ToTheMaxim

Thanks for the reply, Little Dave. I appreciate the guidance, but as you suggested, I'm gonna wait a little awhile and see if someone who truly knows helps out. I just wanted to add a bit to my initial post: I don't believe I actually "loosened" the lock nut. When I turn it to loosen it, I get resistance from the spring device. When I release, the nut turns back to its original position. I haven't turned it any further to actually loosen it. Hope this makes sense...

Sorry that my first post is begging for some assistance, but I don't know where else to turn. I purchased a 1982 Yamaha Maxim 400 about a month ago as my first bike, and have enjoyed it thoroughly since the day I bought it. A few days ago, the gear lever started sticking. I would down shift while approaching a stop to get back into 1st gear, and on the way down, I would press the shifter into 2nd, and it wouldn't pop back up. Admittedly, my maintenance hasn't been terribly thorough. The bike ran very well when I first got, so all I did was run some Sea Foam through it, tighten the chain, and change the oil and filter (bike has approx. 6,200 miles on it). So, to try and fix the clutch problem, I whipped out my trusty owners manual that came with the bike and tried to perform the "clutch adjustment" as outlined in the manual. This involved removing a rubber cover about the size of a quarter from the side cover over the gearbox. Inside was a "lock nut" and "adjustment screw". I was supposed to loosen the lock nut, tighten the screw, then tighten the lock nut. When I tried to loosen the lock nut, I realized that it is on some sort of spring device. I tried to loosen it, and when I reached up for the clutch handle, I had absolutely no resistance--the handle was completely loose. I have no idea why--not sure if I broke the cable or if this is normal and I just have to loosen the nut further and tighten the screw. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions on what I should do from here? I would greatly appreciate any help. I wish I would've just left damn well enough alone...