Hey, New to the forum.
I'm working on a 2001 rancher standard shift, the end of the shift drum that the neutral switch sits in broke off. Any one had this problem? Owner says was hard to shift for a while, and then neutral light would not come on even though it was in neutral. Thanks

 

That end of the shift drum was made heavier around 2002. If you order a new drum it will be the updated drum. To install it into the earlier year's rear case half, the origional needle bearing assembly will need to be driven out of the case to allow for the bigger shift drum end.
Motor will have to come out and the cases split. Look for any small pieces that broke off the old shift drum end and dropped in the gearbox. Also watch the gears when you split the case. The one end gear that likes to fall off of one of the gear shafts when the case is seperated can be a problem. The problem is when reassembled, if the gear is flipped over and installed, you find you have no neutral in the unit. Some techs have found this out after reinstalling the engine and attempted to start it.

hope this has been helpfull

-----gimpster-----

 

If I drive out the needle bearing what replaces it? The motor is out and shift drum is still intact, the slotted end for the neutral switch will spin without drum spinning. So appears no pieces yet. Since you know what to do, what may be the causes? Thanks for helping.

 

The thicker end of the new shift drum (slotted end) takes up the space of the needle bearing. That is how Honda cured the issue of these things breaking on the early year models.
Around here, I have replaced quite a number of the gear position switches. In the winter, moisture gets inside the switch and freezes the switch while the unit is not in use. Figured that when the owner started the unit and attempted to shift it in gear, they strained the end of the shift drum.
From other posts and talking to other techs across the nation, We have shared simular experiences, except for the cold weather. Suppose Honda had a few bad casted shift drums.
Normally where the end of the drum breaks off, it breaks in an eye shape and not totally round. When the unit is shifted thereafter, one of the points of the 'eye' can drop into the gearcase causing mayhem when wedged between other gears. Some engine cases have been busted because of these pieces caught between gears while riding

-----gimpster-----

 

Gimpster, Your a big help and I greatly appreciate it. I can see the cold weather scenerio happening here in Ohio. This bike gets very little use so it is very likely it happened in the winter and is just now surfacing. I hope I can help you someday! Scott

 

Honda had 2-3 different fixes for this ... For a year or so they even supplied a new crankcase half .. We've changed well over 20 of them .. Some broke in winter some in summer .. Honda covered them under warranty for several years , the last ones our shop did under warranty was 2 years ago .. We had 4 come in for shift drums That Honda Canada fixed under warranty (we knew they were coming for about 1 year) These bikes were/are used on Sable Island by scientests , we had 1 day to fix 4 shift drums because the supply ship was only in dock for supplies & a crew change, 3 mechanics worked from 8am till midnight to get the 4 bikes fixed ..

 

 

Honda Mechanic, I contacted two local dealers to check on recalls or simular problems before I knew 100% sure it was the drum, and the Jackson ohio service mngr. told me no problems and no recalls. He suggested I take the bike to some one who knew what they were doing to simply replace the switch- was possitive no way could be the drum??? Who would I contact to get info?