A bit of help needed, GS1100E won't shift into gear and lever travel is excessive

[oldGSfan]

I'm a bit stumped, maybe fatigued but the '83 GS1100E I'm working on won't shift into gear. The lever travel is long, like 3" (see video). Here are the 'known knowns'

• It's in neutral but can't be shifted into gear at rest or with the rear wheel or engine spinning.
• The lever travel is long, like 3" and at the ends of travel, up and down, does nothing. No clickeee into gearee.
• The bike was disassembled for a restoration a couple of years ago (20K miles only on it) and was running and shifting fine. I know the previous owner and he is a friend, he's not going to BS me.
• It was moved once to my home. It sat out of the frame for those years, but no damage occurred. The shifter shaft is not bent or damaged in any way.
• The engine spins freely, plugs out, fresh oil and battery. When the engine is spinning, the countershaft sprocket doesn't move, so it's in neutral, effectively.
• The only (possibly affecting) work I did - I put in new clutch plates and torqued per spec. Engaging/disengaging the clutch and spinning the engine or rear wheel does change the issue.
• There is a 'wave washer' that secures the shifter shaft, and it is in the right position. Removing it, I can pull the shifter shaft in and out a bit (3/8" inch?) but it seemingly won't engage on either end, pushed in or pulled out.
• There was no metal in the oil drained out which may indicate internal damage.

I have never known of this situation. I know the bottom ends of these GS1100Es are super tough. So something odd is going on here and I hope it is curable without tearing the engine down. Any ideas? Here is a video showing how far the shifter moves.

https://youtube.com/shorts/DXvyz_hq4dc?feature=shared

[oldGSfan]

Not sure why the YouTube clip gives no preview but the link is OK.

It feels like the engagement prongs on the end of #26 (shift shaft, top left of this picture from Partzilla) are not catching anything. But how can that be, and what do they engage? Looks to be the 'cam driven gear' as shown below.



It feels as if these two aren't engaging (shift shaft to cam-driven gear as shown below), but it would seem the shift shaft (#26) has only one way to go in, and it would be impossible to put it in far enough to snap in the 'wave washer' outside the crankcase if it weren't engaged. But what rotates that 'gearshift cam driven gear'? Maybe a red herring because the shift shaft seems to be in as far as it can go. This is driving me nuts, and I'm just guessing at this point. HELP!

[oldGSfan]

Well maybe, and hopefully answering my question, but I read the manual more carefully and it appears the shifter shaft can be accessed and removed (and therefore moved to engage the cam drive gear, if I'm reading it right) from the clutch side. I will investigate tomorrow. I did rotate the engine to adjust the valves, and the 'wave washer' wasn't attached in the correct groove on the far opposite (gear shifter side) end, so maybe the gears fell out of sync. Hope so.

[Syd]

My initial thought was the clutch end of the shifter shaft. It appears that you are onto it

[oldGSfan]

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My initial thought was the clutch end of the shifter shaft. It appears that you are onto it

Yes, first look at the manual it didn't jump out at me that with the clutch cover off I could access the geared end of the shifter shaft. I saw the spring at the pawl (similar to my Norton so it rang a bell) which returns the shifter to its middle position was off, and after restoring the spring to its position I jimmied the clutch basket out and finagled the shifter shaft and aligned the gears. I could shift through them, checking the countershaft movement.

It wouldn't have happened if not for the removal and misplacement of the retaining 'wave washer' which acts as a circlip. It had been fitted to a groove farther out on the shifter shaft, which allowed enough play for the gears to disengage. Man, I was dreading a teardown but the PO told me it was OK before, so I just went after it in the areas I could tell were being worked on - clutch and countershaft area. It took about 40 minutes and saved a restless sleep.

Pic 1 before, Pic 2 after showing the spring ends gripping the post which gives them springiness visible through a gap in the gear end of the shifter, which is centrally positioned to grab the gear and move the shift forks.

I know these bikes fairly well but haven't dived into the bottom end and clutch too much. I should have known to check the action on the shifter but oh well, no money was spent, and a new lesson was learned. I think the clutch is gonna rattle a bit given those grooves, will see.

[bonanzadave]

Wow ! That was a really good catch. I'm glad there are guys around like you. And this post and pics will be invaluable for the next guy with that problem.