wr400 won't shift at all!

[got2go]

I went riding for the first "real" ride on Wed May 7 and was having a great time on my wr400 until I shifted down into first and heard/felt a slight difference in that shift.It had a little more of a "clunk" :excuseme:After that I could not shift gears at all,not even neutral and had to ride back to the truck in 1st gear only.Has anyone had this problem before and have you fixed it yourself or is it more of a "dealer" job.My regular shop said it probably has to do with the shifting linkage just behind the clutch and might be accessible threw the clutch cover.My shop has a two week wait right now and suggested attempting myself as I was not too excited about waiting two weeks for my bike to be fixed.Any suggestions? ?

[Hick]

Taking a peek at the shaft arm, star and detent is not overly involved and worth the trouble IMO before taking it to a shop. To get a look at the star and detent mechanism you will need to remove the right cover and clutch.

So, water and oil needs to come out, water pump cover comes off. Zip ty the brake lever to the foot peg to keep it out of the way, remove kick start, remove outer banjo bolt and washers on the chrome oil delivery manifold and the bolt on the lower oil feed pipe. Then remove right cover. The two upper left clutch cover bolts at like 1 to 2 o'clock secure the cover, so they need to come out in addition to the others on the circumference. I leave the bolts in their holes so I don't have to figure out which length bolts go back in which holes. You may need help from a friend or an air impact to get the clutch hub nut off, the shifting mechanism is behind the clutch. Other than that it is a simple job, maybe 20 minutes if you've done it before, 45 if not.

Hopefully it is something simple like the detent roller getting bent or stuck.

[wnbecker]

Hi, I have a 2000 YZ426, there is an internal shift lever behind the clutch basket/primary gear, you also have to remove the external shift lever and push the shift shaft to the right side to get the internal lever out after you remove the clutch, be careful as there are 2 small springs, pawls and plungers that will fly out. This internal shift lever was manufactured from two pieces, a casting with a hardened pin that was pressed in. The pin becomes loose, falls out and if you're lucky lays in the bottom of the motor, you won't be able to shift. If you are unlucky it will make it's way into the gears and cause MAJOR damage. This happened to me. Yamaha admitted after numerous calls to the dealer and the Headquarters that the machine that presses the pin in at the factory was out of adjustment, several '00 426s did this and Yamaha covered the repairs including mine. Also the part was changed for the 2001 model, it is a one piece part that should be far more reliable. During the 2000 season some racers were tack welding the pin on the back side of it, I do not recommend this because they are two different metals and I don't believe it will hold. I also have 98 WR400 and I replaced this lever with a 2001 part as a precaution. The new number is 5LP-18122-00, it's about $35.00 and takes about an hour to replace. This might be your problem, if it is FIND the old pin even if you have to take the motor and shake it out. I recommend all 98,99 and 00 YZ and WR have this replaced.