Expert: Rich Johnston - 11/28/2008

Question
My father is resorting a Trail 90 that sat in his garage for over 25 years (Colorado).  All is going well until time to ride.  It starts up, idles well but won't go into gear.  What's up?

Answer
Karen, the transmission is still probably dry and needing lubrication.  It could also have some rust that is binding up the shift forks or inteh gears.  I'm not sure how to free things up without taking it apart.  It will probably free up if you run the engine for a while as oil gets splashed around inside.  Keep trying to applying some pressure on the shift lever as you run the engine.  Hopefully, it will break free.

Regards
Rich