Hi everyone,

I recently sold my 96 savage to a co-worker and he asked me today if I had any problems shifting into 1st gear from netural.

I never had that problem when I had the bike, but the new owner says that he needed to roll the bike forward or backward to get it to shift into 1st.  Have any of you ever had that problem?   Is it a linkage adjustment situation that he may need to do?  I tired to make sure the bike was 100% mechanically sound when I sold it to him and would like to give him good info about the problem.

Thanks for listening.....

Dave B.

It's always easier to downshift if the bike is moving.  If this fellow has stomped on it to get it to shift while stopped (like from 3rd to 2nd, etc.), he could very well have bent the linkage underneath.  It's about a 5 or 6 inch rod and is something like $6 to replace.  I've bent mine doing that before.  Once that linkage is bent, shifting becomes difficult and the linkage must be replaced.  Now, if for some reason I didn't downshift while moving, I'll feather the clutch to get the gear to engage and downshift again (repeat as necessary to reach 1st gear).  That keeps me from stomping and messing up the linkage.