shifting trouble

[r.t.snake]

Hi

I have an 82 550 L and it is hard to shift from 1st to 2nd up and down and often hard to find neutral.

Clutch performs well in other gears and from a stop. I have new oil.

any guesses?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Did it just start this problem? If it did, you may have broke a strand of the clutch cable. If not the cable may have stretched a little. Try tightening the cable a little, so the clutch will disengage a little more completely when the lever is pulled in.

[crc1214]

I have heard that the first gears to wear in a transmission are 1st and 2nd. 1st if you typically sit at a light in neutral, then shift into first sitting still......... and 2nd because everyone slams from 1st into 2nd. This is accelerated when previous owners have not changed oil frequently as well.

But try the clutch cable adjustment first. I do mine by trial and error, really, while I'm riding. I just tighten it up a bit, keep on the throttle, and pull in the clutch lever ever-so-lightly. You'll feel when the clutch starts dis-engaging. Don't worry... you're not going to crash or anything. Just pull that lever in slow, and let it out slow. You should feel it dis-engage when you have about a 1/8" gap space in the lever (you know what I mean). If that thing doesn't dis-engage until you've got like a 1/4 or 1/2" space, then tighten it up. Conversely, if there's no slack, then loosen it.

Chad
Columbus, OH 1978 GS550E

[Poot]

Also, I found that on my 850, the shifter comes loose(r) after awhile, and once I tighten it up again, my shifting improves much .


Matt

[r.t.snake]

thanks for the tips. Maybe I can give the clutch a try this weekend.

how do you adjust the shifter?

[Poot]

Well, the actual lever on it gets loose, and all you have to do is tighten the bolt so that it has a firm grip on the actual shifter rod. Its too loose if you can move the shifter-lever from side to side.