No gears

[Donnie Hall]

I dropped the clutch to launch and it acted like it popped out of first now it shifts and I have neutral but it will not go and there is no noise....Help 99 vmax 12k miles I can put it in first and push the bike like there is just nothing there

 

[Fire-medic]

Hmmm...a broken driveshaft?

I was thinking maybe a broken shift selector 'star' segment, but I believe the '99's have the newer design.

 

[sdt354]

I dropped the clutch to launch and it acted like it popped out of first now it shifts and I have neutral but it will not go and there is no noise....Help 99 vmax 12k miles I can put it in first and push the bike like there is just nothing there

I'd check the clutch to make sure it is not just partially engaged. Crack a line and see if the clutch engages, pointing to the master or slave as an issue possibly. 12k miles is very uncommon for a trans. failure, if driven normally. Unless the 12k miles were 48k trips down the drag strip.

 

[one2dmax]

I would suspect the driveshaft as well. Easy enough to pull the rubber boot back and look to see if the ujoint rotates but the wheel doesn't (bike needs to be on the centerstand).

 

[jdeitz1979]

I would suspect the driveshaft as well. Easy enough to pull the rubber boot back and look to see if the ujoint rotates but the wheel doesn't (bike needs to be on the centerstand).

This may be a dumb question, but he did say there wasn’t any noise. If the driveshaft was broke, wouldn’t the ujoint or shaft in the ujoint make noise? I’ve never encountered a problem like that, but have seen a broken drive shaft and always wondered if it was a scary noise... one would think it would be, but maybe they break at the rear dif end of the shaft?

 

[one2dmax]

Usually they break at the front end of the shaft though i've seen them break in other places. And they may or may not make any noise.

 

[Fire-medic]

I believe exactrep makes a heavy-duty one.

 

[rebeltaz83]

I snapped a shaft in second gear. Didn't make any noises. Had to push it 100 yards up hill to the garage. Did what Shawn mentioned. $30 on eBay for a shaft and I was up and running. If he has the DD mod I wouldn't go with a heavy duty shaft. The shaft is the next fuse in line after the DD mod to be the weak link. Repairs get a little more costly.

 

[jdeitz1979]

I snapped a shaft in second gear. Didn't make any noises. Had to push it 100 yards up hill to the garage. Did what Shawn mentioned. $30 on eBay for a shaft and I was up and running. If he has the DD mod I wouldn't go with a heavy duty shaft. The shaft is the next fuse in line after the DD mod to be the weak link. Repairs get a little more costly.

Where does one get a heavy duty drive shaft? Besides Exactrep

 

[jedi-]

Where does one get a heavy duty drive shaft? Besides Exactrep

I can make one no problem and you could get it from Sean although I don't think it's such a smart move. Consider it a fuse, when it blows you put another one in. If you make it unbreakable then something else next in the chain is going to go bang, possibly inside the transmission. I know I'd rather replace a shaft than splitting the cases to fix a transmission

 

[one2dmax]

Exactly. I quit running the HD shafts after my third broken engine case.

 

[jdeitz1979]

I can make one no problem and you could get it from Sean although I don't think it's such a smart move. Consider it a fuse, when it blows you put another one in. If you make it unbreakable then something else next in the chain is going to go bang, possibly inside the transmission. I know I'd rather replace a shaft than splitting the cases to fix a transmission

Good info, thanks for putting it like that. Sounds like it’s not a mod worth having. I would find shaft replacement easier and cheaper lol

 

[cwkerr007]

The rubber cover like sean said is the best and easy way to check the shaft if it is not that put your bke on center stand turn the wheel without the engine running and you should hear a noise (make sure it's in gear) take your oil cap off and see if the clutch basket is spinning. Hope that helps