Bent Shifting Fork ? 4RT

[rexalott]

Hello all,

I was riding in the locally famous Medicine Bow Cup in the back country of Wyoming when I got hung up on some of the stickiest granite known. Upon freeing the bike I noticed that I could not down shift and the up shifting was a very short movement. There was also a nice gash in the engine side cover right infront of the shift lever. I figure that a rock of considerable size jammed the shift lever up hard enough to bend a shifting fork. Do I need to split the cases to repair this or is there an easier way. Thanks

[stork955]

Gday, its a strong possibility that you have a damaged fork. If so, a case strip is the only option. Check under the damaged cover first however, there may be some other issue.

Cheers,

Stork

[sportsawyer]

... Upon freeing the bike I noticed that I could not down shift and the up shifting was a very short movement. .... Do I need to split the cases to repair this or is there an easier way.

You could pull the clutch first (just through the clutch cover), and get a view of the right side of the gearshift spindle and shifting mechanism. Could be something there got bent or otherwise messed-up. You'll need to eventually remove the clutch anyway if you need to dig in to the center cases, so it's not a lost effort. But may save you from removing the engine, splitting the cases, and buying all the gaskets you'd need if that's done.

Check the owners manual page 4-44.

Good luck. Hope you don't need to split the cases.

[rexalott]

Thanks for the advice. I did remove the clutch and everything looked good. I thought for sure that part number 18 would be bent. I am now waiting for a flywheel puller to split the cases. Rats!