Gear selector mechanism is stripped

[bret]

I forgot to screw my gear selector lever back in and it came loose. Had to stop on the side of the road because I couldn't change gears. Stripped the thread on both the lever and the gear selector mechanism. Definitely will be buying a new gear lever but my question is, how easy or hard would it be to put a new gear selector mechanism in? Do they sell them on Mikes or any other site?

 

[5twins]

If you mean the shift lever shaft, it's not too difficult to replace but requires removing the right side cover on the engine, probably the clutch assembly as well. Yes, Mike's sells them.

This is one of the items you have to keep an eye on. This bike is a bit stiffer shifting than many others and that causes the shift lever to come loose often. The addition of a lock washer on the bolt and slight filing of the gap so it pinches tighter on the shaft can help. Your wallet is going to take a good hit here. Maybe that will "learn" you to keep watch on this part, lol. Another part that loosens up and falls off all the time is the seat latch/helmet lock. Keep an eye on that one too. My buddy is on like his third one. This last one cost him $20 so maybe he'll finally "learn" as well.

 

[XSLeo]

Gear selector mechanism? Do you mean the shifter shaft? The shift pedal attaches to the shift shaft. The shift shaft goes from the shift pedal through the engine. The shaft has an arm that reaches up to the shift drum. Where another spring loaded arm moves the shift drum.
It isn't hard to change, drain oil, remove right side engine cover, Careful to hold the kick start in place as you pull the cover. Remove clutch. Remove old shift shaft, install replacement.
Finding a new one is nearly impossible. You might find one nut the price would not be fun to pay. Getting a good used one will be much easier, not just to find but pay for.
Leo

 

[DogBunny]

I have discovered an effective repair for stripped splines.
Put the lever where you want it on the splined shaft and tighten the screw as much as you can. As 5twins said, increasing the pinch gap helps. Now, drill a 1/8" hole on the same axis as the shift shaft right where the spline is, try to make half of the hole in the shaft and half in the lever. Put a 1/8" roll pin in the hole you just drilled. You have just made a new "super-spline." Repeat twice more in a triangle pattern. Done correctly this will be an effective repair with no play.
Some splined shafts are hardened and very hard to drill into, you may need to use cobalt or thunderbits and start small and work your way up, any you may decide to settle on a smaller final drilled hole size.
I have made this repair one time on an XT500 footpeg which uses a splined connection to allow changing the footpeg angle to suit the rider. Both the splined shaft and the splined peg were hardened. Drilling the holes was difficult. I went through a lot of bits, and I think I even used a small diameter tungsten carbide burr. The final repair was extremely effective. The alternative in this case would have been to weld the peg to the shaft, this is what hacks do, and then they can't remove their engine covers or their engines from their frames. The better alternative is to cut the splined shaft off of the frame, and weld a good used one back on. XT500 and TT500 splined foot peg shafts go for a good price on eBay for just this purpose. In my case I was able to avoid this drastic repair.

 

[650Skull]

Come across this Gear selector shaft in the Classifieds.............

 

[Signal]

A friend of mine repaired a stripped shift shaft by cutting the stripped spline off and grafting a spline from a pit bikes shift shaft onto the original. The shaft was removed from the bike for the machining and welding.