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By Adam
#49584
When my Electra X had a knackered clutch release mechanism it was near impossible to select neutral when stationary, worth a look… Do I remember this was covered in another thread quite recently? Posted by Adam
By Dennis C
#49588
Papa you seem pretty sure the problem is not the clutch, can you give some more information on what happens when you try to select neutral?. does it jump from first to second and back to first when trying the other way (Ie straight through neutral) or some other problem?.
By papasmurf
#49591
The gear lever won't move at all. (I have had the same problem with our CX500 Custom for the last 20 years. It isn't the clutch with that either.)
If I put the Enfield on the center stand with the engine running, put it into bottom gear, and pull the clutch in the rear wheel stops rotating, it comes to a stop, so I really would need a lot of convincing the clutch is the problem.
Especially since the clutch operation was thoroughly checked by a very skilled mechanic two days ago as part of a service/MOT. (He road tests every bike he MOTs and services, including an MV Augusta and similar, he also races sidecars, which he builds the engines for.)

By Dennis C
#49592
Correct me if I have got this wrong then, with the engine running and the bike not moving you cannot get it out of first gear not even change into second gear?, when moving the bike will change gear normally?, the bike will go into neutral when moving?.
By Dennis C
#49604
Thanks for the confirmation that I correctly understand the problem you have.



As I am sure you know these are a constant mesh gearbox and the gears are selected by the gears sliding along the shafts and dogs engaging to
lock the gears together so different ones become the driven gears whilst the others idle.




Two things can cause the problem that you have, 1/ On some gearboxes the dogs engage with holes in the inner ring of the gears
on these boxes after high mileage the dogs can wear into a T shape if they protrude right throught he holes, this has the effect that
they effectivly lock in place and make gearchanging difficult, 2/ The dogs are held tightly together by sideways pressure and when trying to obtain neutral
more pressure is required on the lever than normal, as the space between first gear and neutral is quite small and the recess for the ident plunger
is also smaller that it is in a gear location the lever will jump straight through neutral and engage second gear instead.



Having looked at the exploded view of your gearbox
I can see yours does not engage in holes but dogs engage with dogs, therefore the first of these problems cannot occur,
which only leaves the second, as the sideways pressure comes from the rotation of the engine then some amount of drive is
passing through you clutch (a small amount of drag),
this can be caused by the clutch plates not lifting enough, not lifting straight, the plates being warped, the primary chain being too tight (pulling on the chainwheel) or
oil drag on the clutch plates, you only need a very small amount of drag to give you a problem.



I know you are convinced that it is not clutch drag causing your problem but unfortunately I can see no other reason and all the description
of the fault you have given points to clutch drag.
By papasmurf
#49605
I still suspect the cam plate, because it is somewhat of a complex item to machine accurately without benefit of CNC machinery. With three forks engaging with the cam plate, it does not take much, when the gears are not moving to lock the whole thing solid. The clutch disengages with the handlebar lever nowhere near fully pulled.
In first gear with the engine stopped and the clutch lever bungeed to the handlebars I can spin the back wheel with my little finger.

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