Motorcycle Repair: 1963 Honda Dream Shift Problem, side muffler, chain sprocket

Question
Bill,
You have answered some questions for me recently and I appreciate yuor help very much.  I'm trying to restore a 1963 Dream on a budget and I have the engine running now.  When I first got the bike it was stuck in gear--the shift shaft splines are shot so I clamped vice grips to it and tried to get it to shift. After working with it a while (it does move freely) I got the engine in neutral or either between gears?? Now that engine is running I can not get it to shift back into gear--will not shift with eninge running or not--stuck in neutral or between gears? Any easy suggestions?
I put some seafoam in oil to help free up internals. Also used auto oil --should have used motorcycle oil--will change soon. Clutch was stuck at first and hard to operate--never disengaged when bike was in gear--like no cluth at all--now works more freely but bike is stuck in neutral. Help please.
Thanks,
Louis

Answer
Louis, Based on your current report, there are no "easy" suggestions to offer in the way of getting the transmission to shift properly.

First, you probably should have just drained the oil, pulled the left side muffler and footpeg, then pulled the clutch cover to properly repair the stuck clutch. The plates get rusted and caked with friction material and if you just leave it like that and force it to break loose with some horsepower, the rust and friction material will shear off the plates, spin into the clutch cover, then eventually drool down the sides and into the oil pump screen, where some of the tiny bits may get sucked into the pump.

With the clutch cover off, you can take it a bit further and remove the front nut/washer/sprocket off the end of the crankshaft, then pull the whole primary chain/sprocket/clutch basket off the shafts. That will give you access to the shift shaft for replacement and inspection of the shift drum end and the shift selector pawl roller, etc. If there is no easily observable damage in the shift selection system, then the shifting problems are in the shift drum, low gear bushing and shift forks. Accessing those components requires pulling the motor and splitting the cases.

The transmission gearset should be checked and shimmed up using the offset cotters that Honda created to help keep the gear dogs engaged. Low gear bushing and the kickstarter pawls are usually worn out and require replacement, while you are in there.

All the procedures can be found on my restoration guide CDs, available through my website.

Bill Silver
www.vintagehonda.com