After riding the bike for 15 or 20 minutes in normal traffic. I stopped at a light and put the bike in neutral. just before the light changed I tried to shift into 1st and it wouldn't go. I tried upshifting and downshifting and bliping the throttle and eventually it went into 1st. Another time, I was approaching a light and I engaged the clutch and proceeded to down shift I couldn't get it into 1st or neutral, I don't know if it was stuck in 2nd or 3rd. I could upshift, but not downshift. again, while stopped at the light, I did the shifting up and down thing while blipping the trottle and eventually it went into first. what the heck is going on? is my clutch messed up? is something wrong with my tranny? am I low on trans oil? any help would be appreciated. thanks.
PS. Please note the product is not the actual bike. the actual bike model is in the summary.
You have a bent shift fork. This is not a repair job for the amateur. The engine comes out of the frame, turns upside down then the bottom of the gear case gets separated from the top. The entire shift drum, forks and all, gets removed and the bent fork gets replaced. The engine re-assembles in the reverse pattern.
Now what about stressed gears? Any cracked or broken slider gear dogs?
You are going to have at least 75 parts on the work bench. Was the collar on the slider gear on the left side or the right? I am trying to show you why you had best be careful. The shop charges more to fix a box of loose parts than if they fix a gearbox.
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What was posted are classic symptoms of a bent shift fork. The common thread here is the fact that it is always the same problem, shifting down from 2nd into neutral or neutral to 1st.
I thought they were in sequence not days apart. Yes, being an intermittant problem is strange for a bent shift fork.
Go ahead and change the gearbox oil. That's always a good thing to do for the engine in gereral. See if clean oil clears up the problem. If not, give the following thought a try.
The power turning the clutch shaft is transmitted through the clutch plates from the crankshaft. While sitting still with the clutch pulled in, the clutch shaft is not turning. If the shaft is not turning then the slider gear on the shaft is not turning. The slider gear has 3 or four dogs, ( 1/4" pins ), that slide into holes in the side of the driven gear, ( first gear, in this case ). If the slider gear is not turning when it is trying to engage the dogs into first gear, then, since first gear isn't turning either, the dogs are just pushing against the SIDE of the first gear. The dogs are not lined up with the holes in first gear.
Try this the next time you can't get into first gear. Let the clutch out just a bit. You will be letting the clutch partially engage which will turn the clutch shaft / slider gear and should allow the bike to go into first. Sorry for the long discription of how the gearbox works. I felt it would clairify the problem.
Let me know how this turns out.
It doesn't mean anything. Just that you are helping the slider gear to engage a stationary gear. It is best to shift into neutral or first with the bike in motion but not accelerating. Keep in mind that the problem may still be the forks. This is a helpful work-around when you have the early stages of "bentforkitus". If the forks end up needing to be replaced, is the shop doing the work or are you? I urge that you let the shop.
Hey, I get no pay, but I am working on building my number of top ratings. Could you take a moment and rate my answers? Thanks Tim.
I have the same problem with my 02 Spirit 750. Also intermitent. Mine happens when on a long ride and the bike is well warmed up. Haven't tried the gearbox oil (to be honest, I thought the gearbox used engine oil). I will also try these recommendations as I've been trying to get a solution for 6+ months and nothing. Thanks for this detailed explaination and I feel I finally have something to try to narrow down the cause of this. Hopefully not a 'bentforkitis' issue though. Sounds pricy.
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Why is the problem intermittent if it is a bent shift fork? Wouldn't it happen all the time, instead of occaisionally?
Thanks for the information and the explanation is great.
I haven't changed the gerbox oil yet.
Letting the clutch out a little and shifting seems to work.
so what does this mean?
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