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i recently purchased my first bike, a red 1992 honda nighhawk, the first 1000 miles was flawless. not too long ago i started having a problem with it shifting down through the gears. it seems to only happen when its warmed up. it doesnt click down the gear and then stay in the same gear. it just doesnt depress. if i go back up a gear and then go back down it goes down but otherwise its like going down from first. (solid)

Im running Honda hp4 10/40 and its clean and at the right level.

A guy that i work with says he had the same problem with his nighhawk. he took it to a couple of dealers and they claimed it was a bent shift fork and they would be more than happy to sell him a new motorcycle cause it would be more cost than worth to replace the bent shift fork.

He ended up trading that nighthawk and the new owner took it somewhere and the guy adjusted something and its running fine to this day.

Ive been babying this thing pretty bad. i havent gone over 7000 rpms. so im questioning it being a bent shift fork. and also if it was a bent shift fork, wouldnt it also do this when it was warming up? and also in the lower gears. it seems to mainly happen in 4th gear. coming down from a good ride in 5th.

My real question is... what could be adjusted on this beastie to attempt to fix my problem. im gonna pick up a climbers manual tomorrow. and paw through it. id like to attempt to fix it myself before i find myself in a show room with my credit card in my hand, nodding to "bent shift fork, you need a valkyrie..."

Nighthawk 750 or 250?

750

Your explanation does sound a lot like a slightly bent shift fork. There are multiple shift forks in a transmission, so a bent one would only affect one or two gears.

As for adjustments, the only thing I'd recommend is to verify that your clutch is properly adjusted. Beyond that, I can't think of anything else in that transmission that is adjustable.

When you get your manual, the diagram will show how the forks are set in the gears (I don't have mine with me now).

Even though you babied it, it's possible that the previous owner did most of the damage. It's just becoming apparent as the transmission components wear.

The gear shifter mechanism under the sprocket cover may be worn, out of adjustment of have a bad spring.

Look Here:



http://xs205.xs.to/xs205/06345/PG_8-12.jpg

http://xs205.xs.to/xs205/06345/PG_8-11.jpg

http://xs205.xs.to/xs205/06345/PG_8-10.jpg

http://xs205.xs.to/xs205/06345/PG_8-9.jpg

These are from the manual. A bad spring, bent rod, etc, can cause poor shifting. Dirt or debris may be jamming it. If the shifter mechanism is o.k. then you might have a transmission fork bent and willneed to get inside the tranny.

An oil change smooths out the shifting too. Consider one if you don't have a recent one.