Honda NT700VA difficult selecting neutral

Hello following on from my recent thread regarding difficulty engaging neutral on my 2007 NT700VA , I decided to take the plunge and open the clutch up. I found three areas where there are burrs on the clutch components which may be causing clutch drag. The spring posts, the inner basket grooves in which the inner fingers of the steel plates run and the outer basket where the outer fingers of the friction plates run. I have attached some photos. At first I thought I might replace these but having seen the cost (approx £750) I am instead going to see if I can dress the burrs and will then rebuild the clutch and hopefully that may improve matters enough. Perhaps new springs may be worth installing as they aren’t too expensive.

For information to remove the clutch side engine cover I did the following - removed clutch cable, exhaust silencer (not downpipes), plastic cover over right engine guard so I could eyeball one of the clutch cover screws without having to remove side fairing and all that entails. The only difficulty I had was removing the clutch nut. The front of the clutch nut has an integral ring which is used to lock the nut into a slot on the shaft. Trying to punch the indented section up out of the slot unfortunately resulted in me basically flattening that part of the ring in the slot. I eventually resolved this by drilling a 4mm hole in the nut close to the slot to weaken the bent part of the ring enough before proceeding to attempt nut removal. The 27mm clutch nut was incredibly tight (normal right hand thread) but I managed to shift it though a combination of an air operated impact driver and a 600mm breaker bar.

I’ll provide a further update in due course. Thanks
 

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Trebor said:
Hello following on from my recent thread regarding difficulty engaging neutral on my 2007 NT700VA , I decided to take the plunge and open the clutch up. I found three areas where there are burrs on the clutch components which may be causing clutch drag. The spring posts, the inner basket grooves in which the inner fingers of the steel plates run and the outer basket where the outer fingers of the friction plates run. I have attached some photos. At first I thought I might replace these but having seen the cost (approx £750) I am instead going to see if I can dress the burrs and will then rebuild the clutch and hopefully that may improve matters enough. Perhaps new springs may be worth installing as they aren’t too expensive.

For information to remove the clutch side engine cover I did the following - removed clutch cable, exhaust silencer (not downpipes), plastic cover over right engine guard so I could eyeball one of the clutch cover screws without having to remove side fairing and all that entails. The only difficulty I had was removing the clutch nut. The front of the clutch nut has an integral ring which is used to lock the nut into a slot on the shaft. Trying to punch the indented section up out of the slot unfortunately resulted in me basically flattening that part of the ring in the slot. I eventually resolved this by drilling a 4mm hole in the nut close to the slot to weaken the bent part of the ring enough before proceeding to attempt nut removal. The 27mm clutch nut was incredibly tight (normal right hand thread) but I managed to shift it though a combination of an air operated impact driver and a 600mm breaker bar.

I’ll provide a further update in due course. Thanks
Click to expand...
Thank you for providing this information. You may be on to something. I hope its this easy to fix. And not the synchonizers/ or ? in the tranny. 750 pounds is roughly 1,000 dollars US. That is alot of money. In the US, technically, Honda doesnt even have to support a bike that is over 10 years old. This puts you in a tough position. No one wants to go to a wrecking yard and pull parts. Wonder what happened to make this fault occurr? Please keep us informed as to the outcome. Good luck! 🙏
 
Coyote Chris said:
Thank you for providing this information. You may be on to something. I hope its this easy to fix. And not the synchonizers/ or ? in the tranny. 750 pounds is roughly 1,000 dollars US. That is alot of money. In the US, technically, Honda doesnt even have to support a bike that is over 10 years old. This puts you in a tough position. No one wants to go to a wrecking yard and pull parts. Wonder what happened to make this fault occurr? Please keep us informed as to the outcome. Good luck! 🙏
Click to expand...
Thank you Coyote Chris. I am currently dressing burrs on the components in photos. The clutch friction and steel plates all appear fine. The 4 springs are well within service limits too but I have ordered 4 new ones thinking that may help overcome any sticking on any residual roughness. A new clutch nut is going to take about a week or so to come.

Regarding wondering what happened to make this occur ?. Perhaps at sometime when the bike was stationary on its centre stand and someone got on it and pushed it off the stand without realising the bike was in first gear causing the clutch plates to suddenly be smashed against the basket. I am just guessing and probably talking rubbish. Thanks for your interest.
 
Trebor said:
Hello following on from my recent thread regarding difficulty engaging neutral on my 2007 NT700VA , I decided to take the plunge and open the clutch up. I found three areas where there are burrs on the clutch components which may be causing clutch drag. The spring posts, the inner basket grooves in which the inner fingers of the steel plates run and the outer basket where the outer fingers of the friction plates run. I have attached some photos. At first I thought I might replace these but having seen the cost (approx £750) I am instead going to see if I can dress the burrs and will then rebuild the clutch and hopefully that may improve matters enough. Perhaps new springs may be worth installing as they aren’t too expensive.

For information to remove the clutch side engine cover I did the following - removed clutch cable, exhaust silencer (not downpipes), plastic cover over right engine guard so I could eyeball one of the clutch cover screws without having to remove side fairing and all that entails. The only difficulty I had was removing the clutch nut. The front of the clutch nut has an integral ring which is used to lock the nut into a slot on the shaft. Trying to punch the indented section up out of the slot unfortunately resulted in me basically flattening that part of the ring in the slot. I eventually resolved this by drilling a 4mm hole in the nut close to the slot to weaken the bent part of the ring enough before proceeding to attempt nut removal. The 27mm clutch nut was incredibly tight (normal right hand thread) but I managed to shift it though a combination of an air operated impact driver and a 600mm breaker bar.

I’ll provide a further update in due course. Thanks
Click to expand...
I'll be looking forward to seeing your results. Best of luck!
 
My as installed clutch friction plates are inconsistent with David Silver website and Haynes manual descriptions.
David Silver site indicates requirement for 1 type B, 6 type A and 1 type C.
Haynes states 1 type B with wider internal diameter should be on outer end, then 6 type A with blue tab then 1 inner friction plate type C with orange tab.
There are no colours visible on my friction plates, instead I have alphanumeric characters.
I have 5 off FP 377 30, 2 off FP 377 29 and 1 off FP 302 5.
The 302 5 is the large internal diameter and is fitted on outer end.
The plates are in this order starting from outer 5, 30,30, 29,29,30,30,30.
Regardless of how colours may equate to numbers, instead of 1, 6, 1 off of different types I have 1, 5, 2 off of different types. I suspect it may well have come out of the factory like this from new considering only 19500 miles.
I have no idea how significant this might be but the friction plates are hardly worn yet I might need to replace them due to this anomaly. Having dressed the clutch inner and outer basket however , I am very tempted to just put what I have back together rather than incur the expense of buying new plates.
If anyone can shed any light on this it would be much appreciated. Thanks
 
I'll not be much help on correct plates for your bike but from the wear notches on the clutch basket my guess is some oil issues somewhere in its past. Maybe improper oil or wrong viscosity.
You may be able to clean it up satisfactory but be patient with it. it could take a while to clean up well.

Arknt
 
ARKNT said:
I'll not be much help on correct plates for your bike but from the wear notches on the clutch basket my guess is some oil issues somewhere in its past. Maybe improper oil or wrong viscosity.
You may be able to clean it up satisfactory but be patient with it. it could take a while to clean up well.

Arknt
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Thanks. I think I’ve made a reasonable job of cleaning up the burrs since posting the photos . I’m just trying to figure out way forward regarding the friction plate discrepancy
 
Trebor said:
Thank you Coyote Chris. I am currently dressing burrs on the components in photos. The clutch friction and steel plates all appear fine. The 4 springs are well within service limits too but I have ordered 4 new ones thinking that may help overcome any sticking on any residual roughness. A new clutch nut is going to take about a week or so to come.

Regarding wondering what happened to make this occur ?. Perhaps at sometime when the bike was stationary on its centre stand and someone got on it and pushed it off the stand without realising the bike was in first gear causing the clutch plates to suddenly be smashed against the basket. I am just guessing and probably talking rubbish. Thanks for your interest.
Click to expand...
Problems like these are interesting if they are on someone else's bike! Did you recieve little joy from English forums?
 
Coyote Chris said:
Problems like these are interesting if they are on someone else's bike! Did you recieve little joy from English forums?
Click to expand...
Hi Coyote Chris I didn’t realise there is a UK forum and thought this was the only forum . Hope it’s been ok for me to post here . Thanks
 
Have a pdf of the Honda manual with all the clutch info (section 11 basically) and how to remove and replace. If you want a copy then PM me and I can give you a link - the pdf is 133MB so cannot be easily attached to anything!
 
Trebor said:
Hi Coyote Chris I didn’t realise there is a UK forum and thought this was the only forum . Hope it’s been ok for me to post here . Thanks
Click to expand...
Hey, we LIKE you! And this forum has a great technical section with lots of info and tricks. there is a dutch owners club in english
And of course FB pages.
This bike is well liked in Europe but US riders are few, except if you are old, and practical and a pilot.
You can join online discussions and find technical advice for the Honda Deauville on the Honda NTV Forum and the NT-Owners Forums. [1, 2]

Popular English Forums & Communities
    • Honda NTV Forum: Honda NTV Proboards features dedicated sections for Deauville owners, including photo galleries, maintenance guides, and troubleshooting for both the 650 and 700 models. [1, 2]
    • NT-Owners.Org: NT-Owners Forums focuses broadly on Honda NT series and sport touring bikes, offering extensive real-world user impressions, technical help, and owner write-ups for the NT700V Deauville. [1, 2]
    • Facebook Owners Groups: Honda Deauville Owners is an active social community where riders share travel stories, maintenance tips, and general advice
 
moriniman2011 said:
Have a pdf of the Honda manual with all the clutch info (section 11 basically) and how to remove and replace. If you want a copy then PM me and I can give you a link - the pdf is 133MB so cannot be easily attached to anything!
Click to expand...
Hello thank you for this offer. I have attempted to PM you but as it is the first time I have tried to do this I don’t know if I’ve used correct method.
 
Your clutch issue has my interest up with worn notches and possible wrong plates.
Keep us informed of your progress.

Arknt
 
ARKNT said:
Your clutch issue has my interest up with worn notches and possible wrong plates.
Keep us informed of your progress.

Arknt
Click to expand...
Hello ARKNT . As the existing friction plates are hardly worn and well within service limits I have decided at this stage to put them back in the bike rather than replace them. I realise they may not be of the correct type/ configuration but I don’t have any way of confirming this. For all I know, the different numbers on the plates may be batch numbers rather than signifying different specifications. As previously reported I have removed the burrs from the inner and outer clutch basket castings. I’m currently awaiting delivery of a new clutch retaining nut and 4 springs. The nut got somewhat damaged during removal and I understand it is recommended to replace it. The existing springs are well within service limits but as they are not too expensive I thought it worth replacing them as new ones might help should I have any residual burrs on the basket . I’ll provide an update after I receive my parts and reinstall.
If I find the problem persists , I’ll purchase replacement aftermarket clutch plates and try again.
Interestingly a couple of years ago, I helped a friend out on his Mutt 125 motorcycle with a similar issue (difficulty selecting neutral and crashing into gear). On inspection of his clutch basket it too had burrs on the inner and outer components preventing the steel plates and friction plates moving smoothly. Luckily for him, we were able to buy a completely new clutch for approximately £70 which completely resolved the issue. Unfortunately the cost of a complete replacement of my Deauville clutch would be half the price of what my bike is probably worth.
 
Hi just got the NT700VA back together and will do a test ride tomorrow.
So in summary I removed the burrs off the clutch housing inner and outer alloy components of clutch basket, installed replacement springs and a new clutch nut. I did not replace any clutch plates as I was unable to establish exactly what my current plate configuration is and didn’t want to pay out for replacements when they seemed fine on inspection (I may regret this ). Tightening the clutch nut up to specified torque (128Nm) was very nerve racking in case I stripped the thread but thankfully i didn’t .
Will update you again tomorrow. Thanks for your interest.
 
Trebor said:
Hi just got the NT700VA back together and will do a test ride tomorrow.
So in summary I removed the burrs off the clutch housing inner and outer alloy components of clutch basket, installed replacement springs and a new clutch nut. I did not replace any clutch plates as I was unable to establish exactly what my current plate configuration is and didn’t want to pay out for replacements when they seemed fine on inspection (I may regret this ). Tightening the clutch nut up to specified torque (128Nm) was very nerve racking in case I stripped the thread but thankfully i didn’t .
Will update you again tomorrow. Thanks for your interest.
Click to expand...
Thank YOU. We all like learning here except for one old grump. Post pics of WWII airfields and air museaums too.
 
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