[Tmorris37]

Hello everyone, my 78 Cb400t is being all put together this summer and I'm trying to pick a couple things apart and make sure it will run decently some day soon.

One thing i've noticed is that i can freely shift gears on the bike regardless of holding in the clutch or not, even if i'm in 1st gear with the clutch lever being held in the bike will not freely spin, only if its in neutral.

Is there something I'm missing?

Thank you for any help!

 

[mike in idaho]

That's normal, there is a certain amount of drag even when the clutch is released.

 

[Tmorris37]

I haven't had a chance to put the bike on the road yet, just making sure as soon as i pull in the clutch and shift to 1st its not gonna just die on me right?

 

[ancientdad]

Wet clutch plates have more drag on them with the clutch disengaged than a dry clutch (which should have no drag at all, of course). The space between the multiple friction plates in a bike's wet clutch is minimal when disengaged, so rotating the rear wheel, for example, will be difficult in gear with the engine off and the clutch lever pulled in. Wet clutch plates also have the tendency to stick together after sitting for a period of time, and usually break loose just from putting it in gear the first time once the engine is running - but sometimes it takes once or twice with the engine stalling when it's clicked into gear before they break loose, so hold the front brake and be sure you're facing away from anything before doing so. If repeated attempts to put it in gear keeps stalling the engine, you might have to put it in a higher gear like 3rd or 4th (with the engine off, of course) and rock the bike forward and backward with the clutch lever held in before they break loose.