gear shift lever klr650 dropped 4 inches/ causes and fixes to try??

[jamesusa1000]

This is a 1997. KLR650A, and I'm a mechanical noon After riding two miles on street the gear shift lever changed from fine to dropping 4 inches lower, then being awkward and funky to shift with. Not sure if outright fail is imminent. Would any of you have tips on a noobs diagnosis of causes and either fix tips , inspection steps, or even URLs or guide books that illustrated this?? Or should this only be taken to a shop?? Any advice greatly appreciated as this is my sole transport currently.. Daily. Thanks!

[Martin Earl]

James,Welcome to the world of KLR.If you don't have a Clymer's manual, NOW is a good time to get one.Fred, the list moderator has them for sale.Most of what you read here is also covered in the manual with a few pictures to boot. You have probably experienced one of the most common maladies of motorbiking, FSS/FLS =freaking shifter slop/freaking loose shifter. cough.I think what you just described is one of my earliest motorhead problems during the Hodaka days and it continues to plague all of us still! That shifter bolt will have to be tightened several times a year, especially if you ride the bike. The gear shift is held on the bike by a pinch-bolt through a splined female receiver, pinched onto a splined male shaft coming from the engine. The female part is a ~355degree circle with a slight cutout to allow the pinch bolt to compress the female splined receiver into a pinch-fitting. Now would be a good time to spray WD40 on the shifter attachment area and give it a good tooth brushing so you can see what you are dealing with.Before putting a wrench to anything, look at the shaft/gearshift fitment and you will see the bolt and that small ~5 degree cutout, where when the bolt is tightened, it will pinch the gear shifter and make a snug fit. Look closely at the aft side of the shifter to see if there is a small space or if your bolt has fully compressed the female splined receiver. If it has space, that is good and probably, a tightened bolt or new bolt is all that is required. Most likely, hope for this-The bolt next to the shaft is loose or stripped; which allowed the shifter to rotate.The bolt will have to be removed completely, 10mm wrench turned CCWpull the shifter off the shaft towards you,then the gear shift can then be repositioned.You have to completely remove the bolt because the shaft has a cutout in it where the bolt is retained.The shifter will not come off the bike unless you completely remove the bolt. If the shifter is difficult to remove, you can drive a screwdriver (gently) into the ~5degree split to open up the pinch fitting, and remove the shifter.Carefully examine the shaft splinesand carefully examine the female shifter splines. They both must have ridges and groves for this to still work. Spay WD-40 on the shaft seal and clean with a tooth brush here as well.Clean up with a rag and examine the seal.No oil should be coming from that seal; if so, it will need to be replace. Examine the bolt carefully.If it appears the threads are worn, replace the bolt; available at any common hardware store.Make sure you get a metric, class 10.9 bolt Position the shifter where you think it belongs and put your foot near the shifter to see if it is comfortable.Replace the bolt, snug it up, and take it for a test ride, shift gently up and down.Recheck the bolt for tightness. If, Upon your initial inspection of the shifter, if you see that the cutout touches when the bolt it tight, you may have to take a hack saw and cut away a small amount of metal in the cut-out-slot and make the opening slightly larger so the bolt can pinch the female receiver tighter on the shaft. Remove the shifter, preferably hold the shifter in a vice, and run a hack saw blade through the slot and open it up slightly.this will give the bolt more space to pinch the female receiver to the shaft. Most likely, you did not damage the shifter shaft, but you could have stripped out the shifter splines.If the shifter spline is stripped, you will have to replace the shifter.If that is the case, I know someone at this address that has spare OEM shifters that will work. smile.Let me know if I can help.m.

On Fri, Jan 9, 2015 at 9:34 PM, SireJames@... [DSN_KLR650] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> wrote: This is a 1997. KLR650A, and I'm a mechanical noon After riding two miles on street the gear shift lever changed from fine to dropping 4 inches lower, then being awkward and funky to shift with. Not sure if outright fail is imminent. Would any of you have tips on a noobs diagnosis of causes and either fix tips , inspection steps, or even URLs or guide books that illustrated this?? Or should this only be taken to a shop?? Any advice greatly appreciated as this is my sole transport currently.. Daily. Thanks! ------------------------------------ Posted by: SireJames@... ------------------------------------ List Sponsors - Dual Sport News: http://www.dualsportnews.com Arrowhead Motorsports: http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok: http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Members Map https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212558560286766214899.0004d0fa9f1732283bb6f&msa=0&ll=38.522384,-109.489746&spn=6.831383,9.624023 ------------------------------------ Yahoo Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_KLR650/ Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DSN_KLR650/join (Yahoo! ID required) To change settings via email: DSN_KLR650-digest@yahoogroups.com DSN_KLR650-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DSN_KLR650-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo Groups is subject to: https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/

[Fred Hink]

Very thorough as usual Martin. It wasn t mentioned if the shift lever was stock or an aftermarket replacement. If it is still the OEM shift lever, I d also check the weld between the shift lever and it s mounting clamp. The OEM shift lever is prone to breakage at this weld. You can have the stock shift lever re-welded but it more than likely will break again. Aftermarket shift levers never break. Fred http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com From: mailto:DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, January 9, 2015 11:29 PM To: DSN KLR650 ; SireJames@... Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Gear shift lever klr650 dropped 4 inches/ causes and fixes to try?? James, Welcome to the world of KLR. If you don't have a Clymer's manual, NOW is a good time to get one. Fred, the list moderator has them for sale. Most of what you read here is also covered in the manual with a few pictures to boot. You have probably experienced one of the most common maladies of motorbiking, FSS/FLS =freaking shifter slop/freaking loose shifter. cough. I think what you just described is one of my earliest motorhead problems during the Hodaka days and it continues to plague all of us still! That shifter bolt will have to be tightened several times a year, especially if you ride the bike. The gear shift is held on the bike by a pinch-bolt through a splined female receiver, pinched onto a splined male shaft coming from the engine. The female part is a ~355degree circle with a slight cutout to allow the pinch bolt to compress the female splined receiver into a pinch-fitting. Now would be a good time to spray WD40 on the shifter attachment area and give it a good tooth brushing so you can see what you are dealing with. Before putting a wrench to anything, look at the shaft/gearshift fitment and you will see the bolt and that small ~5 degree cutout, where when the bolt is tightened, it will pinch the gear shifter and make a snug fit. Look closely at the aft side of the shifter to see if there is a small space or if your bolt has fully compressed the female splined receiver. If it has space, that is good and probably, a tightened bolt or new bolt is all that is required. Most likely, hope for this- The bolt next to the shaft is loose or stripped; which allowed the shifter to rotate. The bolt will have to be removed completely, 10mm wrench turned CCW pull the shifter off the shaft towards you, then the gear shift can then be repositioned. You have to completely remove the bolt because the shaft has a cutout in it where the bolt is retained. The shifter will not come off the bike unless you completely remove the bolt. If the shifter is difficult to remove, you can drive a screwdriver (gently) into the ~5degree split to open up the pinch fitting, and remove the shifter. Carefully examine the shaft splines and carefully examine the female shifter splines. They both must have ridges and groves for this to still work. Spay WD-40 on the shaft seal and clean with a tooth brush here as well. Clean up with a rag and examine the seal. No oil should be coming from that seal; if so, it will need to be replace. Examine the bolt carefully. If it appears the threads are worn, replace the bolt; available at any common hardware store. Make sure you get a metric, class 10.9 bolt Position the shifter where you think it belongs and put your foot near the shifter to see if it is comfortable. Replace the bolt, snug it up, and take it for a test ride, shift gently up and down. Recheck the bolt for tightness. If, Upon your initial inspection of the shifter, if you see that the cutout touches when the bolt it tight, you may have to take a hack saw and cut away a small amount of metal in the cut-out-slot and make the opening slightly larger so the bolt can pinch the female receiver tighter on the shaft. Remove the shifter, preferably hold the shifter in a vice, and run a hack saw blade through the slot and open it up slightly. this will give the bolt more space to pinch the female receiver to the shaft. Most likely, you did not damage the shifter shaft, but you could have stripped out the shifter splines. If the shifter spline is stripped, you will have to replace the shifter. If that is the case, I know someone at this address that has spare OEM shifters that will work. smile. Let me know if I can help. m.

On Fri, Jan 9, 2015 at 9:34 PM, SireJames@... [DSN_KLR650] DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> wrote: This is a 1997. KLR650A, and I'm a mechanical noon After riding two miles on street the gear shift lever changed from fine to dropping 4 inches lower, then being awkward and funky to shift with. Not sure if outright fail is imminent. Would any of you have tips on a noobs diagnosis of causes and either fix tips , inspection steps, or even URLs or guide books that illustrated this?? Or should this only be taken to a shop?? Any advice greatly appreciated as this is my sole transport currently.. Daily. Thanks! ------------------------------------ Posted by: SireJames@... ------------------------------------ List Sponsors - Dual Sport News: http://www.dualsportnews.com Arrowhead Motorsports: http://www.arrowheadmotorsports.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok: http://www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Members Map https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=212558560286766214899.0004d0fa9f1732283bb6f&msa=0&ll=38.522384,-109.489746&spn=6.831383,9.624023 ------------------------------------ Yahoo Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]