500 gear selector

Lyndoneil

Lyndoneil

Full member
Location
Towcester uk
Trying to set up the gear selector, but going by the workshop manual and doing the measuring stuff just doesn't seem to work with the gear selection,  the gears tend to select different on a dead and out of the frame engine any case, do you think I should set the gear selector adjustable cam to the position that selects the best selection the gears with least difficulty and hope for the best, or am I looking at a gear box stripdown job.
Anyone else had simular experience,  I seem to be able to set it so I either get the first 3 gears easily or the last 3, but not all together.?
It might be because to gear selector arm is worn, does this happen? The selector arm spring sort of fits where it touches, could this have any effect?
I'm running out of ideas, don't really want to strip it all down, because of the costs of gaskets if nothing else
 

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The full story is it is a Spanish import Alpino, project bike.done about 27000 kilometres
I restored all the running gear, wheels, carbs, electrics, body work, everything! To turn it into a Montjuic replica,  had the head machined to except S1 cams, had the engine checked over by a proficient mechanic.
Got the machine Road legal tested,  licenced with UK registration,
But!
Found I was struggling  to select gears, was getting 1st, 2nd struggling with 3rd just about getting 4th and at a good moment 5th.
Actually managed 27 miles before I thought right this is not idea, let's put it away until the winter.
In the meantime I sourced some JE forged H/c pistons made for Laverda 500s, took the barrels for reboring to suit at TTS Performance .
Got the engine out, stripped it down as far as crankcase covers off to find on the gear selector side that one of the wheels that run against  the gear selector drum was totally missing which clearly will not help selecting gears, so I replaced that with a new sprung arm and wheel.
Whilst it was out I replaced the pistons and rings.
But I have tried centering the gear lever actuating plate as per the workshop manual and it doesn't seem to be making the gear selection particularly better, at the momemt I am trying by just turning the adjustable cam after releasing the lock nut to find a position where it changes the gears  the best,  at the same time I am turning the main drive sprocket by hand,
What I guess I  am most nervous about, is whether the missing wheel is the cause of the gear selection problem, or if the missing wheel is the result of the problem, and heavy boot work on the gear lever at sometime.
But I don't really want to reassemble everything to find the answer as they are not the easiest engine to whip in and out.
I have other bikes, and the Honda is the only one that will go through the gears if the engine is not running the others are Italian,  not mentioning any name here, but they will not
 
I assume the 500 is the same as the 750 and 100 in that with the engine upside down you can just remove the bottom crankcase half to access the gearbox, leaving the top end intact.  Maybe you have a bent shaft, fork, missing dogs or some other DPO malady.  Given the unknown history a full inspection might be advisable, gearbox seizures are not a barrel of laughs. 
A common mistake by those not familiar with assembling Laverda crankcase halves is to leave out the pin that secures the selector fork shaft, which is then free to float in and out blocking the mechanism on and off.  This applies to 120's and I'm pretty sure it does the 500 as well.  Doesn't sound like you've had the cases apart (?) but a PO might have.  Easy to check in the engine's current state, but I suppose you'd have noticed it if that was the issue at this point in time.
 
I'm slowly  getting my head round to the fact that your right and I'm going to have to split the crankcase and have a look at the gearbox, whilst the engine is out, their a bit of a puzzle to me as it is, but if anything is seriously amiss it should show
What do you mean by DPO and PO, I know it's probably obvious, but the penny hasn't dropped.
I always fancied a Laverda, but I'm not sure it was this much!
 
Lyndoneil said:
What do you mean by DPO and PO, I know it's probably obvious, but the penny hasn't dropped.
Click to expand...

No, PO doesn't mean Probably Obvious.

It's Previous Owner. DPO means Dickhead Previous Owner, or you can replaced the adjective with anything else beginning with D, such as dopey, deadshit, drunk, delirious, demented ? whatever.
 
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