need info about shift forks

[virgsr62]

how hard is it to change out shift forks out the shift forks ? I have replace everything that burnt up when it caught on fire got it running except for the wireing of my lights a friend of mine came and got it to shift through the gears one time then it got stuck in 1st gear I got it out of first now it wont go into any gear I was told I would have to pull the motor to do so. if so what would be the best way to do so. will the pheonix ever fly I ask my self
virgsr62

[CatatonicBug]

Definitely don't need to pull the motor to swap the shift forks. They come out the bottom, via the oil pan. However, what you describe sounds more like a clutch issue. Is the clutch adjusted properly? Might try taking the right engine cover off and checking out the clutch springs, and measuring (with a micrometer) the thickness of the clutch plates to see if they are still in spec.

Also, are you sure the shift drum is turning when you lift/lower the pedal? The shift pawl catches on pins on the shift drum, and the pins can fall out if the retaining washer breaks. If you take the shift cover off, you can inspect that mechanism.

[virgsr62]

shift forks

I really dont know the clutch was working when I replaced the cable I checked it . It was working fine . when I bought the bike a couple of years ago the previous owner said he was having trouble shifting in and out of 2nd hesaid his son would take the cover off of the left side of the bike where the shifter is and fidel with the ear stuff and it would shift for awhile the do the same thing again virg

[CatatonicBug]

Sounds like you could stand to do the 2nd gear fix. That would get you into the clutch AND the shift drum to look at both things. You'd have the shift forks out so you could inspect them as well.

[DGXSER]

Perhaps your pinned!

Could be your missing or have one of the pins loose or missing. The shifting mechanism hooks over pins on th shift drum to turn it. If those pins get loose or fall out which has been known to happen, you will play heck getting it to shift at all.

Otherwise, yes, you can pull the forks out the bottom of the engine by removing the oil pan and both side covers. If you read through the 2nd gear dremel tech tip, it walks you through the steps to do this. You can look at your clutches and your shift forks.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Virg,

I'm in agreement that it's the shift drum and missing pins, and probably a totally bent/broken pin cover plate! That plate isn't very strong, and IF the PO fiddled in there, probably putting the pins back in place, and BENDING the plate back into position. But once it's bent, it's weakened, and will just bend back out of position. That plate is still available from Yamaha and such.

So....first, just pull that shift lever cover, and inspect the drum. IF you find pins missing, and the plate bent, then you don't have to go any further into the engine. You can test the gears by having someone spin the engine by hand while working the shift drum, and you will probably be able to shift the gears! The manual.....if you don't have one, D/L one from Catatonic's links, and you'll find an alignment procedure for the shift pawl/drum to be done in 2nd gear.

Also, while you're in there, there is a Shift lever return spring that gets worn/sprung and will then not return the shift lever all the way back up to reset the shift pawl/ratchet mechanism, and can then make it difficult to DOWNSHIFT....that springs is about $10 or so, cheap to replace at this time to prevent that problem in the future! See tech tips, nice photos about this, and you can see the shift drum/plate and what it's supposed to look like!
T.C.

[virgsr62]

shift forks

thanks guys ill try it and see
virgsr