Motorcycle Repair: no 1st gear in 75 Honda Elsinore 125MT, honda elsinore, transmission shaft

Question
QUESTION: My son and I got the old bike running this summer, I pulled it out to ride it
around a bit this afternoon and it wouldn't go into neutral or 1st gear. Just like
that! Before I rip it apart and have a look, do you have any advice? Is this
common?

ANSWER: Will it go into other gears?  It's possible one of the gears is frozen on the tranmission.  Before pulling it all apart, make sure the shift shaft and lever aren't bent or binding up.  Next pull the right side cover off and take a look at the shifter shaft works as you shift through the gears.  That will tell you if it's something simple with indexing or if you have to go deeper.

Regards
Rich

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes sir. It will go into all the other gears and is rideable as such...

Answer
I guess my advice is the same.  The gears are not frozen on the transmission shaft or you'd have other gears involved.  If you take the side cover off, you should be able to see what's causing the shift paw and ratched not to engage properly.

Regards
Rich