2004 CRF250R will not shift past neutral

dizzysn · Nov 12, 2008

About a week and a half ago I was riding my bike in the woods and didn't realize that I didn't have enough oil in the engine. We stopped for a quick smoke and I forgot to turn my gas back on. We start riding for a bit and my bike starts to sputter and dies. I try to start it back up when I realized the gas was off and come to find the kickstart is stuck in place. After much effort we get the bike back to my house and do a complete fluid change - engine, trans and radiator. I decide to go riding today and when I started the bike up and put it into first it died. I didn't think it was a big deal since it's cold outside now and the bike hadn't been started in a while. As soon as I started riding the bike I realized that it will not shift into second gear. It goes into first and neutral just fine but absolutely will not shift into second - the level goes up but the gear doesn't engage. I also noticed that when I went into first gear a few times oil came out of the transmission over flow tube. So instead of moving oil around in the transmission it just shot it out. I don't have the time right now to find out what's wrong, but any ideas or suggestions for this weekend would be much appreciated as I do not have a lot of experience working on bikes.

Edit: Someone said it could be the crankshaft, but from my limited knowledge of engines if the crankshaft was the problem the bike wouldn't start up or run, no?

Ol'89r · Nov 13, 2008

dizzysn said:
any ideas or suggestions for this weekend would be much appreciated as I do not have a lot of experience working on bikes.

Sounds like you are about to get some. :nod:

What did the oil look like when you drained what was left in the gearbox? Did it have any metal pieces in it?

First thing I would do is remove the engine side cover and inspect the shifting mechanism. Go to your dealer and order a service manual. It will explain everything you need to know. If the shifting mechanism is ok, you will probably need to split the cases.

The crankshaft has nothing to do with your shifting problems.

2strokerfun · Nov 13, 2008

How low was your oil??

dizzysn · Nov 14, 2008

Ol'89r the oil that came out was silverish which I assume were shavings from the gears shifting. I'm starting to think that my engine had a soft seize and that I may have broken a gear (probably second). Now I'm wondering what my piston is looking like after this seize...

2strokerfun, the oil was right at the mark on the bottom of the dipstick. It absolutely needed oil, I'm pretty sure it could have made it for the last 20 minutes I was out before it got dark, but I think with the combination of the gas being off and low oil my bike was running lean, got hot as **** and seized.

I do just want to get this out of the way though: I'm not a complete retard - just unexperienced. I came from a 2000 XR200 which needed just bare minimum maintenance - oil every now and then, gas, a good cleaning, and air in the tires. This is my first high performance bike and I had absolutely no idea they needed so much tender love and care to maintain. I'm used to two strokes needing the maintenance and the four strokes not needing it nearly as much :/

_JOE_ · Nov 14, 2008

This is my first high performance bike and I had absolutely no idea they needed so much tender love and care to maintain. I'm used to two strokes needing the maintenance and the four strokes not needing it nearly as much :/

Surprise!!!!!! :yikes:

The transmission does not have a dipstick. Which oil did you drain? The bolt on the underside of the engine or the one underneath the clutch cover? These two areas use seperate oils.

TLC is the life blood of a 250f. Piston/cylinder/lower end stay on par with 2t service intervals, then you throw in all the parts of the valve train. When you get the tranny fixed up start saving for the engine. ;)

2strokerfun · Nov 14, 2008

Silverish transmission oil isn't that abnormal, especially if you don't change it often. Doesn't mean you didn't damage something, though. But get a manual and then inspect your shift linkage under the side cover first. Start with the simple things when diagnosing.

Ol'89r · Nov 14, 2008

2strokerfun said:
Silverish transmission oil isn't that abnormal, especially if you don't change it often.QUOTE]

That's true. The silver color can come from clutch plate wear. Make sure the oil has no metal bits and pieces in it. Check it with a magnet.

Did you drain and refill both oils like Joe asked? I have had CRF's in the shop that the owners drained just the engine oil and filled both the engine and gearbox resulting in too much oil in the gearbox. Also had one that the owner drained both oils and only refilled the gearbox resulting in a cooked top end.

Owning and reading a service manual is very important with these bikes. They are not like the old XR type of four strokes that you are used to.

If the shift linkage is ok, then you may have a damaged or dry shift fork. If adding oil doesn't help you will have to split the cases.

dizzysn · Nov 14, 2008

_JOE_ said:
Surprise!!!!!! :yikes:

The transmission does not have a dipstick. Which oil did you drain? The bolt on the underside of the engine or the one underneath the clutch cover? These two areas use seperate oils.

TLC is the life blood of a 250f. Piston/cylinder/lower end stay on par with 2t service intervals, then you throw in all the parts of the valve train. When you get the tranny fixed up start saving for the engine. ;)

I couldn't check the tranny oil back in the trails when my engine seized, seeing as I didn't have a screw driver. It was the engine oil that was low, which is why my engine overheated and seized.

dizzysn · Nov 14, 2008

Ol'89r said:
2strokerfun said:

Silverish transmission oil isn't that abnormal, especially if you don't change it often.QUOTE]

That's true. The silver color can come from clutch plate wear. Make sure the oil has no metal bits and pieces in it. Check it with a magnet.

Did you drain and refill both oils like Joe asked? I have had CRF's in the shop that the owners drained just the engine oil and filled both the engine and gearbox resulting in too much oil in the gearbox. Also had one that the owner drained both oils and only refilled the gearbox resulting in a cooked top end.

Owning and reading a service manual is very important with these bikes. They are not like the old XR type of four strokes that you are used to.

If the shift linkage is ok, then you may have a damaged or dry shift fork. If adding oil doesn't help you will have to split the cases.

Click to expand...

Yea I did drain both fluids completely. I left it standing up with a bucket underneath to catch both fluids, and left it that way for about an hour just to make sure. I did refill it both to the specified amounts, and if anything there was just a tad too much in the gear box, but even with a trans oil change after this problem started it's still not shifting gears.

I'm pretty sure I broke something in there. Don't think it was the shift fork, seeing as it will shift to first and neutral just fine, but I could be wrong.

Also when you say split the cases, I assume you mean taking the engine out and completely opening it up? If so... this is going to suck lol. I've been doing little stuff on my bike as it came up - new sprockets, chain, fixing the fork seals, realigning the triple clamps. Haven't had to do nearly anything this complex and I just hope to christ I can get it all back in correctly :-/

It's funny because my dad asked if I finally learned my lesson about keeping my bike in tip top shape, and I told him I learned my lesson when I had to push my bike over a mile through the woods back to the main rode just to push it over a quarter mile back to my house. This is just insult to injury.

Ol'89r · Nov 15, 2008

dizzysn said:
I'm pretty sure I broke something in there. Don't think it was the shift fork, seeing as it will shift to first and neutral just fine, but I could be wrong.

Also when you say split the cases, I assume you mean taking the engine out and completely opening it up? If so... this is going to suck lol. .

There is more than one shift fork.

Yes, that does mean you have to pull the engine if you have to split the cases. But, before you do that, remove the side cover and inspect the shifting mechanism. You may have a broken spring or loose bolt.

2004 CRF250R will not shift past neutral

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