Lost gear shifter (ooops!)

[Guest]

Last night me and my son went for a ride on my '82 GS850L for about 1-1/2 hours starting at around 7:30. Beautiful crisp night for a ride. On our way home, as we entered the on ramp for the highway to head back home, I tried to downshift and realized something was missing.......my gearshift lever was gone! What a surprise. Had to find a way to get home without stopping, as starting the bike in 5th gear is a drag. Thank goodness it fell off while I was in 5th, or it could have been worse. Made it home with no problem, then drove another 1/2 hour back by truck with flashlights in hand. After an hour of walking back and forth, we finally found it around 10:00 last night. Unfortunately, a few cars had hit it and mangled it pretty good, but I bent it enough to get it back installed, and am now in search of a replacement. Short of carrying around vice grips, etc, what the heck do you do if you lose something that important, and you're much further from home? Hope I never have to find out.
Larry

[marvinsc]

I Know A Bike can be Ridden Some distance With No Clutch, Did it Once when My cable broke. The situation You Describe I almost Experienced this Summer at the JoJo Rally. I Rode to Casseville (420) Miles and Spent the Night in the Motel before Heading to the Park to Meet Dave and the Guys. While Checking Over the 850 before Me and Dave Headed Out I Discovered that MY Shifter was Loose. Good Thing Dave Had Brought a Metric Socket Set Along. Had I lost it at Night on MO 186 There is No Way I could have Found It. I do think there are Replacements Available either from Suzuki of Aftermarket. Glad You weren't Further from Home when it Happened!

[Pharkmeh]

man ohh man

Im waiting for that to be my story....


my lever drifts way out - only biting on half the shaft... I have tightened the nut to the point of stripping it.... bloody nylon threaded nut... &@%@^

I havent had it off cause I cant punch the bloody bolt out without smashing it completely... and i dont have a replacement yet....

but it seems to be set at the point it drifts too and wont come out further - so for now I have learnt to change banging it in with my heel every dozen or so shifts lol


good save gettin it home

Phark

[Rocketman]

A replacement seems to be available from Flat Out Motorcycles (p/n 25600-45130) for $ 25.42, plus $2.09 for the rubber toe part, which I'll call on Monday to check availability. Found two on e-bay for 5-10 dollars, but they're not real pretty looking. Next time its installed, I have a tube of red locktite ready which I hope will snug it to the splines. The 12mm locking bolt is as tight as I can get it, so I have no other choice. A small tack weld might be in order, but once its on, its gonna be there for a long time! Suppose its the same as if you got a flat tire late at night, gotta sit and wait til daylight to find a repair shop. It is weird, however, how the shaft has a detent around it, kind of splitting the splines into two sections, like a bolt should go in the little valley to keep it from ever separating but the bolt just tightens down the gear shifter around the outer perimeter of the shaft, rather than through the middle of the splines. Once again, possible revenge for Hiroshima.

[jimcor]

Just get a thin file and file the slot a bit on each side, that will allow your bolt to tighten up more.

[Planecrazy]

In my experience (and this is true of every bike I've ever had or worked on) that "valley" between the splines is there specifically to keep the lever from coming off the shaft even if the bolt is loose. In fact, I almost learned "the hard way" the first time I tried to take off my brake lever that you can't just loosen the bolt -- it MUST be completely removed before the lever will come off. I couldn't understand why the lever seemed loose but wouldn't come off the shaft, even when I tried prying it off. Then I pulled the bolt completely out and the lever slid right off!

If you have a problem with a stripped bolt you could simply tack weld the head to the lever as a stop-gap measure (or just JB weld it in place) and you'll be OK till you repair the threads or replace the lever.

Good Luck!

[Rocketman]

I appreciate your advice, and ran into the same craziness when I also removed my brake lever. It is weird though, as the bolt which tightens the gearshift lever goes outside the spline shaft and just crunches together the two round halves of the outside of the lever mount. The bolt doesn't go anywhere near the "valley". So it seems that if the bolt did actually loosen up, there's nothing left to hold the lever on the splines, unless yours is different than mine. Who knows?

[Planecrazy]

I appreciate your advice, and ran into the same craziness when I also removed my brake lever. It is weird though, as the bolt which tightens the gearshift lever goes outside the spline shaft and just crunches together the two round halves of the outside of the lever mount. The bolt doesn't go anywhere near the "valley". So it seems that if the bolt did actually loosen up, there's nothing left to hold the lever on the splines, unless yours is different than mine. Who knows?

That's VERY strange ... my gearshift lever bolt sits right in the "valley," same as the brake lever. I'm thinking that you may not have an original gearshift lever on your bike, because I've never seen a Suzuki OEM lever that didn't properly place the bolt in a position where the lever could pop off without the bolt having to be completely removed...

Regards,

[Rocketman]

Sorry to differ with you plane crazy, but I bought this bike brand new 24 years ago, and it hasn't left my side since. If I can snap a quick picture to show you, I'll upload it.

[Pharkmeh]

Sorry to differ with you plane crazy, but I bought this bike brand new 24 years ago, and it hasn't left my side since. If I can snap a quick picture to show you, I'll upload it.

I hear what your sayin...

Steve is right though....

I got the same info from the bike shop I go to.... the lever setup is supposed to be designed for the bolt to rest in the "valley" of the splines so it cant travel up the shaft until the bolt is knocked out....


he was surprised I was able to remove the lever without dislodging the bolt....

perhaps it is to do with wear on the splines and/or the locking bolt over 25+ years - I cant tell until I actually remove the bolt....

I do know as soon as I find the part Im gunna replace it though...

its only a matter of time before I lose it on the highway....](*,)

[Rocketman]

Through the miracle of modern computers, digital photography, PhotoBucket, and a quiet Sunday night, here are the photos showing what I've got....




Unless I'm sorely mistaken (and Lord knows I've been there many times before), that bolt definitely does not rest in the valley between the splines, its offset to one side. Unless just the side threads catch the valley, rather than the bottom of the bolt! I still cant totally remove the lever without totally removing the bolt first, but I really don't think its a spline thing.

[Rocketman]

Plus if the bolt really does rest in the valley like you guys say, how could the splines have worn out if the lever hasn't been off the bike in 24 years. Methinks that new spline shafts are like finding dinosaur bones, so zip ties it is for now, locktite, and perhaps a well placed spot weld to call it a day.

[Tarbash 27]

do you see how the right side of the gap is real close and maybe touching, grind or file the gap a bit bigger and make sure it has a good grip on there.

[Planecrazy]

Maybe you're picturing the way it sits differently than I, but looking at that picture it looks as if the bolt is almost perfectly centered in the "valley" between the inner splines and the outer ones (and yes, it is the side of the bolt which resides in that valley as the bolt is tightened down)... The fact that you say you can't remove the lever without completely removing the bolt reinforces my contention that it is "as it should be." Generally it is possible to move the shift lever so that it is flush with the splined shaft, and then the bolt will be positioned "dead center" in the "valley."

I guess I'm just not understanding what you say is wrong ... it sounds as if the threads in the lower part of your shift lever are stripped out, causing the bolt to NOT tighten snugly ... is that right? If so, another option would be to use a welder to fill the lower hole (with the bad threads), re-drill it, and re-tap it with new threads. Then you should be good to go...

Also, the suggestion that you take a file and remove a little of the material on the outside (where the two sides of the lever come together) might help as well, though the threads have to be in good shape for this to make any difference...

Regards,

[Rocketman]

At this point, all I'm saying is that the bolt is (and was) as tight as I can make it, and always has been. I don't understand how that lever just fell off the end of the spline shaft without the bolt being completely removed as I can't remove the lever unless the bolt is COMPLETELY out first. When I went back and recovered the lever, the bolt was in tact and bottomed out in the lever. I'm going to try to locate a new lever in the next couple of days, then used ones if I have to. Hopefully bolts, threads, etc will be better than mine, and although its almost impossible to plan for every contingency, I'm going to keep my old lever on the bike somewhere as an emergency spare.