GS850 Gear Changing probs

[Anonymous]

I recently picked up a GS850G and I'm in the process of getting it back on the road. I've managed to get the engine back together and running after sorting the electrics and a few other minor bugs, however I've now got a bigger problem.

The gearbox appears to be suffering from a problem.

I can select neutral and second with ease, however I can't get above second without a struggle and first is practically impossible. Clutch action appears to be good.

Bike had been stood for a while minus oil in engine and secondary drive for a while, these now replaced.

Any ideas of whats going on before I start stripping down!

[IanFrancisco]

Try going through the gears with the motor off and the clutch engaged (lever out not in) while rolling the bike backward and forward 2 or 3 inches as you shift. If you can get into all the gears you may be OK. This test will eliminate clutch drag as the culprit.

[Anonymous]

tried this to no avail, still get to 2nd from neutral and back with ease, 3,4 and 5 are hard to engage and first is nigh on impossible!

[IanFrancisco]

Well let's see, second gear should be good for 60-65mph, so who needs the other gears? Just kidding! Sorry to hear that. Checking the parts fiche at PowerSportsPro.com or BikeBandit.com shows me that the shifter shaft goes clear through to the right side of the engine and engages the shift drum from there, probably partially hidden by the clutch. The best case scenario is that something could be wrong with the shift linkage. That could be fixed without splitting the cases. Anything more serious like bent forks or broken gears or dogs would require major surgery. I've never split the cases on anything bigger than a Honda 90 and wouldn't want to attempt a big 4cyl. Too many shims, tolerances, end play on shafts, etc. to deal with. Since it's a shaft drive maybe rolling back and forth 6 inches instead of 2 or 3 while shifting with the motor off would help but I'm guessing you have probably done that. One more bonehead suggestion; clean synthetic oil might ease the friction somewhat. Check the parts fiche so you know what you are dealing with.

I'll bet the next time you pick up a used bike you'll be checking the tranny out thouroughly...

[Anonymous]

To be honest I bought it as a non runner off Ebay for a good price and was intending it purely for parts for my other GS850. The guy who I bought it from had it in pieces after attempting to renew head and base gaskets but couldn't put it back together, so I was aware there may be problems . However, when he delivered it it was in far, far better condition than mine and I decided rather than part it I'd put it back together. The frame has been powder coated in the last couple of years, all the plastics and paintwork are in reasonable original condition, the seat was recovered a couple of years ago, the brakes have recent steel hoses and all the pads, pistons and seals are fairly recent. The engine itself looked to be in good condition when I examined it whilst the head and barrels were off and this has been borne out by the fact that it runs nice and smooth now that it's back together.

I'll just have to have a good old look at it this weekend!

[Anonymous]

Right, I've removed the clutch basket and I've noticed that the gear selector shaft splines don't mesh centrally with the splines on the quadrant. By this I mean that there are 5 splines on quadrant the and 6 splines on gear shift shaft giving 5 spaces on the shaft. If we number them from the bottom, then should spline 3 on the quadrant not engage with hole three on the selector shaft. As it stands now my spline 3 is meshed with hole 4 at neutral. Would this account for my gear changing problems?

[Anonymous]

Well, what'ya know, I just repositioned the gear selector to mate in the middle and Changing gear is an awful lot easier....... now I'm worried that I've picked up a bargain and it's getting to be too easy a fix up, there's got to be something major wrong with it,mind the kinds of problems I have had with it do back up what the guy who sold it to me said about him not having the technical know how to rebuild it, his loss I suppose!