Grinding 2nd gear in my 250r

[amishpride]

This is my tech question for my 84 250r:

A few months ago I noticed it was getting harder to shift into second gear. Within a half an hour I could not shift into second without it grinding to a stop. After a little experimenting I discovered first gear was fine, and if I shifted into third (forcing it past second) it was also fine along with fourth and fifth.
I disassembled the engine and took alook at it. I found some broken bits of metal inside (appearing be from a casing repair done by a previous owner) I thought maybe that was getting caught in between the gears. There also was some unusual wear on one fo the shifter forks. I replaced all the washers in the transmission. Manually, it seemed to shift through the gears fine. After finishing putting it back together it still had the same problem. Any ideas?

It could be a transmission problem, but I am wondering if it could have anything to do with the external shift mechanism??

If my description is unclear please reply, and suggestions??

[ChiLLi]

If it were me, I would've replaced that shift fork in question.
I just hate splitting the cases twice in a week.

[Mr. Kasey]

did you inspect the grooves in the shift drum where the forks run?
if the external linkage was bad it would be messed up in all gears,

[amishpride]

I do regret not replacing the shifter fork. The shifter drum seemed to be in real good shape. But maybe I missed something.

[MR ATC]

i have found anytime you have to question yourself if a part should be replaced, just replace it then you have no doubt. sounds like you should have replaced the shifting fork.

[dads]

if a shift fork shows any heavy wear theres a problem. should only be light wear on the bottom flat spot. bad fork or wear in the gear to shaft.