Hey friends, I have a '76 GL1000 that has had the timing belts and water pump recently replaced. The problem is that the bike now skips third gear. It runs fine otherwise. I heard of someone having their GL skip third gear after a water pump replacement. Has anyone else seen this? Where should I go from here? I really hope this isn't a transmission problem.
Thanks guys, you have really helped me a lot.

One thing we have heard is that if the front cover gasket is too thin it can interefere with shifting.

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Enjoy life,
Cookie


A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad.
Owner of 4.4 76s and one lone 75 Wings (does a spare engine make .2?)

Yep, if you have a problem now that you did not have before you alway's go back to the work you just did first. Did it shift OK before you had the front cover off? If yes then Cookie is right. If you don't use a gasket (which some have done) or the new gasket is too thin it can cause the shift linkage to bind. Sorry to say but you'll probably need to pull the cover back off. While off see if the transmission will shift ok by hand. Engine not running of course. If it works then you know what it was. You'll need a new gasket. May have to get one from Honda. And yes, it doean't take much for the cover to hit. If for some reason you had the shift lever off check that first before taking the cover off. If not put back on in the right place they can also give you trouble when shifting.

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1976 Goldwing Super Sport
1982 GL1100 Standard Bagger (in progress)
1985 Honda Elite
1976 KZ900 Dragbike
1992 ZX7 Dragbike (KZ900 style motor w/NOS)
and a rotation of various purchases

Awesome. Great information. Thanks everyone. I will investigate and let you know what ended up being the problem. Thanks again!

By the way on one bike I had a shifting problem that turned out to be a loose lever.

_________________
Enjoy life,
Cookie


A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad.
Owner of 4.4 76s and one lone 75 Wings (does a spare engine make .2?)

Yeah, check the obvious stuff first. Few years ago I bought, well traded an old Kawasaki, for a GL1200 with a "bad transmission" The bike wouldn't shift and leaked oil out of the transmission. It had running boards and a heel toe shifter. Turned out the rocker pivot on the heel toe shifter was just loose and the shifter couldn't move the actual shift lever enough to shift. I tightened the shifter pivot and fixed the shifting problem, then replaced the shifter seal, which was missing and fixed the leak. Transmission rebuild, $4.95, getting a great deal, priceless.

I didn't have the heart to tell the guy I bought it from what it was.

I guess Karma won in the end, a Honda Accord tried to mate with my GL and totaled it.

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07 Suzuki C90 "Brutus"
Another 81 GL1100 standard named "Take 2"
81 GL1100 Cruiser project "80-1-2-3" underway OOPS had to start over
Owned in the past
Numerous Japanese dirt bikes
Kawasaki H-1
96 CB750
86 GL1200 SE-I
70 Triumph Bonne
69 Husky 360
74 Suzuki Water Buffalo[/b]
01 Kawasaki KLR

Iv'e heard of this before. But have never had a front cover off. Is the area that interfers a thrust surface for the shifter assembly? Or could it just be clearanced to avoid this problem. Just wondering for when the time comes for me to venture under that front cover.
Wilf

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79 naked wing - not so naked anymore
80 interstate project very naked now
90 1500 heartbreaker

I haven't worked there myself but folks say the gasket has to be the right thickness or you get interference.

_________________
Enjoy life,
Cookie


A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad.
Owner of 4.4 76s and one lone 75 Wings (does a spare engine make .2?)

yea the boss that rotates with the shifter mechanism is just that close to the cover that the thickness of the gasket can make a difference. I have even had problems when reusing the old gasket if tightened up too much.

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"I prefer the abstract concept of incoherence in the face of great feeling to beautiful, full sentences that convey little emotion." DDL
1978/9 Arthur Fulmer Dressed Road bike
1975 Naked Noisy and Nasty in town bike
and a whole garage full of possibilities!!

I've made just about evey mistake you can when it comes to that cover.
Chances are you can loosen the cover and it'll shift.
To do it right score the gasket kit from Frenchy @ Crescent Moon, it just makes the job so much easier, I also recommend checking the shifting constantly during reassembly, duh, no brainier!!! It's not a job I, myself wanted to do a third time
I hope the next one I do.....I only have to do once.
Peace,
Frank

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The truth about Ape Hangers, yes they are very slimming.

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