False Neutrals

Tornado · Aug 26, 2026

Last few months of regular riding, my 74 850 has been giving false neutrals occasionally. Sometimes its 2nd to 3rd or 1st to 2nd.sometimes when downshifting. Went through GB some 10k miles ago, new bushes, bearings (Hemmings bb phenolic cage layshaft bearing), new aprings etc. All looks pretty clean and no signs of significant wear on hear sets or shafts.

Not sure how to proceed. Are the selector forks prone to wear and give this effect?

Dedubyah · Aug 26, 2026

Check your clutch centre for notching

Tornado · Aug 26, 2026

Dedubyah said:
Check your clutch centre for notching

It has the CNW hardened clutch center amd recently fitted with barnett clutch plates. Since then it has been making a bit of a raspy/rattley sound as clutch lever is released. Have heard from others this is not uncommon with the lighter material barnett plates (alloy, non magnetic metal).

baz · Aug 26, 2026

Tornado said:
Last few months of regular riding, my 74 850 has been giving false neutrals occasionally. Sometimes its 2nd to 3rd or 1st to 2nd.sometimes when downshifting. Went through GB some 10k miles ago, new bushes, bearings (Hemmings bb phenolic cage layshaft bearing), new aprings etc. All looks pretty clean and no signs of significant wear on hear sets or shafts.

Not sure how to proceed. Are the selector forks prone to wear and give this effect?

Check your hairpin spring on the selector
Sometimes it's not going into gear properly

ashman · Aug 26, 2026

Also using too much pressure on your gear changing on the lever can cause that with new lighter clutch try changing with less pressure on your gear lever, my gears box changes with light pressure on the lever and has been like that for 50 years, if I am heave footed it will do what u say.

Torontonian · Aug 31, 2026

Tornado said:
It has the CNW hardened clutch center amd recently fitted with barnett clutch plates. Since then it has been making a bit of a raspy/rattley sound as clutch lever is released. Have heard from others this is not uncommon with the lighter material barnett plates (alloy, non magnetic metal).

Did you use the stock clutch circlip and overtighten it as per the old out of date torque specs . ?
Hairpin spring must be set up to just before barely touching . Easily bent arms to achieve this .

DennisMo · Sep 1, 2026

On my gearbox, not rebuilt in my ownership, It started to have it pop out of first infrequently with starts from stop. And also sometimes not shift completely into the next gear. I found a firmer change with foot solved it. I did look at the hairspring and there was perhaps a little more space between them and the pawl, (and the pawl had a slight notches in it from hairspring wear on it), but I left it as is and shifting seems ok now that I am firmer with shifter..

Dennis

Tornado · Sep 1, 2026

DennisMo said:
On my gearbox, not rebuilt in my ownership, It started to have it pop out of first infrequently with starts from stop. And also sometimes not shift completely into the next gear. I found a firmer change with foot solved it. I did look at the hairspring and there was perhaps a little more space between them and the pawl, (and the pawl had a slight notches in it from hairspring wear on it), but I left it as is and shifting seems ok now that I am firmer with shifter..

Dennis

So thats one vote for firmer, one for lighter (Ash) use of shifter.

Tornado · Sep 1, 2026

Torontonian said:
Did you use the stock clutch circlip and overtighten it as per the old out of date torque specs . ?
Hairpin spring must be set up to just before barely touching . Easily bent arms to achieve this .

I follow the OldBritts guidance and only torque to the lower number ro avoid crushing the circlip...plus locktite on the nut.

ashman · Sep 1, 2026

DennisMo said:
On my gearbox, not rebuilt in my ownership, It started to have it pop out of first infrequently with starts from stop. And also sometimes not shift completely into the next gear. I found a firmer change with foot solved it. I did look at the hairspring and there was perhaps a little more space between them and the pawl, (and the pawl had a slight notches in it from hairspring wear on it), but I left it as is and shifting seems ok now that I am firmer with shifter..

Dennis

If you need to be firmer with the shifter means something is not right if the changing was right before, my gear change hasn't changed in 50 years is still a light gear change without being heavy footed, its also been a long time since I been in my gear box, but things do wear and looks like the hairspring might have lost it spring or worn, I be looking into it if I had notice a difference to my gear lever touch/feel.

Ashley

batrider · Sep 1, 2026

There is some slop in the holes for the plate that holds the ends of the hairpin spring. I disturbed mine and then had a difficult time getting it to work reliably. I had to dink around with adjusting it a bit. With the cover off you can watch what is happening with the pawl mechanism.

ashman · Sep 1, 2026

Its very touchy the hair spring if not set right, but other things do wear as well, but lucky it's been a long time now since I been in my GB and a lot of problems can be clutch related, too tight primary chain, but the gear change should be smooth and light clicks to get gears if things are right, in my younger days my GB copped a lot of abuse and a few thing blew, layshaft bearing first, right on 12K miles lucky it blew when I was putting it into gear outside of my home, I have rebuilt a few Norton GBs over the years for friends and that hair spring has to be set right.

Tornado · Sep 1, 2026

What happens in my case is a light shift lever press or lift...release the clutch and find I'm in a false neutral...so clutch in again and then another press/lift...lightly but if no feel for a gear clicking in, and still a neutral upon clutch out, then a firm press. Usually it seems to re-select if I've clutched in/moved lever, re-released... but not always and I have to try a few more times. its not often this happens, maybe once or twice every few hours of riding.

marinatlas · Sep 2, 2026

Any excess layshaft end float ....?

DennisMo · Sep 2, 2026

I agree with Baz. There may be too much space between hairspring and the pawl thing such that the pawl is catching, but only after the selector edge is past so it does not move the actual elector shaft. Hard to explain...

Torontonian · Sep 2, 2026

DennisMo said:
I agree with Baz. There may be too much space between hairspring and the pawl thing such that the pawl is catching, but only after the selector edge is past so it does not move the actual elector shaft. Hard to explain...

Yeah , hard to explain . Less clearance is better , yet never touching .
The hairspring is fitted only one way and not the accidentally fitted reverse way . Note the crook beforehand .

False Neutrals

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