I have never had a problem finding neutral whether the cycle is hot, cold, standing still, rolling--and I took off the heel lever long ago. Is there something wrong with the newer cycles? This finding-neutral subject seems to arise regularly, so I am curious.

Now true, sometimes if I have a foot "spasm" and toe-up or down too forcefully, I will go into second toeing up or first toeing down; then again, I know everyone has experienced this. This has nothing to do with the motorcycle. It is my own operator error.

I have used Red-Line primary oil for years, but I doubt this actually makes any difference; I am almost certain it makes no difference even though, of course, there is much discussion here on oils--and I do NOT want to induce any rants about oils here. Any observations other than those about your favorite primary oils are welcome.

Thank you.

And these neutral problems cannot all be regular operator error either. Just curious about why all the neutral fussing.

 

Much ado about nothing.

 

Well, if it's you that can't find neutral, then maybe you would look at it differently.
There are many reasons it happens...linkage, technique, engine heat, and most of the HDs I've had, don't shift into first or neutral well unless rolling.
Had a Road Glide Ultra that had true duals install by the previous owner. When he traded it in he removed the mufflers that went with the true duals and put the stock mufflers back on. Finding neutral was easy until it warmed up in the summer. At that point it was a crap shoot to find it... I put a new exhaust, head pipes and mufflers, and changed the linkage to heim joints and steel rod. After that, I never had another problem and gained low end torque with the new pipes.

 

 

If you have a clutch cable it may need adjusting. I'm having a problem with neutral myself but my shift shaft linkage is shot.

 

Finding neutral on a Harley tourer is a pain. When I get on my BMW, finding neutral is like finding a parking space in an office park on Christmas Day.

 

The OP's entry contains the reason he is asking, he has had that bike a long time, may not have bought it new. 99% of the complaints involve new bikes and new Harley owners. The neutral detent is easy to "pop' through. Add in new bike with stiff transmission, stiff shift linkage and a rider new to Harley and there is some loosening up AND a learning curve involved. Usually by 10,000 miles everything has loosened up AND the rider has mastered the feel and developed the skill needed to find neutral on the first try MOST of the time. An improperly adjust clutch or shift linkage in need of lubrication or repair may make the problem continue long past 10,000 miles.

 

Alot of this problem is caused by the primary being overfilled. And if you have a cable, a clutch adjustment.

 

#1 Reason. Other than that it's about proper adjustment, but then again I've never experienced any real issue.