Failure to launch!

[spyug]

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r239/spyug/WB2.jpg The mostly completed Kat project. Finished up today so I figured it was ready for the inaugural round the block road test. Well as the title implies it was a bust, unless you consider 4 or 5 circuits of my court in 1 st gear a succcessful road test.

It wouldn't come out of first gear. Back when I was putting the linkage on ( a few months ago)I suspected the tranny was junked as it wouldn't shift by hand either. some of the fellows pointed out the the transmission needs to be turning to shift and by moving the back wheel it did seem to go up and down....but not today. I could not get it back into neutral or into any gear other than 1st when it was moving. When stopped and engine off I could lever it up by hand again but never by foot...clutch in or out...engine on or off.

The linkage is sloppy and I don't think that's helping. Having no experience of bad transmissions and never seeing a linkage up close I don't know how to diagnose whats going on.

To recap, when on the lift with engine off and back wheel turning i can shift up and down. I also noted that the neutral light stays on when the bike is in gear. I put that down to a faulty switch but I wonder now if that tells me anything.

As always, I appreciate all input.

Cheers,
Spyug

[suzukiray]

Check my same reply to this post at thegsresources.com Ray.

[the wind]

Check my same reply to this post at thegsresources.com Ray.

but i don't belong there and inquiring minds want to know.so i'll give it a try,it has to be the linkage or the tranny.:bunny2

[Trackerrrr]

Is the clutch cable adjusted properly?

[spyug]

Thanks guys.

As far as Ii can tell the clutch is adjusted correctly as it will disengage the engine from tranny when pulled in. I must admit that it does seem stiffer than my GS750.

At the first opportunity, I am going to get the bike back on the lift and will pull the side cover and gear selector switch to view the end of the gear selector drum. As Ray mentions, I should have a look to see if this is turning as I 'cycle" through the gears manually.

In my mind, at this point, I think it needs to be something to do with the gear selector drum and forks. If I am correct it means a trip inside the engine cases which means more work than I care to contemplate.

I guess if I have to I have to.

I'll let you know how it works out.

cheers,
Spyug

[Trackerrrr]

Might have a bent shifter fork, that would stop shifter fer sure.

[Mercaholic]

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r239/spyug/WB2.jpg The mostly completed Kat project. Finished up today so I figured it was ready for the inaugural round the block road test. Well as the title implies it was a bust, unless you consider 4 or 5 circuits of my court in 1 st gear a succcessful road test.

It wouldn't come out of first gear. Back when I was putting the linkage on ( a few months ago)I suspected the tranny was junked as it wouldn't shift by hand either. some of the fellows pointed out the the transmission needs to be turning to shift and by moving the back wheel it did seem to go up and down....but not today. I could not get it back into neutral or into any gear other than 1st when it was moving. When stopped and engine off I could lever it up by hand again but never by foot...clutch in or out...engine on or off.

The linkage is sloppy and I don't think that's helping. Having no experience of bad transmissions and never seeing a linkage up close I don't know how to diagnose whats going on.

To recap, when on the lift with engine off and back wheel turning i can shift up and down. I also noted that the neutral light stays on when the bike is in gear. I put that down to a faulty switch but I wonder now if that tells me anything.

As always, I appreciate all input.

Cheers,
Spyug

I was wrestling the gear selctor shift linkage off my 1100 kat and put too much outwaard pressure on the output shaft such that it would not shift in and out of any gear.

I tapped on the shaft with a rubber mallet and it seemed to set things inside.

Not sure if this would assist in your situation.

[spyug]

A bit of an update.

I managed to rustle up a bit of courage last night to look into these problems. After taking off the side cover i could see immediately the problem with the gear selector/neutral light switch. The wire had been pinched between the engine case and the cover exposing the wire and grounding it out. Quick 30 second fix to that.

With the linkage off and the light fixed i was able to mover the shift shaft with a set of vice grips attached. I seemed to be able to cycle up and down through all the gears. I guess I may not have had the linkage on correctly.

I didn't get a chance to ride the bike last night but at the first opportunity, I 'll try again. I'm really hoping it is going to work properly as I really do not want to pull the engine to dig into that tranny.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks for the input and encouragement.

Cheers,
spyug.