the 500 can be prone to rounding over the engagement dogs,then it jumps out of gear loading the fork excessively,the shifter drum can also float left and right making the situation worse,the 550 had a few improvements over the 500 transmission in the clutch release and drum locating being the main ones,also the three forks on 500s are all hung off the drum,in 550s only one is on the drum and the other two ride on their own shaft.