Won't Shift Below 3rd!

Hi everyone, quick question about the transmission on my '86 500. I brought the bike in to a local shop because it was leaking oil. They took the clutch pedal and the housing off to find the leak, and when I went back to pick the bike up something was wrong.

1) The neutral light wouldn't come on anymore, and
2) It made this grinding noise when I tried to shift into first.

It shifted beautifully before I brought it in. They looked at it for a few minutes but said it wasn't something they'd done - "probably just a coincidence." I thought it might get better if I rode it for a bit, so I took it home, but on the way back I noticed that it wasn't shifting below third anymore.

I'm new to the bike and thought the collective experience here might have some thoughts. Thanks!

 

There is no way the shifter is supposed to be hanging that low.

 

It is not. Rod should be straight. I have seen this a lot on the 500s, a little bend gets worse and worse (when people start jamming on the shifter cuz "it's not shifting right"). Straighten that rod and consider replacing it with one that hasn't been taco'd, as it will probably be susceptible to bending easier in the future.

Do not ride any more until fixed.

And... what a LAME fucking shop.

And... you have a VF500F, not a VFR500 (sorry, pet-peeve of mine)

 

Thats a lot on bend in that rod!

 

Ya gotta be joking

 

Thanks for the advice (and the correction - is there such a thing as a vfr500?)

Now I can see that compared to the bike in this post, the piece on the left is basically completely upside down on my bike. Do you think turning it rightside up and straightening the rod will fix the shifting issue? It goes from 3rd to 6th and back, but not below.

And yeah, lame fucking shop outside NYC. Not planning on going back.

 

More than likely it should fix your issue. You may have to adjust the short shift arm on the spline after changing everything a little to get it in the sweet spot too. Dont forget your shift lever (that your boot touches) is adjustable via the rod as well (one end is reverse threaded). Loosen the lock nuts (dont forget one is backwards) and play around. You'll see what I mean.

Use the pictures you posted as a starting point for approx positioning.

Where was the leak and how did they fix it, BTW? (I'm afraid to ask on this one, really)

Oh, and no. No VFR500. (I wish)

 

Thanks! I'll try that later in the week and see what I can do.

As for the leak, it turned out that the previous owner had put some epoxy along the bottom of the crankcase and it was leaking from there. (Didn't notice when I bought it.) The guys at the shop said it probably meant that the crankcase had cracked and might have to be replaced, or at least cleaned out and welded. Either way I wasn't sure they were the right people for the job. Short answer - still leaking.

 

Wow, they've out-LAMED their previous level of LAME. What types of bikes they do they normally work on? There are very few people that are the right people for that job (including here). Besides that if the case is really cracked, you are not fixing it for any where near what the bike is worth (even if it is mint).

When you go to straighten your parts, it is time to remove the counter shaft sprocket cover and de-grease the shit out of that area and find out exactly what is happening.

Oh and get yourself a FACTORY service manual.

 

You would not believe anything a clown that put the shifter on like that said

 

I think they changed ownership recently, and that they were mostly a Yamaha/Suzuki shop before. Does anyone know of good Honda people in the New York area? I'd been to Mavrix out in Middletown but I don't live there anymore...

I've got a Clymer manual. Should've brought it to the shop with me.

 

You are the man, on these old bikes you have to learn to do everything yourself, no shop wants to touch old stuff, too time consuming and parts too hard to find

 

From what I've seen, the splined gearbox shaft should have a dot punched into the end, the stock position for the shift arm would have that dot lining up with the clamp split.

 

Is it just me or is the shift arm on upside down?
http://www.champsclock.com/vf500.htm

 

Totally agree with normk.. Anyway, I changed my selector fork on 86 vfr but owned a vf750 too.. They mucked something up for sure.. Probably the shifter mechanism, they left it off set so it doesn't have enough clicks down.. It'd shd always be in the center after shifting gears..

That's why I do all my work.. Bunch of assholes imo.. Any shop worth their salt shd have enough brains to put two and two together on this one..

I'd go back with a mandate for them to fix it pronto or else...


Sent from my SM-G900M using Tapatalk

 

The FINEST shops will actually have the service manager ride the bike after service to confirm the work was done correctly !! Nothing else would be acceptable to me although i do all own work. Find that shop if you can. Good luck :beguiled:

Shifter rod should be horizontal to start with.

 

Hey guys, I had a minute to look at the bike today, and that's all it took (plus an 8mm wrench). You were right that the shop just put it on upside down, which led to the bent rod, which led to limited shifting range. I'm relieved that it was such an easy fix and not a problem with the transmission itself like the shop was suggesting. I'm a little worried that it will bend again under quick shifting, but for now it runs through the gears and finds neutral just fine. Thanks for your help!

 

Plus picture for reference:

 

Glad you got it sorted. The second important thing here is that you've confirmed the shop that worked on your bike is a bunch of fucking idiots. I would make it a point to pay them a visit.

 

looks like you gave it a dose of viagra