After my first trip to the strip on my 929 I had the need for more speed (despite my need for technique improvement) and decided a 954 swap was in the cards. I picked up a 954 engine through a dealer mechanic I knew and the swap was made. The engine starts and runs fine on the stand, but when started in neutral the countershaft sprocket turns. I have verified that the bike is actually in neutral my stopping the sprocket while the bike runs. The bike shifts through all gears fine, but the sprocket will turn with the clutch lever pulled in each gear. I tried clutch adjustment to no avail and finally bit the bullet and pulled the side cover. Initially I thought the clutch was sticking, but removal showed the friction plates and steel plates to be acceptable. The clutch housing guide was also not stuck on the input shaft. However with the clutch out, turning the input shaft still causes the output shaft (sprocket) to turn in neutral. The sprocket can be held and the input shaft turned , but a certain amount of drag can be felt.

I have not put the chain on and checked to see if the bike creeps, but I would like to fix the problembefore getting back on the road.Could this be a bent shift fork?The shift forks can be removed with the engine in the frame, but its not easy. Any experience with shift forks or creeping transmissions?

 

Sounds to me like everything's normal...I'd put that chain on.

What you're seeing is the clutch "dragging"...friction from the spinning internals transmitting to the output shaft. It's all good by the way it sounds from here.