honda 200s shifting hard

[pbilt155]

i have a 1985 honda 200x with a early 200s engine in it the shifting patron is up shift all down down shift all up i was running it hard grabbing gears and then all of a sudden it didnt want to down shift i got it home changed oil(10w-40) still didnt want to down shift. it will down shift i just need to force it and hard. it will up shift just fine like always. dont know what to check first any help would be appreciated

[pbilt155]

i just want to know anyone's suggestions before buying crankcase gaskets i dont know much about centrifugal clutchs but i know engines

[kb0nly]

Hows the idle speed? If she is idling too fast the clutch could be slipping and causing it to be difficult to downshift but upshift will be fine. I had a 200 do that to me once. Also check the clutch adjustment, the screw with a nut on it on the right side of the motor. Get the service manual and follow the instructions for adjusting that. The manuals are available on my website, link is below in my signature.

[webbch]

RE clutch adjustment...

In my experience on my '84 200s, my sense of when the clutch adjustment screw on the right side of the engine "lightly seats" must be off a little bit. According to the manual (IIRC), you're supposed to turn the adjusting screw CCW until it lightly seats, then turn it CW 1/4 turn and tighten the locknut.

However, what you're REALLY trying to achieve is a small amount of freeplay on the shift lever (on the order of 3/8" or so) before the transmission actually shifts. If there's no free-play at all, you're just banging through the gears. In my case, it was probably closer to 1/2 turn clockwise from the "lightly seated position" to get the right amount of freeplay on the shift lever. It shifted pretty smoothly after that. Just make sure your shift lever screw is tight, or the free-play will be coming from the slack on the splines of the shift shaft and not the clutch dis-engagement action you're trying to achieve.

There's actually a great video on youtube of a fellow adjusting the clutch on an '84 200s (D-Ray is the name I believe)

here's the link:
Pt.4 Honda ATC200S How To Adjust The Clutch

[tri again]

Search key for 'hard shifting"? ...or similar?
I usually read all the posts, even if it's not the machine I'm working on.

Please let us know what you find.
We all need to know the answer.
If it's been hard shifting, make sure your outside shiftere is not getting loose.
Not your problem, I know, but something you definitely don't need on top of this.