Where Did My First Gear Go?

Ok...I have a 1985 Vf700f. Was shifting fine last fall...and early spring when I had a chance to take it for a small run. This is when I noticed that when I went to downshift the shift lever was getting stuck in the spring for my side kick stand. Not very fun... And so it wouldn't always downshift and usually wouldn't be able to return to normal position...kind of a pain...but I figured that the kick stand was just a little bent or something? But now I just looked at it again...and I can up shift no problem and go to neutral no problem. But I can't seem to get the bike to go into first gear at all...what does this mean? Am I screwed?

Thanks for any advice or help.

StormHorse

 

Hmm.

I know if I park my bike in gear and rock it back so that the trans stops the bike from moving (engine off), There is no way in hell it's coming out of gear. I would try rocking the bike every which way, in and out of second gear until you can get it to slip in. My bike needs some coercion at times as well.

 

Ok...I'll try blackmailing it tomorrow morning...Was planning on going on my first real ride tomorrow...and now...if first gear doesn't work...oh well...maybe I can work it out yet. Thanks for the advice VeryFunRide.

 

i know this might sound really stupid, but is the shift lever tight on the shift shaft?

 

First Norcal Boy...do you mean like does it wiggle around at all? Yes it does a little. It has a little bit of give to it.

And now Derstuka...I'm not sure if the lever is bent or not...because I don't really know exactly how it was supposed to be anyways. I looked at it and it didn't seem to have any unusual stress or bend points on it. But I am puzzled not too...about it not being able to shift down to first...or up to first from neutral. (however you want to think of it) The bike has been laid down (and by this I pretty much mean laid, pretty much just dropped, not crashed) three times that I know of all on it's left side. So i suppose it is possible that something is bent out of place?

 

i was just wondering if the shifter was just spinning on the shaft when you were trying to engage first gear, thus the shift lever had rotated on the shaft to the point that it was contacting another piece of the bike, not allowing it to engage first gear. i've seen it before. kind of a check the easiest thing first approach........

 

Ahh..well that's fixed now...

Ok...yeah thanks norcalboy. I was able to take a closer look at it this morning after a few hours sleep. And it appeared that the shift lever was just bent in a little so that when I pressed it down it would hit the side stand. I took a pair of channel locks and twisted it back, and then bent out a little and it seems to be fine.

Thanks for all the fast responses everyone. I was afraid it was going to be something more serious...:smile:

I was finally able to go for a bit of a ride this afternoon, a friend of mine went with me because I still only have my permit...So this was my first real ride. Was going ok...I noticed right when we started out that the bike seemed to be running a little warm. The needle was right at the red part of the gauge. after a little bit it seemed to cool down. but then suddenly the temp gauge rocketed right up past even the H on the dial. and the coolant was coming out of my radiator cap. I had been taking it fairly easy I thought. The RPMs were usually between 4 and 6 k. My friend has a fairly new honda cruiser type bike...it's a 1300. And he likes to just cruise along...not into going real fast. (consistently goes 5 mph slower than the speed limit lol, But I wasn't going to complain, he was going with me so that I could finally take my bike out) I had just topped the coolant off the night before. So it shouldn't have been low. I guess I will start with the basic things? Bleed the coolant lines? Check thermostat? Anything else?

Thank you all so much for you help.

StormHorse

 

Well start simple again.

Is your radiator cap on correctly?

BZ

 

There is more than one way to put on a radiator cap?...:wacko:

I guess I should check that...simple sounds good. Am I just looking to make sure that it isn't crooked or something? I seem to remember from last time I looked at it that...had a little locking screw on the side of it or something...anything special I should know about that? (Sorry for my noobish questions everyone)

Do I need a special type of coolant?...just a thought.

 

I think now it's necessary to reflect on what caused your bent shifter though.

If you've been pressing hard enough to bend the shifter, you're probably pressing harder than you need to be, or some other mechanical aspect is making your shifting hard.

When my bike is cold, it fights me to change gears. Also, I notice that after changing the oil, shifting gets a little easier.

As for the overheating, my bike's come pretty close to the red and H, but never beyond tolerance (which a mechanic at work explained to me). I would do a good ol' radiator flush and replace it with a good non-silicated coolant and replace your radiator cap, like 'stuka mentioned.

 

OK great advice guys...I'm not exactly sure on how to flush the radiator. Do I need to be able to pressurize it? And I know for a fact that my radiator cap isn't sealed right now anyways, because the coolant boiled out of the radiator cap. So I will check to make sure the cap is on straight and tight. but if it is junk, I take it that I can get a new one somewhere? Can I pick up some of that engine ice stuff at a motorcycle store? or does it matter? I don't have a way to get distilled water, I would have to buy it...but that's not such a bad thing I spose.

Back to my gear shifter lever. I'm pretty sure the lever got bent and twisted in when the bike was layed down last year...the first night I got it. I sat on it and tried to back it up and didn't have enough leverage so I kinda slid to the side so I could put my foot down...but didn't know that the bike was that heavy...and it just fell over...lol.I had not been able to ride it since then... Thank you all for the great advice. I will try to get back to you on that once I check it out.