Topic: Shifter mystery

[eigenvector]

That Nighthawk has more problems than Prom night at the insane asylum.

That said - I took it out for a spin today.  The carb rebuild did it's job.  It runs cleanly and idles smoothly.

The new mufflers are working better as more exhaust go through them - I'm guessing the stainless wool is slowly matting down and filling with soot and crud.

The shifter though...

It will not shift when in motion.  The clutch works just fine - it will disengage the engine fully.
I found out just how much power it has when I go stuck in 3rd and was still able to power out from a dead stop.

So here's the thing - if I rotate the back wheel backwards I can easily shift it out of whatever gear it's in.  But rotating it forward makes the shifter stick.

What the heck?  Did I assemble something backwards when I put the shifter back together again?
Obviously I can't ride the bike reliably if I have to roll backwards to shift from 1st to 2nd or 3rd to 2nd.  I guess I can just leave it in 3rd - but that's hardly a practical solution either.  Assuming I have to tear it apart again - what am I looking for in the shifter?

[eigenvector]

Well, changing the clutch helped, but not completely.   Still missing 2nd and still can't get it into 1st from 2nd.  I think my next attempt will be to move the shifter arm a bit and see if I can change the throw.

Here she is though - this baby's got some rough edges to say the least, but when I rescued her from the salvage yard she barely resembled a bike.  Total rebuild.  Engine is perfectly fine though - plenty of pep.

Speedometer is still whining at me, but I'll see about tossing in some lube into the mechanism.