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Limp gear shifter. What did I do ** Don't tap the Shifter Arm **

10K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  Miweber929 
#1 ·
My bike has 24k kmhs on it now and the chain and sprockets are getting a little tired. Tonight I wanted to better inspect the front sprocket and in order to pull the front sprocket cover off I had to remove the shift linkage. I loosened the pinch bolt on the gearshift arm and even after removing the bolt completely the gear shift arm would still not budge so I resorted to a small puller, which did the trick nicely.

After inspecting the sprocket I started putting it all back together. Since the gearshift arm was stiff coming off it was stiff putting back on so I grabbed a small hammer and started tapping it on. As the gearshift arm (#1, see below) was half on I noticed the gearshift spindle (#3, see below) was now pushed about 1/2 inch further into the motor and the gear shifter was completely limp. I then pulled the gear shift spindle back out 1/2 an inch and the gear shifter felt 'normal' again, I then pushed it back in and it went limp again (just floats up and down, makes no contact with anything).

So now this gear shift spindle freely moves in and out of the motor 1/2 an inch where as it never did before. When its pushed in it spins freely, when its pulled out (normal) it shifts fine.

I did some research on line with shop manuals and put together what I think might be happening below. I suspect the Setting Plate (#2, see below) is either bent or broken, or possibly the bolt that holds it is gone. I have no idea though, just a guess.

Anyone seen this before? What the hell did I do!?
 

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#2 ·
you now get to take the clutch side engine cover off, behind the clutch basket, there is a small metal tab that is now bent from the shift rod thingy being tapped back

replace said piece and your golden.
 
#3 ·
oh ... durp, yea, you did you reasearch, and found your own problem, now to replace it.
 
#6 ·
edzackerly ...

the rod is notched so as long as that bolt doesnt jump out of the linkage, the linkage wont fall off, the bolt must be 100% removed from the linkage.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Thanks for the replies.

... I loosened the pinch bolt on the gearshift arm and even after removing the bolt completely the gear shift arm would still not budge so I resorted to a small puller, which did the trick nicely...
Yes I removed the bolt completely from the gear shift arm. I am pretty mechanically inclined and thats pretty basic stuff. It was still very tight to slide on so I use a flat hear screw driver between the groove and tapped with a hammer (Before reinstalling) in hopes it would make it slide on easier, still no go.

There was also some locktite on the bolt and that was all over the inner splines of the gear shift arm. I tried removing it but was still stiff to slide on.

The fix doesn't appear to indepth, and I have been meaning to check/replace my clutch plates anyways as the clutch is starting to feel notchy.

Thanks again.
 
#8 ·
just wanted to bump this , cause i did the exact same thing as OP did, i will be changing the setting plate out and hopefully this will resolve it.

NOTE: NEVER BANG ON THE SHIFTER ROD WHEN INSTALL YOUR SHIFT ROD LINKAGE, NEVER EVER DO IT
 
#10 ·
will do, i take much picture and take notes. seems very self explanatory. i also have my manual with me so that helps a ton .
also spoke with another member who did the same thing and he said it was cause of that PLATE, after replacing it , everything was back to normal. much relief now cause i thought i had to drop the whole engine and get to the shift forks. :(
 
#11 ·
Same thing happened to me. I replaced the chain and sprockets on my bike very recently. Removing it was easy as I remove the bolt entirely. When I was putting it back together my dumb as forget and had the bolt slightly screwed in. I pushed the rod in by hand and sure enough it went limp.
I pulled it back out and it worked normally. Only now when I start the bike it makes a wierd noise when leaned to the left. Everything else works fine. That noise is bugging the hell outta me so I found this. Now here I am.
 
#12 ·
I was lucky to not have to pry/tap the shift linkage when I changed my sprockets but as a precaution I put anti-seize compound on the teeth of the shift rod going into the motor so next time it would come off just as easy.
 
#15 ·
Omg i might have done this.... While inspecting the drive sprocket i wanted to shift from 1st to neutral put the linkage on.. Gave it a few taps with a cloth and ratchet.. After something like 5 gentle taps it didnt go nd i felt not that rigid axially ...so i just pulled the linkage down to get gear back to neutral.. And removed it ?... I dont remember the the spindle pushed in.. Maybe 1-2 mm max..am i good?
 
#16 ·
Did the same thing here but I didn't replace the plate. If I remember correctly a copper pipe fit almost perfect over the rod. So I bought a piece of hard PVC pipe the same size, cut it to size and put a washer on the end so the rod couldn't push in or dig against anything. 12k+ miles later I've had zero problems.
 
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