have a quick question. this bike was submerged in water then left in the back of a truck on a freezing night without draining the crankcase. now it is stuck in 5th gear or what i believe to be 5th definatly not first. after i got the wiring diagram i was able to trick the ignition into thinking it was in neutral to start it. the motor ran fine and it would actually move by itself but very very slow take off like it was in a higher gear.
so is there anything in particular that i should be looking for? maybe a shifter fork got bent or something? if it is shifter forks is there a way to get at them without tearing the motor completly down?

 

The shift arm, inside the front cover, has a broken tab and will not catch the shift drum star wheel to shift it down


----- Gregg -----

 

and this is accessible without having to seperate the case halves? because i have the front part apart and i didnt notice anything broken in there granted i tore it apart about 6 months ago. if i pull up on the shifter it feels like its already in the highest possible gear. when i push down on the shifter it feels like its in the lowest possible gear. still sound like the shift arm has a broken tab?
i appreciate the help. im more of a polaris guy myself...this is my brothers bike.

 

Geez, that is odd. There are 3 shift forks in that transmission. I kind of read into the post that someone had tried to shift it while the engine had frozen water in it. Those older ranchers were known to break the shift plate. o see where it is broke, the center nut for the wet clutch must be removed, the clutch pulled ahead as far as it will go ( it will hit the centrifical clutch drum) Once at this point the shift pivot plate can be pulled foreward, turned toward the right side of the quad and removed from the shifter arm. When removed and flipped over that is when you see the broken or seperated tabs.
I guess other than that, the cases would have to be split to inspect the shift pivot and ball end within the rear cover. And be split to inspect the shift drum, forks, gears etc...

Good luck

----- Gregg -----