Issue with shifting

[DVigue]

I was at a stoplight. Light changed to green. I rolled off in 1st gear, when to shift to second. Bike went to Neutral and would not go into 2nd. Won't drop to 1st. Completely stuck in neutral. Can't shift it off or running. Ideas as to where to look and what to look for?

Also, no grinding, scraping or other noise from the tranny.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there DVigue,

You'll want to pull the gear shift lever and case cover off, it's an oil filled chamber, but if you lay or lean the bike far over to the right, you can do it without draining the oil. HOWEVER, if what I suspect may have happened, you may want to drain and then STRAIN the oil to look for some small part, possibly even pull the tranny pan, here's why!

The shift drum has small pins that the shift pawl mechanism grabs to allow the rotation of the drum which then slides the shift forks which slides the gears on the shafts to change them. There is a small plate that keeps the pins in place, but folks have reported that their plate got bent, and the pins/dowels fell out, so that there was nothing for the shift pawl to grab, hence, not being able to shift the gears since it couldn't rotate the shift drum. IT's more rare to happen on the 1st/second gear pins vs. the 5th gear pins. The 5th gets more stress due to a variety of reasons, being at the end of the drum rotation cycle, and folks sometimes trying to find 6th gear, as well as just hitting it during a prominent bump, etc., and so it's usually the 5th gear pin that gets lost!?

There are some fine photos in the tech tips about replacing the shift lever SPRING, that will show the shift pawl and such, btw, there's a section in the MANUAL about setting the alignment of the shift pawl and drum when in 2nd gear that you'll want to check as well.

Folks tried bending the plate back after putting the dowel back in, but once it's bent, it's weakened, and often gets rebent under stress. The parts are still available from Yamaha, you can see an exploded view on the Official Yamaha parts fiche site better than bike bandits copy/version!
T.C.

[DVigue]

So houw tough is it to replace said pin should I find one in the bottom of the pan?

[TopCatGr58]

As I said, if you'll follow this link
This Link in the LINKS section, then you can follow the directions to find your model/year of bike, and then see the exploded view. IT's a bolt on part for the shift drum, the plate that secures the pin will/should be replaced if it's gotten bent, but you should be able to reuse/reinstall the pin(s) that might be loose!
T.C.

[DVigue]

Well pulled off the shifter and side cover. Seems that the shift "thingee" (technical term for shift pawl "I think" came out of the groove and got stuck on the edge. Simply slipping it back into the groove allows it to shift again.

I do have 2 questions. Manually shifting it, I only count 4 "clicks" into gears Am I missing one or do I need to adjust it.

Also, did I miss the tech tip on replacing the side cover for adjustment to ensure that I get it stuck on correctly?

[TopCatGr58]

Click HERE for the Shift Lever Return Spring Pictorial, which shows how the shift parts fit before putting the cover back on. It's hard to see it, but there are matching dots on the shift lever, and pawl lever where they mesh together, dots need to align tooth/groove together.

Also, when in 2nd gear, the notch cut into the grabbing part of the shift pawl should line up with the notch on the end of the shift drum.

When in 1st gear, there will only be 4 clicks, as you shift up past neutral to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th.
T.C.

[DVigue]

Thanks TC. That is just what I needed. Now to get a new gasket tomorrow, and some new fluid and I am golden.

If it came out once think I should replace the spring? It seems pretty firm as it is now or think this was a rare thing that happened?

D

[madmax-im]

Spring for a new Spring

LOL...couldn't hurt to replace it....I would toss the old one...