Honda NT700VA difficult selecting neutral

Trebor

Joined
Aug 1, 2026
Messages
3
Location
UK
Bike
Honda Deauville NT700V
Hello

I’m a new member and have really enjoyed looking through the various posts on the forum. I bought a 2007 Deauville 700 about 6 months ago which has 20,000 miles on the clock and have begun to find it very difficult to select neutral when stationary. I have to sit with clutch lever pulled when waiting at junctions/ traffic lights which isn’t ideal. When I finish my journey and want to leave the bike in neutral for starting again, I have resorted to pulling clutch lever, turning ignition off, turning back on again, selecting neutral without engine running then turning ignition off. Apart from clutch cable adjustment, I wondered what other things I could try to improve things.
Thanks for any advice you can offer.
 
Usually gear selection problems of any sort are rare though the gear change can be quite agricultural..... Clutches do seem to last indefinitely and certainly would need to have been seriously abused to give an issue at 20K miles. Clutch cables can seize/corrode internally and so be not releasing properly so, if adjustment OK, then a new cable (the old one is probably 20 year old remember!) would be a good place to start. Oil type can also affect gear changes so make sure correct recommended oil in place, but shouldn't really affect neutral selection too much. Cable issues in some form (any bar risers fitted as this can affect the cable) would be my first port of call. Happy fiddling!!
 
moriniman above has good advice to start.
It sounds like clutch drag. Can you feel the bike wanting to creep forward when stopped, in gear and clutch pulled all the way back to the grip?
Any mods done?

Arknt
 
Thank you very much moriniman2011 . The bike appears to be in really good condition and well cared for by previous owner including main dealer service history, so it is good to infer from your reply it is unlikely to be a clutch issue. The bike had been stood unused for about 18 months when I got it so I think I’ll remove the clutch cable and try giving it a good lubrication as a first step. The bike does not have bar risers.
 
ARKNT said:
moriniman above has good advice to start.
It sounds like clutch drag. Can you feel the bike wanting to creep forward when stopped, in gear and clutch pulled all the way back to the grip?
Any mods done?

Arknt
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply. The bike doesn’t feel like it is trying to creep forward when I’m stopped. When I stop in first gear say, then try to push gear shift up to put in neutral, it clunks in to second gear instead, I then try to push down in to neutral and it clunks in to first gear. At this point I usually then just hold clutch lever in until I am able to proceed.

The bike appears to be stock - the only mods I can see are one of the previous three owners has installed an after market digital gear indicator.

I have noticed there does seem to be a bit of lateral movement/ play in the gear shift linkage arrangement and wonder if this might be contributing to the problem.
 
Definitely lubricate the clutch cable, then adjust per the manual. One thing I had to do with the NT, and also with my NC700, was give a a couple of quick revs with the throttle, in 1st and clutch in, and then I could slide it into neutral; not sure why this works.
 
Since you mentioned it, look at pivot shifter bolt. A number of them have fallen off while riding and reported here. Make sure it's tight, there is a thin washer on each side
 
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