Gear lever connecting rod fell out!

Had a bit of a panic last night!

I had just pulled out of a junction in first gear, changed to second and the gear leaver vanished from my toes! The connecting rod had come loose from the lever side of things and completely disconnected.

Luckily there was a lay-by just ahead on my left. So had to push the poor thing clutch down with my girlfriend on the back just to get off of the road! Was only a few metres but was still heavy.

Realised the problem but turns out the connecting rod and ball joint at one end had stripped the threads off of each other. So it wouldn’t just screw back in.

Luckily a fellow engineer (apprentice like myself!!!!!!) lived around the corner. He popped down and took the rod and managed to file away the cr*ppy threads to make it ‘usable’. We managed to get it back in after about an hour and give it a good old tighten.

Anyway, the rod is back in and my gear lever is now much higher (I tightened it fully to be on the safe side).
Should I be looking to replace the rod and pedal pivot assembly as the threads are slightly damaged? The rod now screws fully in and out of the lever end.

Is this something that needs checking a few times a week etc?



PS, we managed this before the AA even turned up! haha

I’m new to biking and just getting used to looking after the bike!

Personally I'd replace it. More for peace of mind than anything else. It's a part that you will probably get quite cheaply in the sales and wants section on here.

[BillyC]

You think that's scary... I had the same thing happen at Brands Hatch. Luckily it was easily fixed, and used no proprietary parts like the Suzuki design.

sounds scary!

im going to check it after every trip for the next week or so and see how its doing. As its now tight, which i dont think it was before.....it should be ok!

I had that coming off the motorway still in top. Managed to get round 3 roundabouts and into work by revving, coasting and not stopping! The annoying bit was getting hold of the thin spanner to put it back on again.

at least i now know to keep an eye on it when cleaning the bike etc.

well done for getting so far in top gear! haha thats pretty impressive!!

[rictus01]

unless I'm mistaken it has a nut to lock it in place at each end, I can't ever remember it being a problem in the 153,000 odd miles on mine

But if you are worried about it perhaps a small drop of threadlock would help ?

Cheers Mark.

it has got to small locking nuts. might get some loctight just to keep it from working its way loose again!

[dizzyblonde]

lol I had this happen on my old 125...was lucky enough to pull up along side a garden with a bandit in it....the guy was in, fixed it and away I went.
It also happened on the way to Norfolk to pick up the balck SV, we were on the Raptor, and managed to coast round the roundabout and straight into a services.
While Im Indoors was in the services scratching his head, I found a man with a van, and a toolkit, nuts n bolts that was a biker, who fixed it before my bloke came back out of the services...hehe

Luckily there was a lay-by just ahead on my left. So had to push the poor thing clutch down with my girlfriend on the back just to get off of the road! Was only a few metres but was still heavy.

That is the reason they have two seats, it is her job to push