Topic: 1971 CB500 gear shift troubleshooting

[dazemc]

'71 CB500 that has recently been giving me issues shifting into and out of 2nd gear.
1st and 3-5 work flawlessly but it is nearly impossible to get it into 2nd, running or not.
When trying to up shift out of 2nd I also get regular false neutrals.

I have readjusted my clutch even though it was fine.
I had a cracked housing around that little worm drive that pushes that rod to disengage the clutch but I replaced that and regreased about a year ago, and yes the little ball bearing is still there.
The push rod is not bent or broken.
Basically clutch operates as intended.

So it must be a mechanical issue within the transmission but I'm not too familiar with transmissions, even though I used to weld torque converters back together for a living.

Where should I start looking?


 

[bryanj]

First place is the neutral and gear selector plus rollers behind  the clutch(cover off) f nothing wrong there its a gear/ selector problem.
Note the parts behind the clutch were modified in 71 for better shifting also some gears were altered through the production run and must be changed as pairs due to tooth differences and the centre selector is very difficult to get now

[HondaMan]

First place is the neutral and gear selector plus rollers behind  the clutch(cover off) f nothing wrong there its a gear/ selector problem.
Note the parts behind the clutch were modified in 71 for better shifting also some gears were altered through the production run and must be changed as pairs due to tooth differences and the centre selector is very difficult to get now

BryanJ:
Was this the [quiet] recall change of the C2 gearset? IIRC it was because the holes in the receiving gear weren't quite large enough (oval size) to receive the dogs, so the new gear(s) had slightly smaller dogs? I seem to remember this being changed early on in the 500s that hit the track in '71 with the early 'hot' cams (which had no low-RPM power!) that required lots of 1-2 shifting at high RPM in tight corners.

[bryanj]

Cant remember which gear it was but do remember it was a tooth profile change, supposedly for strength, and the part number was superceeded to one with both gears

[dave500]

the 500 shift drum can move sideways somewhat its not located as securely as the updated 550 transmission,if this happens it can trap the actuating lever within it making for stiff hit n miss shifting.

[dazemc]

Thank you all for your feedback. I've found that when the bike is not running... I can put the bike into first. Then with my hand I can pull up hard and quick, this will usually put it into 2nd gear but then it is stuck and won't upshift into 3rd. While I'm driving I can pop it into gear with the same method. Anyways, I just finished mounting a 500 motor I bought yesterday, I really wanted a 550 but I can't find one. I plan to rebuild this one and will probably pop back in here in a week or so. 

[bryanj]

You wont get higher than 2nd at standstill without rotating the rear wheel, and sometimes crank as well

[dave500]

as i was driving my truck with a good vantage point the other day i observed a guy on a small newish jap bike coasting along beside me towards a red light,im down shifting and hes pulled the clutch and coasted to a stop,then at the red light hes pounding the shifter over and over to selected neutral or first gear i guess?needs proper riding education!