83 GS450 stuck clutch?

[jlineberry]

Hi everyone. I've been (slowly) rebuilding a non-running GS450 over the past 3 years. I've recently noticed that I can shift through first, second, and third gears without engaging the clutch, and cannot get into fourth, fifth, or sixth gear, even with the clutch pulled in.

Obviously, the bike has been sitting for a while. Does this sound like just some stuck clutch plates? Or does it sound as if there is some other issue with the transmission? I plan to pull the clutch plates apart today, but wanted to get some of your all's sage advice beforehand in case this doesn't fix the issue.

Thanks!

 

[steve murdoch]

Probably just stuck plates.
Did you try rocking the bike back and forth in gear?

 

[Guest]

If the plates were stuck, then I don't think it would move with out stalling and if you can go through 1,2 and 3, then why not 4,5 and 6? The clutch doesn't have anything to do with what gear your in. I'd look at the shift mechanism or possibly the shift forks or drum.

I've run into a couple of bikes at work that have sat for months where the plates stuck together. If you try to go from neutral to first idling it would jump into gear and stall out. I found that if you reved it up just before kicking it into gear it would break the plates loose.

 

[chuck hahn]

Im with Rick. If the plates were stuck it would affect every gear. Im going with a shifter fork issue in the bottom end.

 

[Dostoy320]

You say "non-running GS450". Maybe a stupid question, but are you trying to shift through all of the gears without the bike running/moving?

If so, only being able to select a limited range is normal.

 

[jlineberry]

Yes, it is not running. With the bike sitting and not running, without pulling the clutch lever, I can shift through first, neutral, second, and third, but not into the higher gears.

Dostoy320, does that still sound normal as you said, and is therefore just some stuck clutch plates accounting for not needing to pull the clutch?

 

[steve murdoch]

There is a different load on the transmission when the engine is running and when it is not.
What i was referring to when i mentioned slightly rocking the bike forward and back while in gear was to try and change the load on the transmission.
You might even be able to do it with the bike on the center stand by trying to rotate the rear wheel while it is in gear.

If it does shift to the higher gears after that you should be able to rule out transmission problems.
Could be your clutch is still stuck after sitting for years.

 

[Dostoy320]

Yep, that is normal. In fact, I just walked out to my '81 450E and tried it. When the transmission isn't spinning, I can shift through 1, 2, 3, but no higher.

The clutch isn't really tied to the way the transmission shifts, it just decouples the engine and the transmission so they can spin / not spin freely of each other, right? So when your engine isn't running, the clutch plays no part in whether you can shift through gears or not.

I believe it's just the nature of motorcycle transmissions that you can''t move through all the gears without the transmission rotating. Someone smarter than me can chime in to explain why. My guess is that you need some sort of load to pop the 1/2/3 fork out of place before the 4/5/6 fork can actuate the higher gears. But I dunno..

Steve is right that if you put the bike on a center stand and rotated the rear wheel while trying to shift up to 4/5/6, it would work.

 

[chuck hahn]

All it takes is the wheel wiggling to throw the gears into mesh...like was stated already.. If they wont then youve got problems there. Wiggle the wheel while applying pressure to the shifter.