Neutral can be finicky. Do your shifting while the bike is still rolling. Go all the way down to first and then a light touch back up into neutral. Then you may have trouble getting it into gear when you pull away. If it won't go in, let the clutch out and try again.

It has a fan, it shouldn't overheat, there is also a temp light.

 

Your bike should be running with 3 bars on the temperature gauge.I live in Thailand and even at 40c in slow city traffic never had more than 3 bars up.


The neutral problem is easily solved by taking up a bit of slack on the cable.

 

You're over thinking like I have a tendency to do, lol. I'd say just enjoy the bike and adapt to any slight imperfections.

Tip: When the bike is brand new and a recent purchase, one tends to be more sensitive to any nuances... :laugh:

 

The gear box will loosen up a bit too with use, but yeah its not the easiest of boxes to find neutral in.
My 250R had a slicker box than the 300 which is kinda annoying as they are supposed to be identical.

Also my XR250 chook chaser has a better box too.

 

I was able to shift into neutral by letting off the clutch slightly, away from the bar.

 

this has been well covered elsewhere, eg, cbr250r.net forums..

firstly, dont try to force any gear..
practice feeling for it, gently..

my practice is to ride towards lights without
if possible, taking feet of footpegs, thus
slowing as appropriate [rather than using brakes
at every light, taking off, brakes, off, brakes etc]
that way you will be in second, or first,
still continuing in motion, when light changes..
or, in fist - the most appropriate gear stopped -
for a shorter time before lights change..

if there is a car behind me at lights
meaning i have not been able to filter to front,
no way will i sit there in neutral[!]
waiting for the car behind to slam into me..
- rear end smashes are a common car on bike smash -

filtered to the front, between front cars, at least
they cant get you from behind, thru those cars..

if for some reason i must use my left hand
simply start releasing clutch, then as it
moves a bit, withdraw clutch lever
and move gear lever up into neutral..
[then when visor moved or whatever,
back into first, clutch in, ready]

even if lights do as you say take '5min' cycles,
[a man can run a mile in under 5min]
it is still best,, to hold clutch in...

riding a motorcycle happens to also be
an excellent all-body movement exercise..
simply holding clutch in for half a second
changing gears over and over, will,
tone and strengthen your fingers, hands
and muscles of forearm.. easy..

holding clutch in at lights etc,
is just another variation of that
excellent conditioning form..

most people have weak hands today..
most novice riders experience discomfort
or pain when first riding their motorcycles..
pain is a natural signal for brain,,
thus brain takes it seriously,, it seems
something serious..

yet,, the fact is that all motorcyclists
will, easily, develop their fingers and hands
within a short time - depending on riding -
to the extent that clutching, gears, throttle,
braking [etc] all become normal, automatic,
and - easy - just as walking became easy
for all of us,, when we first started..

for babies, just the practice of trying
was/is enough to strengthen the legs
for walking to become automatic..

for us, our hands will already be at least
usable, if not strong..
and clutching etc, will also become
automatic.. no problem at all..

 

After my first oil change at 500 miles and using oil suggested to me by Guru MotoMike, she really loosened up and started to stretch her legs. The engine sounded great and I even got a few compliments on how she sounded at higher RPMs. The bike will break in nicely for you. Don't overthink it like Shisoshin says... hes a good philosopher of the bike!

 

I've found it harder to find neutral 1.5K miles in than it was a couple hundred in. Sometimes I like to coast to a stop, so when I'm going 30 you can't shift into 1st without a horrible scraping noise. If you miss neutral you scrape first! I've got use to it but I'd think Honda could have done a better job with the transmission.

 

I've found it harder to find neutral 1.5K miles in than it was a couple hundred in. Sometimes I like to coast to a stop, so when I'm going 30 you can't shift into 1st without a horrible scraping noise. If you miss neutral you scrape first! I've got use to it but I'd think Honda could have done a better job with the transmission.

There is no problem with the transmission... for the record Honda has been manufacturing motorcycle gearboxes since the 1950's, so it's fair to say that they know what they are doing.

nayr14- you should not be trying to shift into neutral, and especially 1st gear, while doing 30 MPH... to do so is asking for trouble. You should always be in the correct gear that corresponds to the road speed you're traveling at.

 

One thing I always disliked about my Honda Rebel was the transmission, suffering from the same hard-to-get-into-neutral problem.

I do notice that sometimes an oilchange makes it somewhat easier to shift into gear, and on my bike it gets easier as the engine is hotter; and like user above said, getting into neutral while rolling is a better option.

I wonder if dragging the clutch will help over completely have the clutch engaged? (Either while coasting or standing still)

 

Yeah, the 300 is a small bike, and Honda has put very short gears on it.
As a result, first gear is very light, but you would indeed want to downshift into first when you're almost standing still, and RPMs drop below ~2k rpm in 2nd gear.


For acceleration there's no problem going almost up 'till the redline before shifting into 2nd gear, but engine braking doesn't always benefit. It wears out the clutch, engine.. i rather pay extra brake pads, than have my engine wear out faster.

First gear is very jerky, and even when you're riding in it, a little engine braking can make you feel like you'd fall over the handlebars, or slide the rear wheel if you're at higher RPMs.

 

I know the scraping sound you mean. You're trying to hit 1st way too soon. Hondas have done that for decades. I don't think it's designed to keep you out of first. You're just trying to jam it in and it's saying "LOL Nope!"

I went out yesterday and tried to find neutral while driving. I can do it from a roll down from second any time I want. I can do it from a roll up from first on command.

From a stop I can find it by feel with my eyes closed.

Sometimes the bike doesn't like going into first from neutral while stopped. Let the clutch out and pull it back in. There's first!

There could very well be an issue with your bike, but just as likely, you need practice.

As has been stated. Neutral requires a very soft touch. It's a "Half shift" instead of a full one and feels like it. When skills are built you'll be able to feel the difference in the shift into neutral.

 

A lot of good responses here. I would have agreed with a lot these complaints if you had asked me a month after buying my cbr300, but now that I've had it a while, I ruled out almost every problem as inexperience or operator error.

Yes 1st gear is jumpy, until you learn how to properly control the friction zone of the clutch and balance it with proper throttle control, then it's butter.

1st isn't meant for anything other than getting the bike moving, and definitely shouldn't be used for engine braking. If you downshift into 1st at 15 mph and the engine "scrapes," that's your fault, not Honda's, not the transmissions' or anyone/thing else's.

Rolling to a stop in neutral is also a bad idea. Any and every time you come to a stop you should always be in first, clutch in, eyes up, ready to go

I also had a hard time finding neutral or getting into first from neutral, until I practiced and now it's a snap. It's also worth mentioning, when I took an MSF RiderCourse to get my motorcycle license, the instructor said that most new bikes are designed to be easier to find neutral from second than from first, to prevent a missed shift into neutral when accelerating.

There's my 2 cents. I strongly recommend an MSF RiderCourse to any and every rider, but especially for those with less than a couple years experience. It really is worth it.

 

I would have agreed with a lot these complaints if you had asked me a month after buying my cbr300, but now that I've had it a while, I ruled out almost every problem as inexperience or operator error.

You've hit the nail bang on the head there my friend...

There will be another bunch of posts next month regarding the same stuff tho i'm sure :laugh:

 

I have always used a certain amount of engine braking on any bike but all bikes are somewhat different

I actually reviewed the owners manual for this bike as I have done with other bikes & it gives rpm specs for downshifting only as far as third gear

I find most of the time downshifting into 4th gear is enough to supplement the braking but occasionally I will go down as far as 3rd,

then when rolling stops is an option I'll go down to 2nd to take off,

as we know 1st gear on this bike is a little snatchy but I have seen worse on smaller displacement bikes, so during the breakin period I started doing some low speed maneuver testing, I tend to use a culdesac for such because with the curbs/gutters all around it gives you some physical boundaries to perform maneuvers such as figure 8's, I found most of the time 2nd gear will do the job with using the clutch friction zone when necessary, & with low speed maneuvers stay away from the handbrake & use footbrake only when necessary

ride safe