We were riding a couple of weeks ago and the 88 developed a shifting probelm, the spring return on the shift lever was gone. We looked at the service manual after we got home and decided to buy all three springs that are located in the shift mechanism. They were cheap and 16 years old. Why not replace them all.
We got the parts and the next weekend we pulled the clutch cover. The change shaft return spring had one of the legs broken off. The change return spring is a torsion spring. We changed the torsion spring and I got on the bike to see how it shifted. The shifting was excellent, no more slop and long shift spacing. We changed the other two springs and buttoned it up. The 88 has had a problem finding neutral ever since I have owned it, ( I had it for 11 years) The change shaft return spring must have lost the tension on one of the legs over the years. The new spring cured the problem totally. My brother was talking about getting a new clutch, I'm glad the spring failed before we installed a new clutch. It shifts great and the whole job cost $20.00
