I just got a 1995 dyna lowrider and it wont shift into netural while running. Just changed the fluid to see if that was it but did not make a differance. I adjusted the clutch the way the book says and now it shifts hard like the clutch is not disengaging.

 

Changed the fluid in the trans or the chaincase?

Make sure the level in the chaincase is right, or it will be hard to find neutral. Have you checked to see that you are getting full range of motion from the clutch cable... Did you adjust that according to the manual, too?

 

When someone says "they just got" something....it's an indication of like....where has it been and what did somebody do to it. If this particular bike never did find neutral, take one approach. If it has been finding neutral but stopped...you can go another way.

If it has been that way since the day you had it...you don't now what you have in there. You don't know if somebody has added any plates or friction disc, what strength spring is in the clutch, how tight the primary chain is, if the correct clutch push-rod is installed, or if the shift linkage has been monkeyed with, etc.

A dragging clutch is most always the culprit for failure to find neutral, but there could be other reasons. There are adjustments that are made in transmission shifting components....maybe it has a bent shift fork...anything could be going on here.

I'd try to first find out from who I bought if from...did they have this same problem? Anyway....I'd take the derby cover off and pull the clutch lever to "see" how much movement I had in the clutch-pack. You need at least 75/1000-or-so for an adequate lift. If the clutch is not lifting (and you can see that) it is something amiss in the cable, the lifting mechanism, or the push rod adjustment.

When you adjust the clutch by-the-book...that includes the push rod adjustment first....and then work back through the cable free play adjustment. The point is....get it "lifting" first. Could be the type fluid you are running in the tranny, or something else, but it first needs to LIFT!

 

When i bought the ike it was like that. I also failed to say that the bike sat for over a year an half. It also had a new clutch cable on it. Will check everything that was mentioned.
Thanks all

 

If it sat up for that long, maybe some disc and plates are sticky. Any slight drag between a plate and a friction disc can cause and endless and noisy hunt for neutral. Change all those primary and tranny fluids too. You know....some of these animals just fall in to neutral and some don't. "Hunting" a bit for neutral is not that abnormal.

 

I have a 99 softial that I bought new it has been that way since day one,if shes running and your stoped its super hard to go to neutral,shut her down and it goes in very ez, the only time I can get her in neutral when shes running is when I am coming to a stop and flip the shiter up at 5mph,goes in N no problem,i have spoke with over 5 techs about it and iv even asked Kendall Johnson his exact works were nature of the beast.

 

Nope....not the nature of the beast. When you're able to shift it at slow speed, all that's happening is the dog engagement is easier, because both shafts are turning and they will match at equal revs. It's sort of hard to explain, but at a dead stop or too high of a speed, the engagement is harder to achieve with anything dragging the clutch plates. Us who remember the older three-speeds in our vehicles would recall how they could be shifted without the clutch by varying your speed. It use to be something we did to show-off I suppose.

One thing you just said is a good clue...."from day one". Meaning it left the factory that way. Who knows....they might have an extra disk or plate in there, which would make it harder to lift the clutch. I presume you've been thru all the adjustments and possibly changed fluids to something like a Redline. Something is dragging the clutch...it's not fully disengaging. What that something is can be found and corrected.

 

ok ill keep trying but after 16 years its kinda goting old messing with it.

 

Yes, it is the nature of the beast.

There is very little travel in the clutch release mechanism, so the clutch will drag slightly even when the lever is pulled in.

If you got one that pops into neutral easily, I`ll bet the clutch is adjusted so that it barely engages when the lever is released.

The easiest way to find neutral: when you pull into your garage after the ride, shut the engine off, reach down with your hand and pull the lever up into neutral. This has worked for me for the past 26 years on my Softail.

 

Well....I know I went out on a limb a little bit and yes, it can be the nature of the beast, but the nature-of-the-beast varies in severity. I'm on my 15th. Harley and some were better about shifting and finding neutral that others. Clunky shifting is just part of the deal. But, I've never owned one that I could not improve. I do have one that drops into neutral easily and the clutch is not maladjusted.