Transmission stuck in neutral

[Draggett]

Recently, I had an issue with my 1978 gl1000. I've had it for over 15 years with no problems, just routine mainenance. I had loaded the bike into the back of my truck, and when I got to my destination and took the bike out, it wouldn't go into gear. I checked the shift lever to see that it wasn't stripped or loose. It was fine. Put bike on centre stand and rotated rear tire by hand. Still wouldn't go into gear. Pulled the output boot off the driveshaft, everything working as designed except still jammed in neutral. Pulled the rad, water pump cover and front transmission cover off. Everything inside worked, nothing broken or disconnected. Still no joy. Pulled the clutch cover, removed spider and springs, still no problem. But when I tried the shifter again, voila, I could shift all the gears, up and down. Put it all back together and it seems to work fine. Wasted a whole day and, while I'm pleased that the bike is now behaving, having not found a cause leaves me a bit leary. Is this common? Is there a known cause? Is there something I missed that I should have fixed while things were apart? I really don't want to pull the motor and go inside unless absolutely necessary. Any advice?

 

[slabghost]

Gears may have shifted slightly during transport. I always leave mine in gear if I have to haul it.

 

[joedrum]

im clueless ... but from what you said it was fixed after you messed with the clutch :builder: ride it and see how it gose opcorn:

 

[NewWinger]

Good luck on your trial run.

Kenny

 

[Draggett]

Thanks for the advice. The bike is waiting for my return to Florida this winter. I'll let you know how it goes (or not, as the case may be). )

 

[Draggett]

I just wanted to update the forum regarding this problem. When I got back to Florida after the summer in Canada, I picked up a new battery, put in some fresh gas and fired up the old girl. I rode it around the back yard for a few minutes, but it was clear that all was not well. The clutch was slipping badly and the bike quickly stopped moving at all. I changed out the clutch and voila, all was perfect again. My conclusion is that the original problem was not a transmission problem at all, but the clutch. I've had clutches go in cars before and they always gave lots of warning, but this time the clutch went from fully functional to totally non-functional in moments. Hopefully I'll remember this the next time.

Thanks for all the encouragement! Awesome forum.

 

[zman]

Good to know, thanks for the update.

 

[joedrum]

yep nice the bike was in your capable hands to get going again ...great outcome