Gearshift problem after lever change.
 

Hey guys, so I laid my bike down recently right in front of my house practically. My tires were wet, and I was making a turn out of the driveway and the back wheel slid out and my bike went down at like 5mph on the left side. The peg for my shifter broke off, and there is minor cosmetic damage. So I went and ordered a new shift lever and installed it. At first it would shift down to first, then to neutral with difficulty and maybe up to 3rd. But it was nothing like normal, it was very hard to shift into another gear, and felt nothing like the stock shifter.

So I thought maybe I might have gotten the wrong shift lever, so I put the old one back on and tried it with that and same thing. Then all of a sudden, I can't get it out of neutral. It is stuck in neutral and won't shift up or down. When I try to shift it down into first, for a split second the N light with turn off then back on, as if it momentarily shifted out of neutral. But it won't stay in first. There is no notable or visible damage at all that I can see to any of the rubber covers on the ball joints or anything as you can see in the picture. I am at a loss of what is happening, but I fear it may be costly and serious. Anyone have any idea what is going on? Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/...c/IMG_2126.jpg

Had this on my curvy when I got knocked off, its the gear selector drum that's damaged. Crank case needs to be split to change it. BIG job! They wrote my bike off over it. Get a dealer to check it out but doesn't sound good mate.

Re: Can't Shift
 

Normally damage to the selectors etc involves a crash that damages/bends the input shaft and that area of your bike looks fine. I guess it is just possible to put so much force through the lever when crashing that you might damage something inside but I've personally never come across it, usually the lever brakes well before that. Was it just the peg that snapped off the lever or did the whole arm bend and twist?

My money would be on the new lever installation, is the pivot free (disconnect the drop link from the input shaft to check it).

Re: Can't Shift
 

Can you find the gears if you do it by hand ?.
put it up on paddock stand and try changing by hand.
engine on and running. let us know.

Re: Can't Shift
 

So nothing was bent at all during the crash. Just the little peg that is on the shift lever broke off, but other than that no bending or distorting at all seen anywhere there. The pic shows the new lever installed, I feel confident in the instillation as I did it the exact opposite of the removal. I feel confident in my installation, as it was shifting when I first installed it (poorly though).

And even when I do it by hand it doesn't shift. I actually managed to get it into first gear just now, but can't get it up past neutral. Unfortunately my battery just died and I can't start it, I will have to recharge it first. However I don't think that should have anything to do with it? But certainly at least worth trying, will do it as soon as it's recharged, being that I don't have my own I will have to borrow from someone first.

Also, after dropping it, I did not shift it at all (except into neutral to roll it back into the garage) until after I installed the new shift lever. So I don't know if it was working properly or not after the accident, and before the new shift lever installation. Here is a pic of the only damage to the shift lever.

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/.../IMG_21332.jpg

Also just out of curiosity, what is that bar called that I circled here......

http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/.../IMG_21262.jpg

Can you describe more in depth how to do this? Sorry kind of mechanically illiterate.

Re: Can't Shift
 

Add your location to your profile and maybe someone local will volunteer to pop in and have a look with you.

The .org is that kind of place :)

Re: Gearshift problem after lever change.
 

The piece you have circled in the second picture is the link rod. It is threaded on both ends (one end is a left hand thread) with lock nuts so that you can turn these to make it longer/shorter and alter the height/poistion of the lever. Generally don't disturb these unless you do need to change the height etc.

The piece of metal that attaches to the link rod at the engine end is the drop link. It turns the linear movement of the rod into the circular movement on the input shaft, (the bit that disappears into the engine).

Make a mental note of where the end of your gear lever is in relation to the link rod (it looks int he picture as if it's about level) and then undo the small bolt that goes through the drop link and clamps it to the input shaft. You need to take the bolt right out, not just loosen it, then pull and wiggle the drop link off the end of the shaft. You should then be able to move the gear lever up and down freely. This is what you needed to check. If it's tight at all then it may be that you've put the spacers/washers in wrong when installing the new lever, or even that the lever is the wrong size where the bolt goes through to attach it to the frame.

Reassembly is the reverse, but hold the lever at the right height before sliding the drop link onto the shaft so that you get it on the correct spline.

Re: Gearshift problem after lever change.
 

Is it moving nice and free? 90% of shift problems are due to lever not returning properly.
Edit: or just listen to the oily fish


How the hell did you manage that?

Re: Gearshift problem after lever change.
 

Done

OK, just did this, the lever moves freely and unrestricted upward and downward with no resistance what so ever. Also I put the levers right next to each other and they appear to be the same size, length, with all the holes, pegs, and everything in the same spot as the original factory lever.

Re: Gearshift problem after lever change.
 

OK, this is getting to be a bit of a mystery. Have you checked your clutch operation. Is it possible that when the bike went down you have bent the clutch lever so that it isn't coming back far enough to disengage properly. Does the gear lever move easily with the engine off?