Well, exactly what do you mean by hard to go into gear? Is it hard to shift or does it grind when trying to shift? Could it be the clutch pedal is out of adjustment, not sure of the exact amount of free play you should have but is it more than 1", just a thought but has the machine been sitting and the clutch is stuck to the flywheel? I have always used the high gear and brakes method to check the clutch, put the machine in high gear apply the brakes really hard and with the throttle at about 1/2 to 3/4 slowly let the clutch out, if it stalls clutch is likely to be good, if it doesn't stall the clutch is more than likely bad as long as the pedal adjustment is ok.
