[Jwhitmyer]

My son was riding his bike today and went to take off and it will not shift into gear now, I was able to get it into first but it grinds and then I noticed he had been riding it with one of the wires was unhooked on the clutch lever so I’m not sure if that caused an issue. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you

[Back2-2]

Hello,
I suspect the wire you mentioned is the clutch lever safety switch. As for not going in gear without harsh engagement, that may be that the clutch is not fully disengaging and causing the harsh mesh. Try adjusting the clutch cable and see if that helps. you want 1/8-1/4 inch free play at the lever.
Worse case could be that the shift shaft is bent and causing the harsh engagement. If the bike was recently dropped on the left side you may need to check that out. Check adjustment of the clutch cable first.

[Jwhitmyer]

Hello,
I suspect the wire you mentioned is the clutch lever safety switch. As for not going in gear without harsh engagement, that may be that the clutch is not fully disengaging and causing the harsh mesh. Try adjusting the clutch cable and see if that helps. you want 1/8-1/4 inch free play at the lever.
Worse case could be that the shift shaft is bent and causing the harsh engagement. If the bike was recently dropped on the left side you may need to check that out. Check adjustment of the clutch cable first.

Thank you very much I will try that and see if that is the problem!