On Saturday during a short ride, as I was coming up to a stoplight. I was in 3rd and as I pulled up to the light and slowed I tapped down into 2nd then down once more, but only got neutral. with no unusual noise or anything else strange it is now completely stuck in neutral. The shift lever is making the full travel distance needed to shift, but nothing is happening.

Does this sound bad? I searched the forums and verses, but didn't find this exact thing happening. I am woefully non-mechanical. If you can't already see it on the outside of the bike I probably can't fix it, but I do know a couple of guys who could help.

Hopefully someone else will chime in shortly, but here's a couple of thoughts: First, check your clutch cable (if you already have, then I apologize in advance) - it may have stretched slightly or gotten pulled slightly out of adjustment and needs a little tweak. Can't hurt to tweak it, anyway, and see if there's any change. Secondly, it's possible that the shift lever mechanism inside the crankcase came apart -that'll mean splitting the crankcase (ew). Anybody else have any thoughts? Were you able to get a lift home?

The clutch cable seems to OK. It is making it's full range of movement. I should have mentioned that.

If this is a "pull the engine and split the case" problem at this time of year I am going to need therapy...and lots of alcohol!! :(

If this is a "pull the engine and split the case" problem at this time of year I am going to need therapy...and lots of alcohol!! :(

Artman and I will send you the booze... I didn't enjoy splitting the case, and I never even bothered to put it back together (come to think of it, neither did Artman!). :doh:

im thinking its more in the shift pawl area i recomend pulling the tansmission cover off and see if that asembly is working properly .... for the rod to come out or the sheft mechinism to break the amount of movement would have been noticable in the foot (assuming u ride more then a little) the other thing about that is that if it wasnt attached to the other side the range of motiion would be great....

If that spring popped out from behing the prawl it would cause whats happening...

If you are feeling normal spring tension on the shift lever, I`m inclined to agree with seebeeare. Drain the oil and pull off the outer transmission cover. Check to see if the pawl is engaging one of the six arms on the end of shift drum and turning it when you try to shift into first gear. The pawl is the large, flat, forked steel piece you will see when the cover is removed. There are some good pictures of this in chapter six of the Clymers manual. Let us know what you find.

Would you believe that I was in the middle of taking the ERC course when this happened? We were through with the morning session and headed out for lunch. I was expecting to do a write up of my impressions of the course today instead. Once I am back on two wheels I am going to schedule a retake.

I will check when I get home, but I do think that I have normal spring tension on the lever. I say that because the shift lever is is not hanging losely. It returns to it's normal resting position.

The shaft is also not moving in and out more than would be normal, 1/6th inch movement max.

Forgive my ignorance, but when you take off the cover you CAN look in there without **** coming apart and flying out? That is perceived outcome (in my mind) whenever I try to take something mechanical apart. Get to a certain point then SPRANG! 27 pieces fly out of unknown places.

I do have a Cymers. I'll study the pics and instructions, and see if I can make this happen.

Thanks

I haven`t pulled it myself, but everything I have read here or in the Clymers manual indicates nothing will fly out.

nothing will fly out....
here is a pic in the lower quadrent there is what behind the tran cover /the one with the sight glass should lool like on the rt u see a gear looking thing and below is an arm with a wheel on te end of it to the left is the pawl and the pawl has a spring between there and that shaft... i hope this helps

OK, I have two more questions before I do this.

First, since the lever is returning to it's normal resting place I assume that the Lever Return Spring is still in there doing it's thing, so I think what I hope for is that the culprit is the Pawl Spring. If that is the case can it be replaced?

Second, is there a gasket or o-ring on the Transmission Cover that will need to be replaced? Not only am I opening mine, but at the same time my friend who also has 750 has an oil leak from that cover. We are going to try to fix do both at the same time.

Thanks

OK, I have two more questions before I do this.

First, since the lever is returning to it's normal resting place I assume that the Lever Return Spring is still in there doing it's thing, so I think what I hope for is that the culprit is the Pawl Spring. If that is the case can it be replaced?

Second, is there a gasket or o-ring on the Transmission Cover that will need to be replaced? Not only am I opening mine, but at the same time my friend who also has 750 has an oil leak from that cover. We are going to try to fix do both at the same time.

Thanks

Transmission cover gasket #11060-1091

Shift Pawl #13165-1120

Return spring #92081-1777

Will cost you about $25.00 for shift pawl, spring and 2 gaskets at a dealer. :beerchug:

OK, see, now this is why this site is so friggin' AWESOME!

Allright, I am reporting back that the bike is fixed!! :pepper::pepper::pepper::pepper::pepper:

It took about 2 hours from draining the oil to taking a test ride. The culprit was the little U-shaped spring that holds the prawl against the end of the shift drum. It had slipped partially out of place, but wasn't broken. I just slipped it back in where it goes and closed it up. I do plan to order a new spring since I am assuming the old one has gotten weak, and unless it strands me someplace between now and then I will probably install it the next time I change my oil.

Just a couple of things to add about this for any mechanical novices who have to do this in the future.

First, if you can put the bike up on a jack it will keep you from having to do this while laying on the floor. My riding buddy just found an AC Delco 1500 lb capacity bike/ATV jack at a yard sale for $40!! We put it to good use.

Second, you do have to disconnect the bottom end of the clutch cable to get it out of the way. The armature at the end of the cable slides off the shaft once you remove the set bolt. You do need to be careful to get it back on in the same position.

Third, the cover would not actually come all the way off. You can turn it to allow access to the space, but the shaft that turns the prawl sticks out and holds it against the frame and we weren't able to get it out. The only real problem with this is that it would be difficult (but not impossible) to put on a new gasket. Luckily the gasket was undamaged and the cover went back on with no leaks.

Thanks to Seebeeare, OlHoss, Pick and everyone elso who gave me advice on this. :beerchug: You can imagine how awesome it felt to start it up and ride out of the driveway.

Great job, and congrats on it being something (relatively) minor.

--FA

glad it worked out and was simple ! just keep order that spring and keep her handy i dont think your gonna have an issue now that its back in place also if u dodnt have the gasket ,1 min gasket by right stuff works great (just to Let u know if u get in a pinch... )

man, I hope I have as good luck as you did....my bike just broke down the same way today on the way home from work...I'm already a basket case! :doh: @ 8002 miles

Allright, I am reporting back that the bike is fixed!! :pepper::pepper::pepper::pepper::pepper:

It took about 2 hours from draining the oil to taking a test ride. The culprit was the little U-shaped spring that holds the prawl against the end of the shift drum. It had slipped partially out of place, but wasn't broken. I just slipped it back in where it goes and closed it up. I do plan to order a new spring since I am assuming the old one has gotten weak, and unless it strands me someplace between now and then I will probably install it the next time I change my oil.

Just a couple of things to add about this for any mechanical novices who have to do this in the future.

First, if you can put the bike up on a jack it will keep you from having to do this while laying on the floor. My riding buddy just found an AC Delco 1500 lb capacity bike/ATV jack at a yard sale for $40!! We put it to good use.

Second, you do have to disconnect the bottom end of the clutch cable to get it out of the way. The armature at the end of the cable slides off the shaft once you remove the set bolt. You do need to be careful to get it back on in the same position.

Third, the cover would not actually come all the way off. You can turn it to allow access to the space, but the shaft that turns the prawl sticks out and holds it against the frame and we weren't able to get it out. The only real problem with this is that it would be difficult (but not impossible) to put on a new gasket. Luckily the gasket was undamaged and the cover went back on with no leaks.

Thanks to Seebeeare, OlHoss, Pick and everyone elso who gave me advice on this. :beerchug: You can imagine how awesome it felt to start it up and ride out of the driveway.

This is getting to be quite a club...Mine just did the same thing on my way to work this morning

Luckily it is not that hard to open it up and put it back together. I ordered a new spring, but I rode the bike for quite a while with the old one put back in before I changed it out. Unless the spring is broken I think you can just bend it out a little bit to add to it's "spring-i-ness" and put it right back in. Be careful not to damage the gasket on the cover when you open it. There are two little tabs, one on each side, meant to use with a screwdriver to pry the cover off. Smear a little oil on it before you close it back up and it won't leak. Let me know if you have any questions. I've done this twice this Summer, so I guess that makes me the current resident expert.

Guess this is worth closing the loop on...Mine was the C-shaped spring. Not broken, not out of position, just old and weakened to the point that it suddenly didn't do its job at all any more.

The gasket pretty well disintegrated on disassembly, but we got the surfaces cleaned up and the new one slid over.

Luckily it is not that hard to open it up and put it back together. I ordered a new spring, but I rode the bike for quite a while with the old one put back in before I changed it out. Unless the spring is broken I think you can just bend it out a little bit to add to it's "spring-i-ness" and put it right back in. Be careful not to damage the gasket on the cover when you open it. There are two little tabs, one on each side, meant to use with a screwdriver to pry the cover off. Smear a little oil on it before you close it back up and it won't leak. Let me know if you have any questions. I've done this twice this Summer, so I guess that makes me the current resident expert.

similar situation here....I bent the spring out a little an put it back in and have about 900 miles on it already with no issues. My gasket was destroyed upon removal, so I had to order a new one. Since I was waiting for parts, I ordered the spring as well, but the dealer accidentally ordered the other spring that goes on the shaft....maybe I will get that new sping on there over the winter, but I'm not having any issues. Before it "stuck in neutral" I had warnings of this coming, but was not aware of the solution. The warnings were, the bike seemed to "miss the gear" when shifting fast, but then recovered after down shifting.

Hi everyone. I was riding my 93 a9 the other day when I stopped to resecure some luggage. Pulled in to a car park, re-tied the bag on the back and then went to pull away, but could not get out of neutral (everything else fine). had to get a bike shop to collect the bike and take to their workshop. The culprit was the spring which rests the pawl, it had slipped out of place. A quick push with a screwdriverand it popped back into place. I hope thats it for a while.
I was wondering if any body has had repeat problems with this? And is there anyway of reducing the risk of it happeneing again. I was sort of lucky this time as it happened in town, but would hate for it to happen out in the sticks. I read on other threads about tubes and collars being fitted around the gear shift shaft..is that internally or externally.
Any help appreciated.......ride free.........:pepper:

I got a new spring and no problems since.

New spring and positive results so far here too.

Cool thanks for the feedback. I will order a new spring up and fit as soon as possible. just hope the old one holds until then.

I read on other threads about tubes and collars being fitted around the gear shift shaft..is that internally or externally.
Any help appreciated.......ride free.........:pepper:

Glad ya got it fixed pretty easily!

As for the tubes/collars, that's for when the C-clip on the shaft (internal) fails. When this happens, the shift shaft slides in & out more than about 1/8 of an inch.
The collar then keeps the shaft from moving and causing shift problems.

...and you stick the tube/collar on the outside of the bike between the case and the shifter lever.
the c-clip that comes off is internal, the tube/collar on the outside is a work around so that you don't have to pull the engine and open it up.

Thanks for that info I may well do this fix before anything happens, sorta makes sense, prevention is better than cure........so they say

The, also, happened to me. with new spring in hand, I found the old one was certainly weak - very weak - compared to the new spring.

Bending the old one made it work OK, but I waited on the parts to get the new spring in place (I had to take the front bevel gear casing off to remove the bottom cover and didn't feel like doing that a second time just to replace a stinking spring...)

Thanks for the info. The friend in the bike shop that mine ended up in explained to me what to do if it happens again, but implied that changing the old spring would be quite a task as the cover wont come off fully with the engine in. Is this right? Or am I missing a trick, Is it hard to do? I have some bike skills like I do my own servicing, have had the carbs off, have marbled the machine, fitted new exhausts and lights etc, but I havn't the equipment (or the inclination) to start removing the whole motor. I have rebuilt a z1000 before and although the outcome was great it took a long time and once inside I found lots of extra's that could do with replacing or grinding (valves) etc and I don't want the bike off the road for long as I use it daily.

:rockon:

With the engine in place, the shaft is too close to the frame rail for the cover to come all the way off. It can be rotated and shifted to an extent, but it's on there and makes a task that would take a good bit of dexterity anyway very demanding in that regard. It also makes it very fiddly to clean the gasket surfaces. I got it done and the new gasket doesn't leak, but it wasn't easy.

Thanks for that.

Yup, you can do it. Be sure to drain out the oil first... It is a really tight space and there is really no way to get a new gasket on it either. I just made sure to oil it good before putting it back on and after having it off twice there are no leaks after almost a year. It is easier to do if you can put the bike on a jack. Otherwise you will be working with your head on the garage floor.

Good luck.

Just wanted to say THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! to everybody on here. Ihad this same problem today and after taking it to a dealer service and being told these parts couldn't be gotten to without pulling the motor and splitting the case which would cost $1500 to $1800 they told me. I only paid $1200 for the bike so I loaded it back up on the trailer and took it home thinkin I could put it on the center stand and have a $1200 rocking horse.

Then I came on here and found this thread and wouldn't you know that spring had gotten weak and slipped out on mine too so I pulled it out and bent it around to make it more springy put it back together and it shifts better now than it did when I got the bike.

I don't know if this mechanic really didn't know what he was doing or if he knew it was an easy fix and just wanted to charge for the expensive fix either way I won't be going back to them even to order the new spring.

Once again THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!!!!! You saved me feeling guilty about buying saddlebags for it last night.

Might want to back with a big smile and tell the mechanic how you fixed it! Then tell him you think you'll do all your own wrenching from now. :baby:

Yeah I thought about riding my bike back down there and ordering the part from the guy.