You may have seen my earlier post, referring to uncovering my M20 which has been in store for the last 20 plus years. Well, I noticed that I cannot select any gears. It was fine when put away, so it must be something to do with rust or gunge. Is this a regular problem and is there a quick fix, as I dont really want to start stripping the gearbox down? thx

email (option): andrew.honychurch@btinternet.com

Hi Andrew...Do you mean you can't select ANY gears or are having difficulty selecting gears?...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Its stuck in neutral. I have not started the engine, was just trying to lock the engine via putting it in gear in order to remove the magdyno, and hey presto found another problem!

email (option): andrew.honychurch@btinternet.com

Hi Andrew..If the box was working OK when the bike went into storage and the clutch action looks OK the problem may be the small gearchange return spring.
These break periodically, usually the smaller of the two, and the classic symptom of this is either extremely imprecise gear selection or being stuck in whichever gear you are in..including neutral.
Condensation inside the outer cover can occurr and might have lead to rusting of the spring and failure, either when you initially moved it or under spring pressure over the years.
The two springs are on the rear of the ratchet and pawl assembly, inside the outer cover, so you do not have to strip the entire box to check them out if no other cause comes to light.
I can't actually think of another fault with these characteristics at the moment so let us know if you find something!....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

I know all about that little spring

Normandy 2001

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Hi Henk...2001?...How time flies..it only seems like June this year.. ...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

This broken spring got me stuck between neutral and first

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Well thanks Guys, I did not know the outer cover was, well an outer cover! I must buy a manual. Anyway, will take a look tomorrow and report back . cheers for the help and advice. What a great forum this is.

email (option): andrew.honychurch@btinternet.com

not very good news today, as I started to clean my gearbox prior to checking out the selector spring. Unfortunately, there was a load of army style gloop stuck on the underneath covering a crack. And guess what. No oil in it at all, but most of it must be in the sump guard. Anyone have any ideas what caused this crack. it is raised indicating an explosion within!

email (option): andrew.honychurch@btinternet.com