DCornelius

yep, i got the clip out, and everything is totally unscrewed. Ive even had pieces fall out of the bike that I have no idea where they came from... so it might be a lost cause even if i do get the new shaft in. But, here are some pictures of what im looking at. and a close up the shafts is block by what i think is the clutch there.... and Im just completely baffled. Heres the other side just to show that everything is removed.

I got my new shift shaft, and i for the life of me cant get the old one out. The right side(if youre sitting on it), is giving me some trouble. I got everything removed(covers, pedals etc) and i see both sides of the old shaft, but I cant get it out. I think I need to remove the clutch?.. its a cylinder lookin thing with teeth and has a bunch of plates that alternate between having teeth and not having teeth in it, and its blocking the removal of the shift shaft. advice?

I have an 81 xs 400 i posted earlier about the shifter issue.. turns out the shift shaft has bad teeth. I found a few on ebay for similar year xs400's, just need to know what years (if any) would be compatible with my bike. (because im sure as shit not giving a yamaha dealer $200 for a new rod with teeth) Heres the list of what i found http://motors.desc.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=yamaha+shift+shaft+xs+400&_sacat=&_odkw=yamaha+shift+shaft&_osacat=0&bkBtn=&LH_TitleDesc=1&_trksid=p4506.m270.l1313 (im almost willing to bet that drewpy answers this first.)

This is a completely off-topic stupid question, but i want to know. In the UK, is the $ sign on your keyboard replaced with the pound sign(like shift+4)?

Sorry for the captain obvious suggestion but.... have you checked the spark plug?

So, i posted earlier about my bike. Got it running(battery, spark plug.. think it still needs carb work.. but thatll be later) Anyway, I can get it into first and drive it around the block.. but Im having problems getting to another gear or getting back to nuetral. After fiddling with it for awhile, i started to realize that the gear selector itself was waaaaaay looser than any other gear selector ive ever dealt with. Normally, you click down and it snaps back, click up, it snaps back up. etc etc. On this bike.. you snap it down.. it stays down, you snap it up, it stays up. Like waaaay down and way up. What could be wrong?

Thanks for the info, and support. Just bought the new battery, gonna be putting that in tonight, hopefully gonna be getting the spark plugs after work. Decided it would be best to at least slap some paint on the tank to prevent rust. Someone mangled the tank with some kind of power tool, and its gonna needs lots of bondo work (or just a new tank...), but heres what it looks like with some black (spray) paint.. (and a better camera lol)

Well, title kinda sums it up. Im 21, married and own a home. Wanted a damn motorcycle, didnt care much as to what I got, as I was on a budget. I was going through 4 Craigslist cities looking for a bike between $400 and $600 that had a title. Long story short, i emailed about 2 dozen people, and the one person that emailed me back was selling a 1981 Yamaha xs 400 for $200. I was able to make the purchase and am very excited about it The previous owner claims that the bike needs a new battery, and some carb work (i think he said a CV boot?) He did start it, using jumper cables and spraying lubricant or something. I am not very savvy... actually I dont know anything at all. So, tips, suggestions, places for cheap parts... all welcome.