Manual or auto?
manual, lift up the boot at the base. There is a bolt that goes through the base of the arm. take the nut off with a 17 or 19mm wrench. then put the nut on the other side and tighten it down. this forces the bolt out of the shaft and Voila the arm comes off the little shift "thing".
Depress the brake pedal to shift.
* Disconnect the negattive battery cable.On airbag-equipped models also disconnect the positive cable then wait three minutes before proceeding * Raise the car and support it securely on jackstands.Remove the cataltic converter heat shield * Disconnect the support and control rod from the transaxle * Remove the nut and bolt tht attach the control rod to the shift lever.Disconnect the return spring,remove the nuts that attach the support rod to the shift lever socket and mass damper and remove the shift linkage assembly * Remove the console.Detach the shift lever dust boot from the floor,pull out the shift lever and slide off the dust boot,seat,insulator and shift lever socket.
I have had the same problem with my 2002 Buell Blast, where when you shift to first, or down shift at all, the shift lever comes loose and just hangs. What I did to fix this, is loosen the hex-nut and bolt that go through the shift lever, and remove the shift lever itself. What is probably happening is oil is seeping in between the shift lever openining and the primary. Clean the openinig on the shift lever, and the spool it attaches to. If the hex-bolt is in poor condition, pick up a new one, or if it's in alright condition (not stripped) clean it. Simply set the shift lever where you want it, and retighten the hex-bolt. Tighten it a fair bit, using a lever to get extra leverage on it. Buells are notorious for leaking oil, so start with that. Worked for me...
lift up the rubber dust boot. unscrew the round metal sleeve at the base of the shift lever, then pull up on shifter.
Use the lever rules
Middle corner near to fuel pipe....
Grab lever, pul into 4wd position.
you have to have fan clutch wrenches
you remove shifter knob, key on, slighty pull back on lever and lightly rap top of shift lever with soft faced mallet, this will disengage park but you nstill have a problem with shifter or possible brake light switch
The most likely cause is a failing shift lock switch in the center console. This switch prevents the gear shift lever from moving until the brake pedal is depressed.
Behind the passenger side kick panel.
The gear box ( manual transmission ) is bolted to the rear of the engine