Side of the road breakdown on the way to club ride
- Thread starter cbertozz
- Start date
piranha-bro2
Hero member
- Location
- Melbourne
Is the gear lever loose and sloppy? If not, then it's not the large spring on the gear shift shaft, but it could be the little spring on the arm that actuates the pins on the shifter 'wheel'.
If you've got the cover off you'll see straight away if either are broken. Another poss is that the big spring can shift inward and block the movement of the shift arm (if the spring is between the shifter arm and the eccentric screw).
If you've got the cover off you'll see straight away if either are broken. Another poss is that the big spring can shift inward and block the movement of the shift arm (if the spring is between the shifter arm and the eccentric screw).
G
Grant
Guest
Nut on the eccentric screw has backed off?
Laverdalothar
Hero member
- Location
- Germany
Grant said:
had that, too, easy fix if that's it. Broken return spring is not that easy if you haven't got a spare one with you...
cross my fingers!!
piranha-bro2
Hero member
- Location
- Melbourne
That's great, Carlo - nothing worse than missing out. Finding a simple, fixable prob and on your way to join the orange gaggle 
78jotadave
Hero member
Here is a fix for a broken return spring that leaves you stranded on the side of the road when you don't have a spare with you (mistake). This happened to me on a ride from Geraldton back to Perth, after losing the ability to shift, I popped the gear cover off and sure enough, there was the broken return spring. F... miles from anywhere no spare and no mobile phones back then.
So what does the spring do, keep tension on the shift lever/mechanism, yeah? So we put a piece of rubber tubing over the concentric screw thing and put the cover on, took a bungee cord and wrapped it around the shift lever, then hooked one end up to the frame rail up near the seat as tight as we could and the other end to the bottom frame rail on the left side. So now there was a shit load of tension on the lever. The shifting was terrible but it did work up AND down and Geraldton to Perth you only have to shift a few times. When I got to the city I simply left it in second or third and made it home no worries. That was 40+ years ago now I never travel without a spare spring in the bag of tricks, HTH Dave.
So what does the spring do, keep tension on the shift lever/mechanism, yeah? So we put a piece of rubber tubing over the concentric screw thing and put the cover on, took a bungee cord and wrapped it around the shift lever, then hooked one end up to the frame rail up near the seat as tight as we could and the other end to the bottom frame rail on the left side. So now there was a shit load of tension on the lever. The shifting was terrible but it did work up AND down and Geraldton to Perth you only have to shift a few times. When I got to the city I simply left it in second or third and made it home no worries. That was 40+ years ago now I never travel without a spare spring in the bag of tricks, HTH Dave.
piranha-bro2
Hero member
- Location
- Melbourne
Is it the big spring on the shift lever shaft or the little one on the arm that contacts the pins you're talking about?
The Sock
Hero member
- Location
- London, England
The big one is usually the problem.
I've got through half a dozen or so, in forty-four years on my 180? Triple, and now consider it a service item.
Checking is simple:
Lean on the gear lever with your finger till it hits the stop, then snap your finger off it.
Does it snap back to its central position or flop back? If the latter it needs a new return spring.
They're cheap and easy to replace, particularly as part of planned maintenance.
All the ones that I've had fail have done it like the one pictured. It's possible to limp home with it broken but carrying a spare and fitting it is a damn sight easier, and safer.
I've got through half a dozen or so, in forty-four years on my 180? Triple, and now consider it a service item.
Checking is simple:
Lean on the gear lever with your finger till it hits the stop, then snap your finger off it.
Does it snap back to its central position or flop back? If the latter it needs a new return spring.
They're cheap and easy to replace, particularly as part of planned maintenance.
All the ones that I've had fail have done it like the one pictured. It's possible to limp home with it broken but carrying a spare and fitting it is a damn sight easier, and safer.
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motoddrob
Hero member
- Location
- S/W Australia
Paul Marx said:
The advantage of running points eh Paul
The Sock
Hero member
- Location
- London, England
Vince said:
That's the technique, Vince.
piranha-bro2
Hero member
- Location
- Melbourne
Never broke one on the SF. Cuppla hundred thousand kays and then some.
hooksey
Hero member
- Location
- Vic , Australia
Mechanical sympathy is the name of the game 