Shift, Rattle and Stuck... how bad is it?

[Peterwh]

I'm so glad it wasnt too bad.  You could have got through it though if it had been the selector forks.  Personally I love these engines.  Other than getting them out of the frame and the fact that you cannot remove the valve cover without removing the engine, I've always thought they are a dream to work on.

[thewheel69]

Agreed on all accounts... The gear shift still had tension up and down but felt like it just wasnt selecting...

I am riding from Fort Collins CO down to the Pikes Peak Int'l Hill Climb next weekend and hanging out with my old Ducati buddies Greg Tracy and Alex Smith (Malcolm is his dad) Should be a blast!!! (and yes I'm taking a few crucial tools)

Peter, these engines are near bullet proof! (this one only has 25K on it so it should last quite a long time!)

Life is right again on Planet Honda!

Thanks guys, I'll send some pics of the Pikes Peak event...

[Indyjoel]

Sorry to hijack the thread but this is the closest I could find (especially for my first post. I bought this bike a whole ago and it sat for a while but started and shifted ok. I tried to start it and shift into neutral but no go. Drained the glop that the oil had become and put new stuff in but still no good shifting (not that it was that) I have taken off the gear shaft cover and think the issue is the gear shift side plate that won't move freely. I can't move it so I can put the stopper arm into the slot Any thoughts?

[LukeM]

Welcome to the forum.
Go to the home page, and download the appropriate service manual for your bike.  It should help you with diagnosis and treatment.

On to the more relevant issue:
If you've had oil in there that turned to glop, it's entirely possible the whole engine/transmission is just plain gummed up. You have a couple of options. Get about a gallon of kerosene, drain the existing oil, replace it with kerosene, and run it for about 5 minutes or so until the engine gets warm.  Drain the kerosene, replace the oil filter, and put in fresh oil. Kerosene will dissolve a lot of the crud inside the engine.  If it comes out nice and black, it's done its job. The other alternative is to get something similar to Rislone engine crankcase cleaner (usually sold in quarts). Drain about a quart of your existing oil, replace it with the Rislone, and run for about 5 minutes. Drain it all out, replace the filter, and refill with fresh oil.

I would suggest running through the gears while this internal cleaning is going on, but I realize the engine won't shift properly at this time.  Hopefully, when all the gunk is out of the engine, things will work a bit better.

Good luck. If anyone else thinks this is a bad idea, please chime in.  Joel, you may want to wait a couple of days before trying this, just in case my reasoning is way off the wall.

Luke M

[Indyjoel]

Tried to roll back n forth
The weird thing was I removed the clutch cover and played with the cable and pushed back n forth again (after having changed the goofy oil last week) and she POPPED into neutral

YAYYYYYYY
Thanks for all ideas

Now I only have to deal with the broken gear selector cover I broke, the screws I had to drill out, leaky float bowls, etc etc

Oh forgot front and back brake rebuild, forks etc etc
Butttt I love it