Removed the cases and reassembled, now it won`t shift

[Thanatos]

Ok, so I removed all of the cases on my GS 650G - aternator - starter covers, etc to give them a good polish, and reassembled. Now I cannot get the shifter to work. It is like it is stuck in place (not shifting up or down).

Did I manage to screw something up when I took the starter apart? Any help is appreciated ...

[chef1366]

You split the cases of just removed crank case covers?

[waterman]

Ok, so I removed all of the cases on my GS 650G - aternator - starter covers, etc to give them a good polish, and reassembled. Now I cannot get the shifter to work. It is like it is stuck in place (not shifting up or down).

Did I manage to screw something up when I took the starter apart? Any help is appreciated ...

You removed all of the covers for polishing; stator cover and gear shift cover from left side, ignition and clutch cover from right side. When installing the gear shift cover, you may have displaced the gear shift lever shaft. Buried behind the clutch is where the gear shift shaft engages the shifting pawls. The gear shift shaft has a short arm with a toothed section that shifts the transmission.
Sorry for the horrible explanation, I am recovering from a bout of the flu and hopefully I am making some sense.

In a nutshell, I think you may have pushed the gear shift shaft in far enough to dislodge the spring that keeps the shaft in the same position. Does your gear shift move up or down and stays there as opposed to returning to the normal in between position?

I had this trouble when reassembling the lower end of my 650g and I can't remember for sure, but I think I got it back together without pulling the clutch assembly out. Basically, you need to center the shaft where it is in the middle of the gears and then get the spring over the little pin to hold it in position. If you have a manual, you can see this spring is located behind the lever (again this is on the right side, just behind the clutch). If you don't have a manual, check with Basscliff site, I am pretty sure you can download one from him. Report back, I would like to know if I guessed correctly.

[Billy Ricks]

You removed all of the covers for polishing; stator cover and gear shift cover from left side, ignition and clutch cover from right side. When installing the gear shift cover, you may have displaced the gear shift lever shaft. Buried behind the clutch is where the gear shift shaft engages the shifting pawls. The gear shift shaft has a short arm with a toothed section that shifts the transmission.
Sorry for the horrible explanation, I am recovering from a bout of the flu and hopefully I am making some sense.

In a nutshell, I think you may have pushed the gear shift shaft in far enough to dislodge the spring that keeps the shaft in the same position. Does your gear shift move up or down and stays there as opposed to returning to the normal in between position?

I had this trouble when reassembling the lower end of my 650g and I can't remember for sure, but I think I got it back together without pulling the clutch assembly out. Basically, you need to center the shaft where it is in the middle of the gears and then get the spring over the little pin to hold it in position. If you have a manual, you can see this spring is located behind the lever (again this is on the right side, just behind the clutch). If you don't have a manual, check with Basscliff site, I am pretty sure you can download one from him. Report back, I would like to know if I guessed correctly.

Good explanation and most likely the problem. Doesn't sound like he actually split the cases so it's doubtful the shifting forks come into play.

[Agemax]

maybe different on your 650 but my gs 1000 has a clip on the shaft on the left hand side of the cases, to stop it from moving. has the 650 not got the same clip? just a thought

[Billy Ricks]

maybe different on your 650 but my gs 1000 has a clip on the shaft on the left hand side of the cases, to stop it from moving. has the 650 not got the same clip? just a thought

It's there on my 700.

[bonanzadave]

Its also on my 1100E.

I looked at Bikebandit and no, the 1981 GX or GLX dont have the clip.

[waterman]

maybe different on your 650 but my gs 1000 has a clip on the shaft on the left hand side of the cases, to stop it from moving. has the 650 not got the same clip? just a thought

No, the 650 doesn't have the clip holding the gear shaft in place. Interesting question as some 1000's do and others (80 1000g) don't. Likewise it appears that other shaft drives don't either. Might be a poll question.

[Thanatos]

No, I did not split the cases, and Agemax is right, I did not see any clip.

Thanks for ther response Waterman. I did not apply any unusual force to the gear shift cover ... but it is possible.

Is this a difficult operation to replace the spring? Unfortunately I only realized my problem last night, and now I am out of town for a week. It is going to bother me until I can get home to look at it ...

[Thanatos]

I also forgot to mentinon that the gear shift is stuck in place and does not move position at all ...

[chef1366]

You might have to take off your clutch basket but it may be as easy as taking off the sprocket cover, installing the shifter lever and jimmying it until it breaks loose.

[Thanatos]

I finally had a chance to take apart the shift case, but the shift lever disappears into the engine and I cannot see any pin. In order to access the pin, can I pull the shaft out completely, or do I have to start taking apart the transmission?

[bwringer]

I saw a case last year (Al's GS850GL) where a slightly thinner-than-normal aftermarket clutch cover gasket allowed the inside of the clutch cover to contact the end of the shifter shaft, and locked it into place much as you described.

A correct OEM gasket fixed the problem. We could have also simply ground or sanded off a bit of material from the nubbin inside the clutch cover than keeps the shifter shaft in place.

[Dave_17954]

heres a pic of the shifter gear that sits behind your clutch basket. this is from my 81 650gl

[Dave_17954]

heres a pic of what it should look like when together. this is from my 81 650gl