I just spent the last two hours stranded in a Home Depot parking lot. I stopped at a stop sign and down shifted to what I thought was first gear. When I went to take off, the engine reved and I went nowhere. The bike was in neutral and now I cannot get it into any gear. The clutch is good and the shift lever has full movability. It just won't catch a gear. Does any know how to fix this?

how much play (in-out) does the shift shaft have? It should not be much. if it is quarter inch or more, try pulling on it and shifting into first (bike not running) while slowly moving the bike forward - hopefully it will catch.

It has all the play as if you were shifting it. It's like there are no gears there.

so the mechanic pulled the cover off and the shifter is broken inside the motor. now I have to rebui;d the motor. yea

so the mechanic pulled the cover off and the shifter is broken inside the motor. now I have to rebui;d the motor. yea

Ooof. Sorry to hear about that - when I read your first post, I thought maybe the cable was off or something. Dag. Seems like more than a few of us will be spending some quality time in garages over the next few weeks. :doh:

had same thing last year, mine broke while i was in 3rd gear so I could limp home.

Where is the linkage inside the motor? I have everything off the bike except the motor. I can't quite get it free yet. I don't want to have to tear apart the whole motor if I don't have too. I have a clymer's book on order, but that will take a while and I am under time restraint. Thanks for any help.

Where is the linkage inside the motor? I have everything off the bike except the motor. I can't quite get it free yet. I don't want to have to tear apart the whole motor if I don't have too. I have a clymer's book on order, but that will take a while and I am under time restraint. Thanks for any help.

Download the Service Manual off the TOC website. The drawings in there are much clearer, and many of the pics are actually *viewable*. It's a large file (112MB or something), but it's worth it. And you don't have to wait for shipping!! :smiley_th

The internal linkage is between the crankcase halves. You have to tear it down about as far as it can. Use the manual and keep the pieces seperated and in some kind of order. The front and rear cylinders are different as well as most of the associated parts. The quickest way to get the engine out is to put a knee under it, just kidding on that (they are known to always hit someone in the knee). Lift up on the front and lower the back out first.

ok, so after I took apart the entire bike and had the engine almost ripped all the way down, I found the problem. I just needed to remove the bottm left cover and replace the spring inside. Now I need to wait on new gaskets to rebuild the bike. Now I want to do it without all of that useless emissions crap that has a million hoses.

I am kinda in the same boat. I have my engine out to replace the stator. I am in a holding pattern waiting for the stealership for gaskets. I took most of the emission crap off. Coaster it and get rid of some of those hoses if your state does not do a emission test. New Mexico does not. I think it gives our bikes a cleaner look. IMO

do you have pics of what hoses can come off?

I'm new to the forum, as I just purchased a 1993 Vulcan. I love it, comfortable ride, nice sound. I've put approx 15 miles on it (10174 total miles) when it quit shifting. I made an emergency stop and downshifted into neutral. When I tried to shift to first, I got nothing - like some of the other forum members are discussing. Luckily, I was approx 1/2 mile from home, and was able to push it home. My question is, if I paid someone to repair the shift lever (splitting the case), how much can I expect to pay??

*****UPDATE*****

After calling a few local shops, explaining the situation, surprisingly, a Harley dealership is the only one who knew what I was talking about. I was quoted anything from $500-800 for repairs, if the shift lever were broke. I usually do my own mechanic work, but felt a complete teardown might be quicker/easier to have someone else do. Wanting to make sure that was the problem, I decided to do some minor exploratory surgery first. The shifter felt like everything was working, it just wouldn't shift. I drained the oil (to remove oil sight glass cover). With no oil in it, I shined a light through the sight glass and shifted - I could see the shift pawl moving, but it wouldn't shift. so I unbolted the cover, moved it out of the way (couldn't get it out completely) and noticed the pawl was retracted away from the cam change drum. I tapped the pawl and it extended out and everything works fine. I replaced the cover, refilled w/ fresh oil, and cruised my neighborhood for a few miles. As of today, I've put over 150 miles on the bike since the repair - no problems.

Wow, that's lucky Jason, but will it happen again? What would cause the pawl to stay retracted?

Wow, that's lucky Jason, but will it happen again? What would cause the pawl to stay retracted?

GREMLINS!!!
Ya need a Gremlin bell or Gremlin spider !! LOL

Good to hear ya got it working. Hope it keeps working, but atleast ya know what to do if it happens again.

Wow, that's lucky Jason, but will it happen again? What would cause the pawl to stay retracted?

He was in the process of an emergency stop. Maybe he laid on the shifter too hard and it jammed the pawl. Just typing out loud here.