My 94 Vulcan 750 was running great untill one day I couldn't get the bike out of first gear. The shifter flopped up and down as if it was loose on the rod it was connected to, but it wasn't. I took it into the shop and the mechanic removed the cover on the brake pedal side and discovered that the tie rod that connected to the rod that the shifter is on was broken. He said that the engine would have to come out and the whole thing would have to be opened up to replace the broken tie rod (the part only costs $7). The labor alone will cost in the thousands.

Has anyone ever replaced one of these tie rods? Is it something I could do myself?

Is my best move to look for a new motor?

I would love to hear any input.

If it's the internal shift lever, then he's probably right. Gotta pull the engine and split the case to get to it. And it is just a tiny part. Other folks have had shifter issues, however, and may disagree with your mechanic's diagnosis. They'll weigh in soon!!

AHHH this is the very reason i started my rebuild!!!! so YES it can be done, but depending upon the miles on your bike and how well it has been taken care of you may find a surprise or two. The no BS assessment is.... If you can read in the English language and follow pictures with arrows pointing to parts, you can rebuild the motor with a manual. I used the Clymer manual and it is pretty much dummy proof.

Did you find something else in there that caused the part to break? Aside from the tie rod/internal shift lever what other parts will I need to complete the job? I am trying to weigh the time and cost of splitting the case and fixing my engine against replacing my engine with one that Crobins365 has.

When I pulled my motor I had 47 THOUSAND miles on my bike,While taking everything apart and inspecting parts, I found that my tappets, rocker arms , cams, and pistons were all worn beyond minimum operating spec. I ended up doing a complete rebuild. Contrary to what most people say on here (I know I with catch crap for this) the ACCT noise that so many claim to have on here is more than likely poor oil flow to the hydraulic (valve) lash adjusters (HLA). There is a itty bitty filter on the top of the oil line going to the top of the engine to the HLA's . Mine was completely clogged with old clutch material dirty oil ect. It is a really poor design and this is coming from a an engineer (ME). When the oil supply is limited the zero clearance that is supposed to be kept by the HLA's goes away and you get valve train noise. Noise = parts hitting each other that should not do so. Another problem you may find is that if you bike has been run HARD like most of us ride them you will have pitting and erosion on the seating surfaces of the exhaust valves. IF the bike has been running lean (HOT).... well watch out you may need new valves, however, usually this can be remedied by valve lapping compound and about an hour of time. All in all it only took me about 50 hours of wrench time to rebuild her, but about 3 months in waiting for parts and machining to be done.

Jake, I agree with the mech's diagnosis. It is a weak spot with this bike. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. The only way to replace it is to pull the engine and split the case. It's not as hard as it sounds and as was said by M9e..., it's not hard, just time consuming. It will save you $80/hour in labor however. Parts will run you about $100 since you will have to replace all the gaskets and O rings as well as the shift rod that broke. But $100 is better than $1000 or more. I pulled mine apart almost 6 years ago now and put it back together about 2 years ago. ( It sat in the garage in crates until the Navy let me have some time home to put it back together.) It can be done.