This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

1998 600 stuck in second gear

Joined Nov 2011
37 Posts | 0+
Idaho Falls, ID
Hey I road my 1998 600 fes yesturday and it lock in second gear and would not come out. I got home and took the cover off and got the selector thru the gears again but dont want this to happen again when riding a long trail.
Is there a part I need to replace or do I just need to do an adjustment. Any advise would be great sense all you guys have defenently been great help when I had troubles with the carb.
 
You may have a bent shift fork or worn pin that slides in the grove on the shift drum. Another possibility is a worn bearing on the shift shaft which is allowing too much slop and causing the racheting mechanism to jam. Actually, I would look at the shift shaft first as it is the most likely problem. The shift fork/drum issue requires splitting the cases.
 
Had this happen a couple of times on my 97' and 02' Bergs. Each time it was the sliding plate part of the shift shaft mechanism. Where the forked end of the sliding plate makes contact with the positioning star, burrs develop and cause it to get hung up on the fixed plate. Simply disassemble the plate, file the burrs smooth and even buff/polish that area if you can, then reassemble. A very easy fix if this indeed is the culprit.

log
 
so how would I go about getting to the shifting fork. I really do not want to split the case checking the burrs would be the first choice. I am not real familiar with the interworkings of these bikes so a little guidance would be great.
 
scott600 said:
so how would I go about getting to the shifting fork. I really do not want to split the case checking the burrs would be the first choice. I am not real familiar with the interworkings of these bikes so a little guidance would be great.

Hi Scott,
Just to clarify, I'm not talking about the shifting fork and you are correct in checking for burrs on the forked end of the 'sliding plate' on the shifting mechanism first, as that would be your easiest fix.
Basically, remove the shift lever from the shift shaft then remove the clutch cover. You'll also have to remove the clutch basket and clutch plates. This is very easy on your 98', remove the six bolts, bushings and springs then take the plates off in order so they go back in order. With the clutch cover and clutch basket removed, I think it'll be obvious for you to see the sliding plate I'm talking about. You might even put the shift lever back on the splined shift shaft and try to shift gears just to see how this mechanism works. You'll see how the plate makes contact with the positioning star. That's where the burrs will be! (There may be other burrs as well, remove them all). You basically want the two plates to slide against each other as freely as possible. There's a little spring on the sliding plate that brings it back to its home position.
Again, this is very easy, just take your time. You don't even have to drop your oil. I actually did this on the side of the trail once with my 97'!

If you remove clutch shaft, be careful not to lose a shim/washer that may be on the end.

The sliding plate can be removed from the rest of the mechanism to be worked on. Make sure to clean the threads and locktite the screw when you put it back together.

I really hope this is the culprit. I've got my money on it! :D

Let us know how it works out!

log
 
you are correct I just want to get to the shift fork and plate so I can clean the burrs off. The information you gave me is all I need. I figured i would need to take the clutch plates off but wanted to make sure first. Thanks for the info i just didn't want to pull somthing off that did not need to come off.

thanks alot
 
Log is right. it'll be your shift fork back and sliding plate getting a mike tyson nose!

might pay to de-burr or upgrade as per the doc if you want?

I would also stick a new bush in the sidecover.

regards

Taffy
 
Hi everyone, not been on line for a year so site all new. Looks great but lots of unwanted pop ups & I cant see how to add a new thread.

Anyway this thread may be the right place anyway.

Dropped my FE501 02 yesterday - bent the gear lever. Now can't select any gears. Its stuck in 2nd. Started it with clutch in & rode it home trying to select gears with varying levels of pressure but nothing.

Any ideas wellcome.
James.
 
Not that anyone appears to be listening but the solution was exactly as noted above - burred sliding plates at the base of the gear lever shaft & against the locator star. Burrs all round to be honest. Guess the knock on the shaft when I dropped it was the last straw.

Anyway cheers for the thread - albeit old & for a different bike the theory was good & worked.

Logjump...hats off to you if you did this on the side of a trail..top man.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
Ha! I'm listening now. :D
Glad the burr removal did the trick!
The trail-side repair was on a 97 400. Much easier to get to than later models and it was very temporary just to be able to shift back to camp.

Hope the cabinetry biz is still going good for you.
I'd like to see some of your work again.

Here's my latest website.
Rick Norrander Fine Furniture - Welcome Bio



.
 
Hi Rick, Glad to see you're still going too.
Here's our new website. Diff is I'm just an employee :( always thinking of doing my own thing!!!

Bill Cleyndert, Bespoke Furniture, Bespoke Joinery, Custom Made Furniture Suppliers UK, Furniture Manufactures, Bespoke Furniture Suppliers UK, Fitted Furniture Suppliers UK, Bathroom Furniture Suppliers, Living Room Furniture Suppliers UK, Wooden Fu

Re the fix - spoke too soon. All appeared to be working well (gears etc) but when I went to start it, it wouldn't turn over (mechanical sounding clutch side clunk). Gears still fine though.

In the manual it talks about the 6 pegged select cog (which the star fits on top of) having a flat top peg that indicated neutral - mine doesn't so perhaps this was in the wrong location.?? doubt it but worth a try - cant think what else as it wasn't the kicker that was the problem before I stripped it down.

Also, was looking to beeed the coolant after re-assembly but cant find the bleed nut. The docs say just behind the spark plug ...but not on mine 02FE501.

Cheers,

James.
 
OK...HELP....that worked insofar as as the select cog etc so now all gears work / kicks over.....all back together inc plastics etc, ready to test ride.....AHHHHH no auto decomp.

I imagine what I'm doing is messing about with the cogs when the cover is off assuming they all self locate....UMMM...so any ideas why the decomp has stopped working & is there anything else clutch side I need to align before take the thing apart FOR A 3rd TIME.....
 

Attachments

  • clutch off.jpg
    clutch off.jpg
    88.6 KB
  • Gear selecter.jpg
    Gear selecter.jpg
    89.6 KB
From the first pic, it looks like you haven't aligned the timing marks. Very important! All that info is in the Owner's Doc but I'm not sure where that is! I'm thinking, if the timing is off, it's going to be hard to kick over and impossible to start. Sorry i didn't mention this in the earlier post but I also didn't mention; drain coolant, remove water pump, remove kick-starter etc. etc.

Anyone know where the owners doc is? More importantly, the section on aligning the timing marks?
 
Last edited:
basically, the relationship between cam timing and crank timing is held by the clutch basket gears. (marking them before pulling the basket saves a lot of grief) so with the basket off you have to put the piston at tdc (preferably with a dial indicator), then set the cam at a point where it is at tdc which will mean the high points of the lobes are parallel to the top of the case (laying a flat edge will confirm this). after checking it is ok, slide on the basket, which holds it in place. hope it makes sense, its been a while since i've done it and i suffer from CRS disease.
 
Oh b#!!ocks. Cheers guys - began to guess as much....(common sense kicks in slowly sometimes).
Thing is - if you don't know you don't know.
Followed the engine rebuild manual item by item on the transmission section but doesn't mention anything about the timing in the reinstall clutch section...but also doesn't mention anything about taking off the water pump impella either so tugged away for a while til I realised.

Oh well gives me something to do on a quiet Easter. Happy Easter everyone.......
 
arkley, once you get the piston set to tdc, note that there's a mark (dot) on one of the lower cam gear teeth and two dots on the crank gear. With a straight line through the center of these 2 gears, the single mark of the cam gear should end up between the dual dots of the crank gear. Hope this makes sense.

Such a shame the owner's doc is nowhere to be found.





Don't know if you saw my message, but I feel like a wood hack after seeing the amazing pieces from where you work. Stunning!
 
Last edited:
Cheers Logjump / Ned.

See before & after pics below ..dots like you say....however....
I remembered when I first ever did my valve clearance..did it 180 degree wrong as there are 2 TDC's compression & exhaust. So got stressed about this as didn't want to have the cover off again so thought I'd take the rocker cover off & view the marks as Neds image...
Oh dear oh dear....I'm distraught..see new thread "501 Cam Lobe completely worn away"
 

Attachments

  • Dots correct.jpg
    Dots correct.jpg
    90.5 KB
  • Dots incorrect.jpg
    Dots incorrect.jpg
    92.1 KB

Register CTA

Register on Husaberg Forum! This sidebar will go away, and you will see fewer ads.

Recent Discussions

Recent Discussions