> There is a bracket that holds the shift linkage "in-line", which is only
> held up by a single ******* stud! In my case it fell down completely and
> was very hard to shift and find gears as you stated. The bracket is
> located right behind the clutch housing(whatever its called), easily
> seen when the driver's side front wheel is removed. I don't remember
> what size nut I used to place it back up on the stud but I think it was
> an 11mm fine thread. A snap-ring may also have "snapped" on one of your
> link-rod ends(mine did), misplacing a couple of gears. My linkage was so
> messed up that 1st gear was straight forward, 2nd was directly down, 3rd
> where fifth would be, 4th lower right, and 5th didn't even exist
> anymore!!!
>
> an easy fix if this is the problem
>
this weekend I also placed a rubberized washer between the bracket and
nut so the nut couldn't be shaken off again. My shifting action is now
very smooth and the lever slides right into the gears at the 1/2 point
of clutch travel, just as it should.
-nathan makemson