Kawasaki VN750 Forum banner

Bike not shifting

10K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Thorn 
#1 · (Edited)
Well took the bike out today and it ran great. Well about 15 minutes ago I was about 1/4 mile from my house, and I lost the shifting on my bike. I can pull the clutch, and the clutch works perfectly. However with the shifter control I can push it down or up and it will not change gears at all. I'm currently stuck in first gear. I have no idea what could have caused this problem to happen. Does anyone have any ideas? And I hope it won't be to expensive to fix either.

I forgot to mention that the shifter lever will return to it's normal position as well. So it just won't shift anymore.
 
#2 ·
Look in the forum and check out this recent thread "no gears just neutral" Sounds like it might be the same problem with the shifter pawl.
 
#4 ·
There was indeed a problem with the pawl on my bike. It slid back so I slid it forward back into place and tightened everything up, and it now works like a charm.
 
#5 ·
I love this forum.
One member in IL posts a problem.
Less than 40 minutes later another member hundreds of miles away in PA posts a possible/probable cause and a simple no cost fix.

Less than 18 hours have passed since the OP and the bike is ready to roll again.
Well done guys.:smiley_th
 
#10 ·
Loose spring



The shifter is excellent. It's the spring that concerns me. I have it off and my hands are so big I'm having a devil of a time getting back into place. There really is no play in the shifter/rod at all so it's fine I'm sure. I think when we went down some washboard road the day it came loose that that is what caused the spring to come loose. I mean this road was a road from hell since nothing has been graded around here for months due to no rain at all since January. All the dirt roads are in horrible shape.

Needless to say I won't be going down any roads like that again. :doh:
 
#12 ·
Here's an update on the issue with my bike. Keltec sent me a PM asking about mine, and here's an update.

If the PAWL can still catch the gears and everything with no problem and are not rounded out take a look that the ARM SPRING since that is the piece that holds the PAWL in place. If it is missing or just worn out I would recommend replacing it. I need to replace the one on my bike, but sadly just figured out that problem. On the download repair manual its on page 153. The ARM SPRING is $6.98 at cheapcycleparts.com. Here's a link to the parts for that part of the bike. Change that arm spring and you should be good to go.

http://www.cheapcycleparts.com/model_years/2672-kawasaki-1990-vulcan-750-vn750-a6/assemblies/74133

After replacing that arm spring put it back together, and you should be good to go from there.
 
#13 ·
The Pawl Spring is in good shape and no excessive play in any of the system. I think I just took it too fast on a road that would have challenged my KLR650 and it's long stroked shocks. The Pawl Spring just sits there doing it's job under tension and those horrid bumps just knocked it out of position. I got it all back together today late morning, no need for a new gasket at all, refilled the oil and back on the road avoiding all the bumps I can see.

IF it was possible to put a spot weld on the point where the spring and the pawl come together I don't think this would ever be a problem for anyone. I'll be thinking that one over this summer and I honestly have no doubt that it's possible. This bike has so many possibilities once all the over engineered obstacles are overcome. Beautiful (but agrivating) piece of machinery. LOL
 
#14 ·
Hi Keltec, just wondering if you had any luck putting a spot weld on that spring. I have a long bumpy driveway and don't want this to happen to me again. I had my 750 for 3 days when it happened and now it's down until I can get someone to look at it.
 
#15 ·
This will be my third time fixing this damned pawl spring. It is honestly getting old.
 
#16 ·
Are you talking the horseshoe shaped spring that sort of sticks through the pawl? Looks like that would be pretty hard to knock out of place if it is seated properly with the curved hook well formed and seated completely behind the pawl (not just with the tip resting on the back, but really hooked behind it), and the square hook also firmly seated behind it's plate too. There would have to be enough front-to-back shaking to compress the spring several millimeters before it could come free!
 
#17 ·
Thorn,
Yes, it is the spring that pushes the pawl into the cog. The roads in Iowa are garbage, and it is like being in a war zone, so I hit a pothole today that jarred it loose. Each time I have pulled off the site glass, the spring is 100% compressed, and the pawl is shoved tight against spring. The spring is in place, but it doesn't push the pawl back to where it should go.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top