1985 GPZ 550 transmission locked

I pulled the left cover off tonight. The two shafts turn together for about 1/4 of a revolution. This makes me think it's in two gears at once... What do you guys think?

I pulled the sump cover on the bottom. I see a shift fork laying in the bottom of the transmission. Time to pull the engine

Ok is it the complete selector fork, or just part of it? There are/was three forks in there.

Gearbox problems are very rare on the 550's.

In he UK these motors are two a penny, so don't feel the need to spend a packet on it.
The gear ratios are all the same on the 400/500/550's , including the ZR550 and maybe even the GPZ600 ninjas. ..so if your shafts are damaged -very likely, then have plenty of choice.

If you are cross referencing part numbers, the later zx and GT550 shaft drive have a revised circlip arrangement. If yuo get that far let me know. In the uk we had a zx550 A5 - the last of the GPz550's.

Remember what I said about loosening the clutch centre nut and primary shaft nut before you take the
motor out. You can split the cases without disturbing the crank and top end.

I got it out and split.
The gears look great. It seems that someone took the rod out that has the two forks on it one fork fell into the crankcase and is a little bent.

The only time I've seen anything like that was on bikes that were towed and/or trailered. If a bike is trailered on a non-suspended, lightweight trailer, this can sometimes happen. (I know a guy with a CBR that just had this happen this year). It's best to remove the chain.

Somehow his gear selector bounced the trans into gear, then all of the jostling on a cross country haul wreaked havoc in the trans. He had to replace all of the shifter forks. If the chain was removed, it would never have been damaged. This is not a bike being towed with the wheel on the ground, it was on an ultra-light trailer that bounced a lot.

I got the cases back together. Everything looks good!

were the dogs and gears undamaged?

did you buy it as a non-runner or did that happen by itself?

unusual problem, hopefully sorted now.

The gears and dogs looked great. I am not sure why someone messed with the shift rod... It shifts fine now, hoping it works fine under load.
The engine interior looked very clean too.