br /><br />I've a recently acquired '64 CA77. The tranni shifts smoothly thru all gears, but I can't seem to get it into neutral while the motor is running. No problem while off. Surely this isn't normal. Thoughts anyone?<br /><br />kevin

[mabailey]

This as I remember was a common issue (the elusive neutral) of early Hondas. This can be exasperated by gummy clutch plates (old oil in the oil bathed clutch gets sticky like syrup), I ended up soaking my clutch disks in solvent to get the gooey oil out. The other issue is the adjustment instructions if you’re using an old Clymer manual the instructions are probably wrong. Assuming the adjustment is similar to the CB77 you can logic it out; you need enough of a swing through the arc of the clutch lifter thread to get full disengagement (so the clutch doesn’t drag). On my CB 77 I did this by backing off the cable completely so there was lots of slack (so you can actually figure out the full arc of the clutch lifter thread), screw the clutch adjusting screw on the side of the case in until you feel resistance (this is where you are starting to disengage the clutch), you need to then back the adjusting screw out enough so that you have some adjustment for clutch wear (I think I set it to ¼ turn out), then adjust the coble to get the correct free play.<br /><br />I didn’t figure this out until 2 years ago when I got caught in heavy traffic going over a Bridge (Alex Fraser Bridge in Surrey BC, Canada during morning rush when a truck flipped at the far end of the bridge. Since it was stop and go and I really didn’t want to lane split wit a bunch of impatient goofs around). Because It was stop and go I didn’t fight it into neutral ever time I stopped, the clutch began dragging more and more as it heated up (I’d used the instructions in the my old Clymer manual to adjust the clutch) until the bike finally stalled. That evening I sat down and studied the diagrams, and looked at the way the thing worked and realized that the instructions were no good.<br />[img]http://Honda 305l.JPG[/img]

[splatt]

This can be exasperated by gummy clutch plates (old oil in the oil bathed clutch gets sticky like syrup), I ended up soaking my clutch disks in solvent to get the gooey oil out.

<br /><br />what kind of solvent did you use? i am doing the same thing and just wondering what works best.<br /><br />thanks,<br />mark

[mabailey]

I did this a number of years ago, so I can't be sure, but I probably used Varsol to soak the clutch disks. I may have also have used White Gas (camper's fuel) to soak the clutch disks, but if you try that be sure it is in a well ventilated area with no source of ignition around... which is probably a good precaution with any solvent.