QuestionI have a Honda 03 VTX 1800, my gearshift seems to be getting stuck on me. As I slow down and down shift with the speed of the bike, my gearshift does not retract back up to where I can down shift again. It just stays stuck in the down position.
My mechanic has replaced the clutch, the pin, the axle and also the oil pump for the hydraulic clutch. And he does not have any idea yet. (By the way he is a Honda tech).
What is causing this? Is there a simple solution or am I looking at having to spend more dollars for repair?
Any response will be greatly appreciated.
Raul
AnswerRaul, I found this on the web, but it may not apply to your machine... http://auto-recalls.justia.com/content/01V134000-HONDA-VTX1800-2002.html
Interesting, though....
Transmission stick in gear due to:
*Clutch not releasing properly..
*Gear shift mechanism malfunctions or damage to shift drum, shift forks, or selector mechanism.
*Gear dogs that are damaged or back cut, causing them to hang during engagement.
*Excessive gear dog engagment depth.
If it hangs in all gears, the problem is more related to clutch release, unless the shift shaft is bent. It sounds like you have replaced most of the accessible parts, though.
With a remote shift linkage, you need to pay attention to the angles of the shift arms, The threaded rod is adjustable, so you can move the height of the pedal up and down, to a certain extent. If you take the rear shift arm off the transmission shaft, be sure that it goes back on, exactly as it was from the factory. There is normally a punch mark on the end of the shaft and a matching on on the gear shift arm, to ensure that they are installed properly. Check to see that the shifter is moving properly when the engine is OFF. If the lever returns from both down and up shifts, engine off, then the clutch is loading the transmission somehow and not releasing the engine from the trans, like it is supposed to.
There is a shaft shaft return spring that you may want to check. Perhaps removal of the springs will allow your mechanic to check the pure shift function of the gear shift system and the gears, then reinstall the springs to see if the return function is still okay. There is a second spring on the inboard end of the shaft, as well, but I think it is just for returning the selector mechanism back to neutral on the end of the shift drum, after an upshift or downshift.
Having the clutch off or disabled should allow the transmission and gear selection parts to be cycled through their ranges of motion to see if there are physical problems with those parts.
Make sure that the clutch basket has some end play on the shaft, otherwise, it will continue to preload the geartrain and the amount of torque on the VTX1800 will aggravate the gear release problems.
Being that I never worked on one of these, I am just doing some guessing by looking at the exploded views on the PARTS FISH website.
Bill Silver
