How to troubleshoot a sticking gear shift lever on a motorcycle?

Question

Bought an old, strong running '78 CB750K with only one real problem: sometimes the gear shift lever sticks in 2nd, making it difficult to kick it down and downshift to 1st; upshifting is no problem. Usually tapping at it repeatedly a few times will snap it into gear, but it's a very rough shift when that happens; it's usually followed with a loud clunking sound made from the gear engaging. Getting into neutral is also a pain at times - my guess is it's the same problem. I'm going to check on the clutch cable and make sure that it's properly engaging/disengaging. But what else could it be? What should I check and in what order?

Answer 1

First purchase a shop manual before they go out of print.
http://www.motocom.com/motorcycles/
Probably a bent or worn shift fork.
Put the bike on the center stand.
Drain the oil and remove the clutch.
Check that the shift shaft linkage is working properly by moving the shift lever.
If it works OK, the engine will have to be dis-assembled to see how much damage there is with the transmission.
Shift forks
Gears
Shift drum

Answer 2

Can't tell you why they had the shifter on the right, but another subject coming up in these answerers is about driving on the left or right. We're supposed to drive on the left, going all the way back into prehistory since most people are right handed, we would pass each other on pathways on the left raising our right hand to both greet and show no weapon. This was the standard for centuries. Then came the US-British conflict we know as the revolution, we decided to do a few things differently here in the states and in ensuing years and after various wars around the globe, countries chose to mimic their allies and eventually regulated their traffic laws to what they are today.

Answer 3

I believe the problem is a loose or miss aligned shift pin behind the clutch assembly.

Answer 4

Shift fork is worn.