Fun in first with no neutral!

[JDArgonaut]

I sent out a few e-mails to some fellow vision owners. I tried everything that they thought might fix the issue(s) with my bike. It was recommended to put it on the ROV to see what happens.
The last time I rode the bike, it was all fine and that wasn't all that long ago. I changed the oil (motorcycle oil) on my 83 and now it won't shift out of first, heck I can't even get it into neutral. I initially overfilled it and went for the ride when I found out that I had problems. When I got back I noticed the improper oil level and drained it back into spec. I drained it I have noticed that it starts but feels like the clutch is partially engaged (until now I had only started her in neutral, so I couldn't tell you if the clutch was an issue before). I plan on using Lucky's DVD and picking out the information for clutch adjustment this weekend since I am no longer on call for another week. I was hoping that someone may help out and give me something to check or give me a clue. I looked at the member map and I think the closest member is Kiawrench in myrtle beach. I wish that there were more members around (especially closer to me!)
Thanks,
JDA

[Rick G]

Kia , would love to help , but has moved  his family to (I believe Charleston) As well  as his vehicles. He was in the path of the wild fires. He stayed behind to help the firefighters.
If your problem lies in the shift mechanism , it lies behind the clutch . You have to remove the right engine cover . If you do you will need to have a new oil sea, that is located inside the cover. It should be replaced every time the cover is replaced , also be very cautious to replace the cover squarely , so as not to damage the new seal.
Before you remove anything , be certain to try rotating the rear wheel ,as you attempt to shift the transmission. If the problem is not in the shift mechanism , then it will involve a shift fork or the shift drum. Inspection of those parts will require complete disassemble of the engine.

[inanecathode]

Dig it, heres what i think it is:

Well, actually it could be more things but lets focus on the not-splitting-the-case-or-junking-the-bike options:

Your clutch is way out of adjustment (actually not way out, the 'hard' adjustment under the right cover is incredibly sensitive)
Your clutch plates are swollen or partially delaminated/fuzzed from something you inadvertantly put into the oil. The frictions are held on with water based glue (frictions are soaked in oil, are you following me camera guy) and water or water based solvents will start to remove the friction from the core.
Your shifter is bent or way out of adjustment. Sometimes (happened to me once when i was monkeying with the shifter adjustment on the 83) you can jack up the adjustment in such a way that the shifter will move, but not quite far enough to actually nose it over into the next gear.

The solution for the first problem is to take your cable adjustment at the lever and tighten it WAY down, like crazy far down, and see then if it'll go into gear. Sometimes the cable can stretch a bit, or some mung will work its way out of the workings and it'll go back to spec. Dont ride it with the clutch tightened down though, it'll burn the clutch up if you let it slip. I'd get back to us here if this actually worked, then maybe we can talk about touching the hard adjustment under the cover, its just easy to muck it up if you dont know what you're doing on that one, as i said its really sensitive.

The second solution is to take the right hand cover off, take the spring elements out of the clutch pack and physically inspect the frictions. Try to scrape off a bit with your fingernail, if you take some off its time for new frictions.

The third way is to get down and physically look at the shifter and make sure that its not bottoming out or hitting any of the case or frame pieces when you try to use it to shift and that its actually seriously bottoming inside the case where it should be.

Try that stuff and see if it works, i suspect your clutch just inst releasing all the way.

[Rick G]

I'm sure its possible to have a bad set of clutch friction plates, but I haven't seen a bad set in a Vision yet . Still, if the clutch has been run with insufficient free play it could be burned . in which case the metal plate will be burnt/warped.
Follow Inanes suggestions and if you need  a set of clutch plates . let me know , I have several complete clutch plate sets.
The shift mechanism in the Vision has no centering adjustment , as many Japanese bikes do , When the trans in my previous engine acted up i hoped to rectify the problem , by adjusting it, but the shift throw in not adjustable.

[haunter]

sometimes they just stick and need a lil help getting unstuck

like puttin her on teh center stand

starting her

dumping her off the stand

[JDArgonaut]

Thanks for all the info!
I will try what inane said to try this weekend when I can safely put a few hours into her.

haunter, should I be on the bike or behind it when I dump her? ;D

Thanks again I will keep you posted.

[haunter]

Thanks for all the info!
I will try what inane said to try this weekend when I can safely put a few hours into her.

haunter, should I be on the bike or behind it when I dump her? ;D

Thanks again I will keep you posted.

usually it will just bog and die, dont give it throttle!  I dumped a bike doing that while dicking around(my old V!  I was a big n00b), it will bog and die or start to idle (have the clutch lever in), if its dragging that will help loosen it.

[Rick G]

The best procedure to brake loose a stuck clutch is to get on the bike, start it and paddle it forward (a slight down hill helps , here)  , pull in the clutch and put it in first gear , while your moving, then ride away with the clutch in. a short distance, is all that is required for it to break loose.
This has worked for my 47  years on bikes ,except for an instance recently , here on the forum.

[JDArgonaut]

Well, I tried to adjust the clutch cable and found out that it was already max'ed out. I figure that I will try the hard adjustment now. I want to wait for a few replies first since it was brought to my attention that it is easy to jack this up. It doesn't sound too hard to accomplish after reading the Yamaha manual that was on Lucky's DVD (that thing is definately a worthwhile investment).

[Night Vision]

try manually moving the lever under the engine case and prodding it forward with a block of wood or something....

perhaps your cable is stretched and you need a new one....

worth a quick try....

[JDArgonaut]

Ok, I battled a headache all day due to the weather changing. I am really wondering how this managed to happen :-\.

1. I am really certain now that the clutch is out of adjustment. I was able to move the clutch operator down below the engine. IF I feel better tomorrow, I will try to do the adjustment (after I look to see the "match mark" and its location.

2. I think that my shifter is way out of adjustment. I thought that it felt weird when I went to ride it the first day that if happened. It was just TOO high up on my foot. I will try to get a picture of it up on here so that I can get some input.

I did spill a little bit of oil when I was putting oil back in her and now the only thing that I can figure is that I got some on the clutch cable and the shifter.

Any thoughts before I start with the adjustment?

JDA

[QBS]

Start with making sure your shift lever is properly positioned.  The clutch adjustment made under the engine is "coarse".  The adjustment made at the lever is "fine".  Do the "coarse" first, with the lever adjustment screwed all the way in.  Then do the "coarse" adjustment visually using the benchmark and Haynes instructions.  After that adjustment is right, screw the lever adjuster out to where there is just a little slop in the lever, more than an eighth of an inch is too much.  A sixteenth of an inch is just about right.

[JDArgonaut]

I looked at the manual and it said when I get to the part where I move the clutch with my finger?!? Is it supposed to be easy to move to the stop? I think that it is going to be harder to "manipulate" than my finger can do. I am not saying I am a weakling, but it is pretty firm to move. I guess I will use a chunk of wood or something.

[JDArgonaut]

Ok,

1. The shifter somehow got out of adjustment. I followed y'all's (I live in SC so I can say that now) recommendations for the shifter and now I can get it to shift.

2. I did the adjustment on the clutch using the procedure in the Yamaha manual. * I set the clutch to where it shows in the book. It really wasn't that far out of adjustment. I got finished with the step where I tightened down the adjuster "lockout". Where I noticed that the "lockout" was just a 10mm nut with a small flatwasher under it. It seemed kind of cheesy like it needs to have a larger washer with maybe a lockwasher on it also. I did a search for pictures of this, since the pic in the Yamaha manual isn't the clearest in the world. Can someone help out on this.

3. When I went to do step "7" where you adjust the clutch lever free play, either I am doing something wrong or one of two things. The first, my clutch cable is stretched. The second, the clutch is still partially sticking. I ended up backing out the screw all the way and still not fully disengaged. * I am wondering if I need to "back" off on the course adjust and make the pointer line up to about half way through the matchmark. The only reason I think this is that it may just be a band that you put the adjustment into. I didn't try running it yet. I put it in first and pulled in the clutch lever and tried to spin the back tire but it felt like I was trying to turn the engine. Am I messed up?
I
can't see how this can be so hard to figure out. I hate rework, I hate performing step 8 of troubleshooting where you "easter egg". I want to get it right so I can get out on her soon.

* I think that I am gong to try and experiment with this to find out if it works.

Thanks,
JDA

[QBS]

Cables may stretch, but very little.  From what you describe, it sounds as if your coarse adjustment is wrong.

[Walt_M.]

It also sounds like your clutch plates are stuck from the long layover. It is no problem to get them unstuck but you have to before you can get the clutch adjusted. With the engine off, put it in gear, pull the clutch and roll the bike back and forth until it frees up.

[inanecathode]

For what its worth, sometimes the frictions can stick to the steels temporarily, mocking an out of adjustment issue. After a while things loosen up and regular adjustment becomes possible.