Gear selection

[Schurminater]

Hi guys, so today i had a good ride out on the Jota and had time to digest and play around with the gear change which on changing down seems to be a bit temperamental.
I now need to try and isolate or narrow down what is going on and determine if anything needs changing or adjusting.

For info the bike is running standard rear sets,has a Dam easy clutch lever fitted and a new cable which runs freely and is suitably adjusted with 2-3 mm free play at the lever.......Changing up 1-5 is not an issue and selects well.

Symptoms are only really on changing down 5-4th is generally OK but after that it can get a bit fuzzy....though I usually seem to end up in 3rd.........With engine stopped i can usually find neutral again fairly easily.

Today I tried lifting the lever slightly after every and before each down change and this seemed to work well and allowed for positive downshifting.

So where do i go from here?....do i need to fine tune the eccentric,adjust or look at replacing something else?.

I would appreciate some experienced minds

thanks Chaps....she's so nearly there.

Steve (thumbup)

 

[Grant]

I would play some more with the eccentric adjuster.
Put it into 4th gear and set gap between tangs equidistant from pin on drum.

 

[cbertozz]

Just in case try putting the cable on the lower of the two EasyClutch mounts

Go back to the eccentric again anyway because the things above weren't fixing a one gear problem.

 

[laverdas]

hi steve , that sounds like my bike , just need to be positive with your foot, but make sure your rear chain is tensioned properly.

 

[Schurminater]

Thanks Carlos,laverdas

i have already fitted it on the lower position which seemed the better position for it, and have adjusted the new chain a little tighter too,just in case it was having an effect.

Next step will be back to the eccentric as Grant suggests (thanks Grant) and fine tune it......We will get there i'm sure

Steve

 

[Grant]

Not just drive chain, make sure primary and cam chains are adjusted correctly too.
Any excess backlash in the system will upset the sensitivity of the gearchange.
Instead of feeling like breaking sticks with your foot it should feel, well, less agricultural.

 

[Schurminater]

Okay thanks Grant  (thumbup)

So tonight i revisited the eccentric gear adjuster and it was a lot more messy than last time  : I was hoping that being on the side stand it would keep most of the oil in but it just kept on coming  and every rag i used to help turn the selector drum kept dipping into the oil!

Also being on the side stand meant i couldn't rock it back and forwards to help select gears : not my finest or favorite job of the day

The proof will be in the pudding as they say, but that will have to wait until a test ride tomorrow.

Wish me luck

Steve  8)

 

[redax5]

Not just drive chain, make sure primary and cam chains are adjusted correctly too.

it is far better to run the primary chain slightly loose rather than slightly tight

 

[cbertozz]

Okay thanks Grant  (thumbup)

So tonight i revisited the eccentric gear adjuster and it was a lot more messy than last time  : I was hoping that being on the side stand it would keep most of the oil in but it just kept on coming  and every rag i used to help turn the selector drum kept dipping into the oil!

Also being on the side stand meant i couldn't rock it back and forwards to help select gears : not my finest or favorite job of the day

The proof will be in the pudding as they say, but that will have to wait until a test ride tomorrow.

Wish me luck

Steve  8)

As you've found you need to lean further over than the side stand allows.

I zip tie the front brake on and lean the bike on some old tyres, you can improvise with whatever you have available. I think Cam leans the footrest ona brick and I've seen some other methods scattered around.

The tip that I missed originally​ was to also have the rear wheel off the ground so you can rotate it and select the gears to be able to adjust the eccentric properly. There is a good post by StevioLaverda on here all about adjusting eccentric.

Edit:

These are the links

Everything you need to know is here somewhere - good luck!  I searched on "4th gear selector" ... an excellent tool.

http://www.laverdaforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=40781.msg53237#msg53237
http://www.laverdaforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=59248.15
http://www.laverdaforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=53986.0

 

[Schurminater]

Thanks for the link Carlos i'm going to read it over and over again and see if i can get to the bottom of this :-[

I just did a test ride and it is not much better upchanges fine but coming back down from 4th is unpredictable with the lever just having spring action and no selection.........not a happy easter Bunny
:'(

Surely it cant be that difficult to sort out.

 

[Schurminater]

Looking at my gear change set up there is some slack movement in the rearset lever so i am going to tackle that as a priority to give me a more positive movement.
New rearset bush and possibly a new dog leg spring will be added to the shopping list.
I also notice that the gear change spindle has movement in and out,so I will check my shims either side of the o ring.....did I read somewhere that two gaskets fitted on the outer case can sometimes help?

Steve

 

[laverdas]

two gaskets will not work, two gaskets mean your tolarance between the gear selector shaft which your lever connects to and the tri cover is out. you also have to make sure the gasket is the right thickness as many patent gaskets are to thin .

 

[Schurminater]

two gaskets will not work, two gaskets mean your tolarance between the gear selector shaft which your lever connects to and the tri cover is out. you also have to make sure the gasket is the right thickness as many patent gaskets are to thin .

Okay thanks for that.

Steve

 

[piranha-bro2]

Be aware that even if the adjustment is correct, the main spring on the shaft can actually move across and block the full travel of the arm - it can end up between the selector and the eccentric screw, making it impossible for the arm to move until it contacts the screw itself (ie not through its full travel). Bit hard to explain ...!!

 

[Schurminater]

Be aware that even if the adjustment is correct, the main spring on the shaft can actually move across and block the full travel of the arm - it can end up between the selector and the eccentric screw, making it impossible for the arm to move until it contacts the screw itself (ie not through its full travel). Bit hard to explain ...!!

Another thing to keep an eye out for,many thanks Piranha B  (bigthumb)

 

[Schurminater]

So it looks like i have finally cracked it  and have just returned from a test ride where I was able to gear up,down and even find neutral gear at  junctions,Very Very happy  (sunny)

Came down to a collection of things really but thanks must first go to everyone who posts and supports with information and their experiences on this forum,it really does help,Carlos your link to SteveioLaverda a great help (goodjob).

So here's what i did,........removed the slack from the gear change spindle selector fork by bending one of the tangs slightly on the doglegged spring, that enabled any movement of the gear shaft to be directly imputed to the linkage and then passed on to the hooked selector arm.

Checked that the eccentric adjuster cam was forward facing,and with the bike in 4th gear adjusted the hooks to give equal movement up and down to the 2 drum selector pins.

Even after doing this and now with a more positive upward selection 1-5 it was still sticking dropping down from 4th - 3rd,I then loosened off the inner gearbox casing and let it find its happy place,also giving it a gentle nudge forwards.

All nipped up and checked with all gears selecting up and down a few times to confirm all was working.

Test ride confirmed a major improvement and a gentlemans box 

Big thanks to all,now to get in that Jota groove  (Lavflag)

Steve

 

[Laverda SF]

My 71SF has a false neutral between 4th and 5th if you don't do it positively . The shift is also longer and slower then the other gear changes, even when clocked.

I believe it's just characteristic of the Breganzie tranny and Rear-Sets tend to exaggerate the issue.

From my experience shifting from 4th to 5th is never used in the twisties, where as, 5th is just used for cruising on the freeways. 5th really doesn't give you anymore top end speed then 4th except the engine rev's much lower. 5th's like an overdrive and gas consumption saver as you still have to gear down and extract power throw rev's.

Of course you 3 Cyl Guy's have more torque then my twin to haul your Breganzie up 140mph - An area, at my age, really doesn't want go to now.

 

[laverdas]

4th and 5th is a pain in high milage or trashed laverdas because of the bronze bush, always replace when I do an engine,

 

[cbertozz]

Great to hear you've sorted it. Just "paying it forward" as I've had a huge amount of help here as newb.

So it looks like i have finally cracked it  and have just returned from a test ride where I was able to gear up,down and even find neutral gear at  junctions,Very Very happy  (sunny)

Came down to a collection of things really but thanks must first go to everyone who posts and supports with information and their experiences on this forum,it really does help,Carlos your link to SteveioLaverda a great help (goodjob).

So here's what i did,........removed the slack from the gear change spindle selector fork by bending one of the tangs slightly on the doglegged spring, that enabled any movement of the gear shaft to be directly imputed to the linkage and then passed on to the hooked selector arm.

Checked that the eccentric adjuster cam was forward facing,and with the bike in 4th gear adjusted the hooks to give equal movement up and down to the 2 drum selector pins.

Even after doing this and now with a more positive upward selection 1-5 it was still sticking dropping down from 4th - 3rd,I then loosened off the inner gearbox casing and let it find its happy place,also giving it a gentle nudge forwards.

All nipped up and checked with all gears selecting up and down a few times to confirm all was working.

Test ride confirmed a major improvement and a gentlemans box 

Big thanks to all,now to get in that Jota groove  (Lavflag)

Steve

 

[Laverda SF]

Laverdas: My Breganzie Tranny is not trashed. Although, I've dissembled the Mill & Tranny about 3 times, the bike has only about 22,000Km's on her since new in 1972.

Low mileage with maintenance because I raced her and road her very hard when I was young and owned numerous bikes before I married ;o)

Love that SF. She's a kitchen table top racing sweetie and dependable Sport Tourer as long as you park her down hill - LOL.