Not engaging 1st Gear (Honda CBF 125 250 miles on the clock)

[aserota]

Hi all,

I have a slight issue with my new motorcycle (Honda CBF 125). When in Neutral I have difficulty shifting into first gear. The bike has done 250 miles since new; around 70 around town and a few days back I did a 180 mile A-road ride. The shifting problem seemed to happen around 150 miles into the journey.

The bike has a warranty for 2 years, but the local garage isn't close (Honda one anyway). Any advice on if this could be a simple fix at home?


Regards


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[andy_uk]

Have you checked your oil level?
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Aprilia Classic 125, GS500E, ER5-A1, ER5-C4, ER6 & an XJ6 project frame...

[Irn-Bru]

My mate had a CBF 125 and for a Honda, it seemed to break quite a bit. He issues with it slipping out of gear but that was @ 8K on the clocks. Exhaust also rotted away so keep an eye on that, even the replacement started the same process after a few month. It's definitely a bike made to a budget, probably why he paid £2K for it brand new.
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KTM 990 SMT & Suzuki DR-Z 400 SM

[neil.]

Checked the oil level? The gearbox on the CBF is really finicky if the oil level gets low, or isn't changed regularly (which isn't an issue for you yet - first change should be at 600 miles).

Also, the default height of the gear shift pedal is quite high - you might find it easier to shift by lowering it by a notch.

Since it's still in warranty, you'd be best off talking to the dealer even if it's just for some advice - they may be aware of this as a common issue on these bikes, or it may mean something more serious is afoot. They shouldn't charge you for any work as it should be covered under warranty.

[McJamweasel]

Check your chain tension as well. 150 miles or so is about enough for the chain to be slack enough to interfere with gear change.
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BCF: Be yourself, just don't be an arse.

[MikeyBrown]

Not too sure what it could be, but the gear lever position might be a good place to start.

Failing that, could it be the same issue as my GPZ? When I'm at a standstill, the gearbox wont select 1st or 2nd gear and will just stay in Neutral...supposed to help you find it haha

Good luck and ride safe
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Past Bikes: '97 CG125, '91 GPZ500S, '01 FZS600, '07 S/Triple, '99 ZX9R, '82 GP125, '83 GP100, '03 SV1000S, '98 ZX6R
Current Bike: '07 FZ1N
Trackdays: Darley Moor - 15/6/12, Donington - 28/8/12

[Ekruk1]

Hi,
I can tell you a little tip iv learnt, when needing to engage 1st give a little rev and then knock it down, works every time for me

[yen_powell]

It'll be your clutch cable adjustment. If you've got too much slack then you will have trouble getting the bike into first from neutral (but no problems changing into it from second on the move).

This gets worse when the engine is hot as the cable expands and gets even longer increasing the slack.

Get the bike hot then adjust the cable exactly as per your handbook instructions.
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Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[tahrey]

I don't suppose the warranty covers them transporting the bike to the dealer for repairs if it develops an under-warranty fault that renders it unrideable or unroadworthy? Say you can't get into 1st and there's a big hill start on the only road between the two of you that's too steep to get moving in 2nd or for you to push it up...

Call them on the phone, anyway, and discuss the problems you're having. They may just give you the same answers, or they might ask you to bring it in (at which point spin the "but you're so far away, I can't get there" line and see if they offer to pick it up).

So far the advice in this thread looks good...
1. Check the oil level, top up if necessary. Though usually when I've seen such things it's been to do with synchromesh and bearings in car boxes (which tend to have a separate supply), you still need good lubrication for the cogs and the wet clutch to operate correctly.

2. Don't hold the clutch in for long in neutral before kicking down into 1st. As bike gearboxes use dog-clutch engagement rather than synchro, they're more liable to baulking the change with a stationary geartrain than cars (which are themselves not immune). Make sure input shaft is still moving at least a little when you go for the shift (takes 1-2 seconds for friction to bring it to a halt when you clutch in), and it should clunk happily into place.

An alternative I've found, when wanting (for various odd reasons) to get into gear with the engine off, is to rock the machine back and forth slightly on its wheels whilst pushing the gear lever. The movement of the output shaft should have a similar, lower-load effect. As I'm a serial hardware abuser, and my box sometimes produces false firsts, I leave the clutch engaged for this, so I can tell that it's actually in gear by how the bike WON'T move more than a few centimetres either way before hitting strong internal resistance.

3. Adjust the clutch, and make sure the cable is oiled. If it's not disengaging properly whilst the engine is running, you'll have about as much trouble getting the dog teeth to mesh as if the whole geartrain is stationary, but with a lot more noise and potential damage.

If the manual says nothing about it, and it's cable rather than hydraulic, the adjustment is almost exactly like that of a bicycle brake lever (adjuster barrel + locknut), but slightly more heavy duty. Try it one way and another and feel for any differences. If you have to extend the adjuster so far that it's in danger of either falling out of or seizing within the lever bracket, however, it may either need adjusting at the gearbox end (there's a separate twisty thing there) or the clutch and/or cable themselves may be faulty.

Don't check for disengagement by lifting the back wheel and running the bike in gear by the way. Besides the usual "OMG not safe!" arguments, a wet clutch with no resistance it'll spin slowly anyway (and sometimes a dry one, even, or a constant-mesh box in neutral with the clutch engaged). Not fast enough to cause shifting problems, but enough to make you think it's still biting. Sit on the bike with it running in neutral, pull in the clutch and shift to any gear without revving up and see if the engine speed is affected, instead - and whether it starts to smell of burnt clutch

...dunno about the slack chain thing, though. Might make engaging the clutch seem rather snatchy but whether the subtle change in load will interfere with the actual gearshift...?

Bit disappointing if you've got an actually duff gearbox... i'm up to 12,500 miles so far with aught but an occasional false neutral to bother about (which is usually the bike's way of bitching at me after being hammered too hard)

And yeah, treat the exhaust as if it's made out of tissue paper. Zorst is a common enough complaint even us CG riders have heard of it ... keep the salt & road dirt off it and wax like mad.

[aserota]

Hi all,

The problem turned out to be lack of chain tension. I spoke to the Honda dealer it was bought from and they advised me to check it had around 2cm of movement (it had 4cm!).

The bike unfortunately broke down on the way home from Devon (to London) a few days back. I am not sure why, but I suddenly lost power and the bike stalled (after 3 1/2 hours riding). The bike then was idling horribly, stalling every 5-10 seconds. When riding in 1st and 2nd it again would lose power and become juddery. I called the AA (included in the sale of the new bike) and they couldn't work out what was wrong, therefore I got a lift back to London.

I took the bike around the block yesterday and it seemed fine?! I will attempt to ride it again tonight and see if it has fixed itself.

It has now done 600 miles and is due for a service, so it will be going in on Friday for this (and a quick check-up). Seems a little weird what has happened, but the service from the retailer has been excellent. On the flip side I have passed my MOD 1 (DAS) and have my MOD 2 very soon!

[unitynotsocri...]

you should take special note about it 'running in'.a new bike could be easily wrecked if not run in .The first 500 miles,especially the first 200 are critical.at this stage a new bike will easily be wrecked by doing full speed or racing around.
i was in a bike shop in rochdale a few years ago,this young lad who'd bought some trick 125 2 stroke was bust bragging in the que about how cool his bike was,doing just under a 100 mph etc,,,,,.When he got to the counter he started moaning to the shop how he'd been sold a duff bike because his discs squealed and judderd.by chance a few days later he was in there again,with his mum! turns out he'd thrashed it from new and had'nt even done 1,000 miles!And here he was slagging off the mechanic and the bike shop.

RUN IT IN from what your saying it sounds like its tried to seize a few times already.The gbox should get smoother as well as the engine but just potter around opn it until it's done 500 miles then open it up gradually,the rewards are worth it ,like long term reliability,economy and smoothness.

the first oil change is critical,it will contain lots of little bits of metal,its normal though ,just everything bedding in .
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