Pharks gear lever...

[KGB]

What did that shift lever come from ?
With the fold away tip eh?


My S has the shift lever going to a reverse linkage, up and over
then to the actual lever..........with out the fold away tip.


Oh and good idea keeping it covered in oil and grease, that way it won't rust :-\"

[Pharkmeh]

Good Humor! Now, back to the serious issue at hand for just a moment...

Does the shift lever go all the way on to the shaft before tightening the bolt or does the unwanted bend prevent this?

If it DOES go all the way on, in addition to the fix already suggested you might also want to drill a small hole through the center of the entire assembly (once it's properly assembled) and put a cotter pin through it to prevent it from working its way back toward the bent part (much like the cotter pins on the axles keep the nut from backing out).

It probably got bent in the first place by many hard shifts while it was sitting half on and half off the shaft. We certainly don't want that to happen again! A well placed cotter pin will act as a safety in case the other fix degrades over time...

Good Luck!

Now back to our regularly scheduled Hi-Jinx!

thx Steve m8

it slides on just fine and seems to be fixed pretty tight now - about to head for work in an hour so I'll find out if it has any paly after some highway shifting...

the shaft is appears to small for any sizelarge enough for a codder pin - but I like the idea of drilling one big enough to whack a split pin in...

By the way, you asked what caused the "valley" in the back of the splined shaft ... on my bike (and every GS I've seen) the "valley" is machined all the way around the shaft at that point, and on my bike the shift lever bolt is in the rear ... not the front, so I'm guessing your shaft is supposed to be that way (although it obviously shouldn't be bent)... Do you know if that is an OEM shift lever?

Regards,

Yeah - I get the valley/spline design/prupose - just dont know how it could get bent forward like that - perhaps it was pulled off a truck poorly and hung on to the lever at some stage - or likely the PO rather than fix the slippage properly smashed it forward thinking it would lock the lever on... (my kind of mechanic - only two tools - a big hammer and a bigger hammer)

as for what the lever belongs too originally - no idea

What did that shift lever come from ?
With the fold away tip eh?


My S has the shift lever going to a reverse linkage, up and over
then to the actual lever..........with out the fold away tip.


Oh and good idea keeping it covered in oil and grease, that way it won't rust :-\"

hahaha - yeah the bits I dont protect with grease and oil are covered with dust n dirt to protect them from harmful elements like soap n water...

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thx to everyone fur their comments - gunna give it a thrash and see what falls off

Must have searched for one to many cans....it was Earl that posted yer answer #-o

hahaha - perhaps I did over achieve in that particular part selection- grateful of course to both Steve and Earl for pondering my lil problem...

[Planecrazy]

thx Steve m8

the shaft appears too small for any size large enough for a codder pin - but I like the idea of drilling one big enough to whack a split pin in...

Perhaps you guys define them differently than we do, but here in the U.S. a cotter pin IS a split pin...

Here's a Wikipedia link to our definition...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotter_pin

Regards,

[Pharkmeh]

Perhaps you guys define them differently than we do, but here in the U.S. a cotter pin IS a split pin...

Here's a Wikipedia link to our definition...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotter_pin

Regards,

ahh - well Im no mechanic but I have generally known cotter pins to be this kind found on push bike pedals



and these generally referred to as split pins



but whats in a name the advice was all good

cheers

Phark

[Pharkmeh]

well alls good and holding tight...

actually feel slack for not having done it sooner - absolutely no play in the lever at all whcih Im getting used to

gr8 stuff

Im sure you guyz know how to find these things cheaper than meh - but since I found em thought I would post them...

standard gear levers

http://www.oldbikebarn.com/part.php?id=8394&subcategory=Shift%20Levers&bike=&DisplayPerPage=20

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SUZUKI-GS750-GS850-GS1000-Gear-Change-Shift-Lever-NOS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35600QQihZ012QQitemZ220036834106QQrdZ1QQtcZphoto

dont know why my set up is a lil different to yours keith although Im gunna have a good look through this bike soon and start trying to match chassi and engine numbers etc etc...

Im not the sort of bloke that wants an S on it unless it is one - who knows what the PO has done although I thought he was a pretty str8 up bloke - he was about most of it... but there appears to be a bit of creative repair work here and there over the years...

cheers

Phark

[chalkhills]

Degrease!

A common cause of this splined shaft problem is oil/grease on the splines - the heat-cooling cycles cause expansion and contraction of trapped lubricant causing eventual distortion and loosening. Before fitting degrease shaft and intenal splines of actator arm with IPA or acetone solvent before fitting and tightening pinch bolt. If wear is is already excessive use a flexible gap filling agent such as curing silicone to stop ingress of oil into the joint.

[Rocketman]

Warning!!! Do not buy the gearshift lever from these guys on EBAY!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SUZUKI-GS750-GS850-GS1000-Gear-Change-Shift-Lever-NOS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35600QQihZ012QQitemZ220036834106QQrdZ1QQtcZphoto

Their ad said it fit a GS850. I just got one and returned it. They're very nice people and took it back with no problem, but don't waste your time. It is upside down and backwards from my OEM gear shift lever, and the interior splines are much more fine than the coarse splines on the shifter output shaft. And if you could make it fit, the locking bolt would go from bottom up, instead of top down. Don't know what the heck this thing fits, but its not my bike, that's for sure. I did (fortunately) place a simultaneous order for the same OEM NOS gear shift lever from Flat Out Motorcycles, which arrived today, and fits like a glove. Straight from the Suzuki mecca of parts in Mechanicsburg, PA. (Wouldn't I just love to back up an empty semi in that warehouse! Oh mannnnnn!)

[terry]

Yeah mate, and I know that "The Old Bike Barn" have a pretty bad name too.

Recently they started advertising Keihin CR carbs at a good price, so I contacted them to see if they had some 31mm CR's, they said yeah, no problem.

I'd almost Paypalled them 700-odd bucks when a guy I knew in the US told me that Sudco (US distributor) had done a check and there were no stocks of 31mm CR carbs in the US at that time, and they hadn't supplied ANY CR carbs to The Old Bike Barn? Hmmmnnnn.........

I contacted them again, and they admitted that they would have to order them in. I sent 'em another email suggesting that they'd been slightly dishonest with me, and they got all "precious" in their reply, you know the old mantra "We've been in business 25 years" blah blah blah, so I sent them a link to the "Deadbeat Alert" forum on this site, and on my other favourite site, (sohc4.com) and they went mysteriously quiet, ha ha! Cheers, Terry.

[txironhead]

gr8 that you guyz in the know reply to these lil probs as well as the more techincal stuff...

Granted it's not a piston detonating at 10k rpm, but I've had a shift lever fall off, in the middle of nowhere, at night. It was NOT a lil problem then! Two hours of trying to find the #$#$$ lever, then finding a non-critical bolt to take off of my bike that would fit the lever, and doing all of this with the factory (read: cheap stamped metal S**T) toolkit by the light of my Zippo (add burned fingers to the list and thanking God I'd repaired the gas leak a month earlier) with my Shadow gave me a new respect for Loctite. After that I replaced the toolkit with about $20 worth of "Wal-Mart brand" tools (GREAT investment) and tossed in a handful of common size bolts. And a mini MagLight......

But I still carry my Zippo!:-D

Heartfelt thanks to all the great people here that take the time to answer questions so that we can spend less time fixing and more time riding.

[Pharkmeh]

still holding strong for meh


and I been kickin it half to death l8ly with a lil .. erm "spirited" riding ..:shock:


thx agin

Phark

[earlfor]

I had a 71 CB350 Honda long about 1973 that had a loose shifter and I gave it the beer can shim treatment. I had to appropriate another beer every year or so, but it stayed tight and it was that way when I sold it 5-6 years later. :-)

Earl

still holding strong for meh


and I been kickin it half to death l8ly with a lil .. erm "spirited" riding ..:shock:


thx agin

Phark

[Jethro]

I've been downstairs trying like hell to loosen up that damn shifter lever, but it's fitted on there perfectly. If you guys need shims, let me know and I'll get to work on these Fosters I have in the fridge.

[80GS1000]

Warning!!! Do not buy the gearshift lever from these guys on EBAY!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SUZUKI-GS750-GS850-GS1000-Gear-Change-Shift-Lever-NOS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35600QQihZ012QQitemZ220036834106QQrdZ1QQtcZphoto

Their ad said it fit a GS850. I just got one and returned it. They're very nice people and took it back with no problem, but don't waste your time. It is upside down and backwards from my OEM gear shift lever, and the interior splines are much more fine than the coarse splines on the shifter output shaft. And if you could make it fit, the locking bolt would go from bottom up, instead of top down. Don't know what the heck this thing fits, but its not my bike, that's for sure. I did (fortunately) place a simultaneous order for the same OEM NOS gear shift lever from Flat Out Motorcycles, which arrived today, and fits like a glove. Straight from the Suzuki mecca of parts in Mechanicsburg, PA. (Wouldn't I just love to back up an empty semi in that warehouse! Oh mannnnnn!)

Phark: Glad everything worked out for you.

Rocketman: Thanks for the link for Flat Out Motorcycles. SOOOOO many genuine NOS Suzuki parts - it's unbelievable!

[Rocketman]

I am so psyched that I can still find most of the trim pieces, screws, nuts & bolts around to finish up my 24 year old bike. I have this fear that someday these parts will all disappear, so I'm tempted to buy two of everything. But to be practical, it would cost a fortune to buy, and a pain to store. My wife owns a '57 Chevy, and there are probably more NOS and OEM aftermarket parts for her car than there are for our GS bikes. She gets catalogs ervy month from classic Chevy parts guys with enough parts to almost build a car brand new from scratch. I hope over time, our classic Suzuki's don't become so obsolete that parts are either prohibitively expensive or obsolete. Let's hope for the best as time goes by.