New, clueless and a bit scared... CBF125

[Hevra]

Hello all,

I'm new to biking and am the first to admit that when it comes to mechanical things, I am totally clueless. I've had my CBF125 for a few days now, and am loving it, but I had a bit of an issue this morning on arriving at work.

I came into the office car park and when I parked up, I could not find neutral at all - yes yes I know, moron alert, but I tried going up and down the gears, tried going as far down as I could then going up one - but the neutral light on the bike never came on.

I've left it parked in what I assume is first, and am now bricking myself that I've somehow broken the gearing!

Apart from remembering that it's in gear when I leave tonight, can anyone suggest anything?

I do realise how pathetic this is, but I've never had anything with an engine before!

Thanks

H
____________________
_MJS_ : TLDR; MTFU, RTFM, DIY, tits and Gary. It's the only way you'll learn
CBF125 > XJ600S > V-Strom 650

[MarJay]

Some bikes can be a bit of a pain in this regard.

The best things to try are:

Rolling the bike backward and forward then gently lifting the lever up.

Putting it in second then gently push down on the lever as you roll it forward.
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Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[N cee thirty]

haha it'll be a first if you have broke the gearbox.

just get used to it and you'll find it.. eventually
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

Jewlio Iglesias wrote: I actually did vote BNP once

[G]

You do often need a really gentle plip up to get it into neutral, especially on a 125.
As mentioned above, rolling it backwards and forwards can help.

If you can still start the bike, it's far from the end of the world to leave it in gear. I always do on a slope.

[CptBlack]

If you start it in gear, make sure you remember to hold the clutch in! Also, probably best to sit on it to just in case.

It's just practice. Both of my bikes took a while before you get the pressure right. If the bike had been sat for a few weeks while the previous owner had upgraded, may have stiffened up a bit. Finally, perhaps needs an oil change/top up?

[Hevra]

Thank you for the responses everyone I noticed that it sails past neutral when shifting from 1st to 2nd without even a brief flicker of the neutral light, so perhaps I was being too vigorous this morning when parked and trying to find it. I’ll try again at home time and if I have no joy still, I’ll just set off from 1st.

I’ve sellotaped a bit of paper with ‘IN GEAR’ written on it to my keys, hehe... I made sure I parked somewhere with a clear run off but best not to tempt fate...

CptBlack: I bought this new (well, pre registered) on Saturday so shouldn’t have stiffened up yet – I’ll bear that in mind for future bikes though

H
____________________
_MJS_ : TLDR; MTFU, RTFM, DIY, tits and Gary. It's the only way you'll learn
CBF125 > XJ600S > V-Strom 650

[pepperami]

Hello Mr/Mrs Hevra? and welcome to the wonderful world that is biking

You need to tell the mighty BCF a bit more so they can impress you with their wisdom.

Is it a brand new bike?
Is it a very old bike?
Does it appear to have been well looked after by its previous owner?
Have you got an owners manual? if not you should have!!!!
Is the gear lever a bit loose?
Is the clutch lever a bit loose?
There are many things that can make a bikes gearbox a bit sticky but that does not mean that they cant be cured fairly easily if you know what to look for?.

You might find that it is just the nature of the bike and when you get the hang of it, you will have a certain way of getting neutral when you come to a stop, but check it out just to make sure the bike is in good working order.


EDIT: just seen Cptn Black`s post =what he said
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[CptBlack]

Its probably more practice than something 'stiffening up' but it could be the gearbox needs oil working into it again and relubricating more than if it had just been left a few days, but as you'd ridden it to work it should be fine. Even with a new bike, it could have been sat in the show-room for a while.

[locked]

Hello Hevra and welcome.

I have the same bike and it does sometimes struggle to find neutral as well.

Best thing to do is to find first with the bike running. Slowley ease the clutch away until you find the biting point. Once you have, pull the clutch back in and shift up into neutral.

HTH
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CBT Passed - 13/09/09 Theroy Passed - 19/12/09 Mod 1 Passed 04/05/10 Mod 2 Passed 14/05/10 - Free to ride ANYTHING!
Motorcycles are perfectly safe as long as you remember they're dangerous.

[yen_powell]

[Hevra]

[27cows]

On my commuter there's a single wire at the rear of the engine for the neutral light. This frequently gets corroded in winter and occasionally leads to the light not working. Nothing to do with difficulty getting the box into neutral, rather an electrical issue.
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[stinkwheel]

They'll usually snick into neutral very easily with the engine off.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Paxovasa]

Hello,

When I have trouble finding neutral, I usually put the bike in first, release the clutch to the biting point, then pull in the clutch and the bike then goes into neutral easier.
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[Pete.]

Hi Hevra.

It's normal for neutral to be harder to find than other gears - it's done that way on purpose to stop you selecting it by mistake.

You didn't say whether you were trying to find neutral with the engine running or stopped. If the engine was running, try selecting it with the engine off - it should be very easy to do then. Confirm you have the bike in gear or in neutral by rolling the bike gently back & forth. Check that your neutral light actually works, you might have a blown bulb or bad connection.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Hevra]

Initially I was trying to find it with the engine on as usual, but I had a go with it off and didn't have any luck then either. If I could roll it into the space though surely it must have been in neutral?

H
____________________
_MJS_ : TLDR; MTFU, RTFM, DIY, tits and Gary. It's the only way you'll learn
CBF125 > XJ600S > V-Strom 650

[CptBlack]

Yeah, shouldn't move more than an inch in gear. Ask a biker if one parks near you, or at a supermarket or somewhere, explain you've only just started riding and need someone to have a quick look. Or go back to the garage.

[stinkwheel]

[Hevra]

Well I managed to find neutral again, in fact I found it a few times inadvertently on the way home.

I had an absolute mare at one point, I stalled when turning into a side road and couldn't shift up from 1st - felt like the engine didn't 'catch'... I don't know the right name for it, but took me a couple of attempts to get into second, and then I stalled it on a right turn into a side road about 400 meters down the road and couldn't get into first once pulled over out of everyone elses' way.

Arghhh and I thought I'd been getting the hang of this biking lark ;_;

I am indeed a nobcat.

H
____________________
_MJS_ : TLDR; MTFU, RTFM, DIY, tits and Gary. It's the only way you'll learn
CBF125 > XJ600S > V-Strom 650

[G]

Know anyone else that rides bikes that could have a quick go?

New engines can actually be a bit 'stiff' to start with and tend to free up a bit after a while.

Are you definitely fully pulling the clutch in?

[0l0dom0l0]

On my Derbi I had, the gearbox was good, but required a very positive use. It would on occasion not go into first after being in neutral and the trick is just to let the clutch out enough to biting point, pull it in and try again.

Neutral was never hard to find though. Just keep practicing and you will get there eventually. You learn these things very quickly after the first time .

If the bike is brand new, it will need running in, and after a few more miles and an oil change everything will probably settle down.

How many miles have you done?

[Hevra]

I could get my husband to try it, he's as new to biking as I am although he's a) been driving for 12 years and b) isn't a total pansy so perhaps he can work out what's going on.

Miles: it has done 53 so far, hehe

H
____________________
_MJS_ : TLDR; MTFU, RTFM, DIY, tits and Gary. It's the only way you'll learn
CBF125 > XJ600S > V-Strom 650

[0l0dom0l0]

Yeah 53 miles isn't really alot .

Have another go and if you don't feel like its getting any better just find someone else to try it .

[The Shaggy D.A.]

Since it's a brand new bike, it could simply be that the clutch cable has stretched slightly as it's bedding in and just needs adjusting. If the clutch isn't disengaging fully when the lever is pulled all the way in, that can make both finding neutral and gear changes awkward sometimes.
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[Rogerborg]

Well, if you buy one of those Indian-made bikes...

I agree with m'lurned colleagues - give it a little time to run in, but do check the tension on the clutch cable. There should be a little free play in the clutch lever before it tensions up, just about 1cm or so. Less and you risk running with the clutch partially engaged, more and you might not be able to engage the clutch fully.

It's dead easy to adjust - the end of the clutch cable sleeve will screw into the clutch lever, and be held tight with a locknut. Unscrew the clutch sleeve a little - that'll tension up the inner cable - then tighten up the locknut again.

If you fumble a shift from 1st to 2nd and end up in neutral, you may have to go back down to 1st again, then up to 2nd. This is pretty scary the first time it happens, but you'll soon get used to giving a good solid shift past neutral, or recovering it if you get stuck.

Hang in there, it gets easier quite quickly.