Motorcycle Repair: 1972 sportster transmission, shift fork, bearings

Question
I have a 1972 Sportster, shifts on the right, has forward controls manufatured to fit. It just started some shifting problems.I just took a ride and for the first 2 miles I only had 1st and second, sometimes when I tried to shift to 3rd it went to neutral. At mile 3 on this trip it went ahead and shifted into 3rd and fourth. Is this a shift fork problem? I hate to split the case if I should look elsewhere. Thanks for your help

Answer
What youa re going to have to do is remove the trans and do an inspection on the shifter forks and bearings. You dont have to split the cases to do this. The trans comes out the left side of the bike. It is behind the clutchs.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike