Shift Lever Looseness

[Nessism]

Just in case anyone is interested...

When performing this mod on my bike the first thing I did was make a drill guide. The old stud was chopped off, but not all the way. The guide slipped over the old stud, and then a drill busing was pressed into one end. This method helped me drill and tap the frame exactly on center and parallel to the old stud. After the hole was properly made, the remainder of the old stud was chopped off.

The shoulder bolt I used was .002" under .500", that way I was able to use a commonly available reamer to clean up the bore of the shift lever and the running clearance was perfect.

Pretty simple repair once you get your mind around what to do.

[chuck hahn]

ED...Once the center was drilled out..or the stud completely drilled out..couldnt a new hardened stud be pressed back into the frame?? Or slipped in and plug welded from the back side of the frame???

[Nessism]

ED...Once the center was drilled out..or the stud completely drilled out..couldnt a new hardened stud be pressed back into the frame?? Or slipped in and plug welded from the back side of the frame???

Yes it could Chuck. The original stud is welded in place.

[chuck hahn]

Cool...Ive not had a bike with that setup, but should i get a situation such as this its good to know!!!

[lonerider00]

...in order to make a bushing, a machine shop would be needed, probably an excessive expense.

Not necessarily, you could probably get a bushing that's close at a hardware store and mill it down with a bastard file and a drill press, finish it off with sandpaper and a polish. or, get one with the proper outside diameter and drill out the hole to fit... you will also probably need to drill out the hole on the shifter lever itself in order to ensure roundness and proper fit (the best part about this plan is that you can now just replace the bushing when/if this ever happens again). Go slow and make sure everything is square and smooth, sounds like a fun project!

[Nessism]

Not necessarily, you could probably get a bushing that's close at a hardware store and mill it down with a bastard file and a drill press, finish it off with sandpaper and a polish. or, get one with the proper outside diameter and drill out the hole to fit... you will also probably need to drill out the hole on the shifter lever itself in order to ensure roundness and proper fit (the best part about this plan is that you can now just replace the bushing when/if this ever happens again). Go slow and make sure everything is square and smooth, sounds like a fun project!

I doubt you could control the tolerances required using this technique.