[Flugtechnik]

So I was riding around at lunch today and the transmission started acting up. At one point, I tried to downshift and felt the shift lever bobbling under my foot. After that, it would not shift at all. I believe it is now stuck in fifth. Luckily I was only a couple miles from home and apparently the 450 has enough power to start from a dead stop if 5th gear, albeit not very well.

The clutch appears to be working fine as I can pull it out of gear to stop and start. I'm not familiar with transmissions at all and I guess this will be my learning experience. But before I started digging in too deep, I was hoping one of you may give my some guidance to help save me some time. Any ideas what it could be? Will I be cracking open the case to fix this? Hopefully I can get this fixed before the spring.

Thanks.

Mike

 

[tbpmusic]

There's a good chance it's just the shift shaft, which you can fix on-bike.

You will have to drain the oil and pull the clutch cover off though. That usually involves pulling the CB muffler and right-side footpeg too. Then you'll have to completely loosen the rear brake rod so you can push the lever down far enough to get the cover off.
The shift shaft has an articulated arm-thingy that turns the shift drum, underneath the clutch housing. To really expose it you may have to pull the oil filter and clutch off....
Many times they go bad, but it's a simple replacement.
Also make sure the circlip is still on the end of the shaft under the counter sprocket cover.

450's had a known transmission glitch involving 2'nd gear, but it's very unusual to hear of one with a 5'th gear problem.
Sounds to me like the shift shaft glitched and you just happened to be in 5'th gear.

Also, are you dead sure the shift lever itself is not just loose on the end of the shaft??

Let us know what you find under there......

 

[Flugtechnik]

The shift shaft has an articulated arm-thingy that turns the shift drum

Is that the technical term? I can't find it in my manual. :lol:

Thanks for giving me hope. I still need to study the manual to learn how it works. That is part of the reason I bought this bike.....practice for my next one that I want to build with my son.

 

[Flugtechnik]

The shift shaft has an articulated arm-thingy that turns the shift drum, underneath the clutch housing. To really expose it you may have to pull the oil filter and clutch off....
Many times they go bad, but it's a simple replacement.
Also make sure the circlip is still on the end of the shaft under the counter sprocket cover.

Do you mean the the gearshift spindle? Item #1 in the fiche picture attached. Also, I will check for the circlip (item #12?). When I was adjusting the position of the shift lever, I did notice that the shift shaft had a significant amount of play left to right. I will probably disassemble the thing Friday night.

Again, thanks for the help.

Mike

 

[tbpmusic]

Yeah, part #1 is it.

If the circlip is missing, sometimes the sideplay that results will allow the articulated arm part on the other end to not engage the shift drum properly. Or even worse, it can bend the shift shaft apparatus.
The circlip itself is still available, but the washer behind it is not, sadly, and neither is the spindle. And of course, it's a special washer !!
I think I have an extra spindle, or they can be found on EBay.

 

[Flugtechnik]

Well, I solved the shifting problem. And luckily, before I drained the oil and removed the clutch cover. Yes, the circlip and washer are still there. However, the circlip had come out of its groove on the shift shaft, resulting in the large amount of play I described. I guess it caused the arm to become disengaged. I pulled the shift shaft to the left and pushed the circlip back into the groove. Seems to shift fine now.

BUT.....now the clutch is acting up. Seems not to want to work. When I took the cover off, that little ball fell out. I put it back in, but the clutch still doesn't seem to be disengaging all the way now. Well, it's late and I'm tired so I guess I will take a fresh look at it tomorrow. I agree with Robert Pirsig, you can't work on a motorcycle when you are tired.

 

[66Sprint]

Get a NEW circlip!....That one will likely "pop" out again......Once "sprung" and weakened, they don't work properly.....

 

[tbpmusic]

BUT.....now the clutch is acting up. Seems not to want to work. When I took the cover off, that little ball fell out. I put it back in, but the clutch still doesn't seem to be disengaging all the way now. Well, it's late and I'm tired so I guess I will take a fresh look at it tomorrow. I agree with Robert Pirsig, you can't work on a motorcycle when you are tired.

Probably just needs to be adjusted.
I don't think you did anything that could have messed up the clutch.
Did you put plenty of grease on the little ball when you put it back in??
Is it still actually round - they do tend to get worn and flattened.

 

[donny662]

I thought I had the same issue. With the bike on its center stand, when I put it in gear and held the clutch in, the rear wheel didn't want to move. I pulled the left side sprocket cover off and inspected/cleaned the clutch actuator arm; the ball bearing was where it was supposed to be. (at that point I found out the o-ring chain the PO had put on was not a good idea because the arm was just about worn through)

When I put everything back together (with a non-oring chain) and adjusted the clutch (with the proper amount of free play at the lever), the rear wheel was still hard to move. At that point I realized that with enough force, the wheel will, in fact, turn. I also tested my dad's newer Suzuki cruiser and found that the rear wheel on that is also hard to move with the wheel propped up, transmission in gear, and the clutch pulled in (though still not as hard as my 450). I took my 450 for a test ride, and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when I shifted into gear with the clutch pulled in; that is, the bike didn't jump forward and stall like I would expect if the clutch wasn't disengaging.

 

[Flugtechnik]

I guess I had the same situation. The rear wheel would turn with the clutch pulled, but it was very hard. I cleaned and inspected the clutch arm on the sprocket cover and put fresh grease on it. Put it all back together and fired it up. I pulled the clutch in and put it into first expecting it to jump forward, but it didn't. Everything is copacetic again. Crazy! All because of a little circlip.

Thanks Bill! Without your advise, I would have the engine half apart by now instead of riding around. I owe you a beer...or coffee...or whatever you like to drink.

 

[tbpmusic]

Thanks Bill! Without your advise, I would have the engine half apart by now instead of riding around. I owe you a beer...or coffee...or whatever you like to drink.

Thanks - you can repay me by NOT telling us frozen Northerners about how you are out riding around !!!! :x :evil: :twisted:

I drink Mountain Dew, thanks - I'm cheap (but not easy).

 

[moss]

Thanks - you can repay me by NOT telling us frozen Northerners about how you are out riding around !!!! :x :evil: :twisted:

I drink Mountain Dew, thanks - I'm cheap (but not easy).

I can second this.. because of this thread I saved myself the time of splitting the engine open. That freaking circlip..... i ordered a bunch so that if this happens again I have a quick replacement.

Thanks Bill.