Slight oppsie, more advice please?

[Advwannabe]

Hi folks,

Just after asking your opinion re TKCs I have demonstrated why I need them  

I was on a gentle run back from the Phillip Island round of the WSBK yesterday and decided to go home over the Barrie Way.

It winds over the Aussie alps, about 100km of reasonably tight windy gravel road ( more pics later in a ride report).

I was having fun, hanging the back out around the corners and feeling in complete control when the back got away from me and we finished up going down at about 25-30 KM/H.

No biggie I thought, the crashbars did a great job of protecting the bike and my riding gear ensured I got away without a scratch. Then when righting the bike I noticed the gear lever on the ground. Uh oh.

The shaft has broken off at the slot where the bolt goes through the selector. The remaining stubb of the selector shaft has also bent upwards a little bit.

I was able to jury rig what was left on the selector onto what was left of the shaft to get home, but now I have to replace the selector shaft.

Is it possible to do this job with the engine in situ or is this 'pull the gearbox to pieces' type operation? There is a circlip external to the cases holding the shaft in situ so I am cautiously optmistic but would like to hear from someone who has performed the operation.

Hmmm next lot of levers will be the later model folding type as well......

[NKL]

Bad News, Having had a quick look at my Haynes manual it looks like it's an engine to pieces job the shaft is extracted frm inside the crankcases.

[Mustang]

sorry to hear , but you are being to optimistic  

the shaft is an assembly with a ratchet setup on the other end to turn the shift drum and it's only available from dealer or bike bandit as an assembly for $120  
gearbox has to come apart , check out the schematic and part list on bike bandit.

[Advwannabe]

Well my dealer reckons he can replace the shaft without splitting the cases, the workshop manual says no way, you must split the cases.

Hmm still need to hear from someone who has actually done this job.

In the meantime, I could pay $184 Oz for a genuine shift lever, or I could go and size one up at my local wrecker and pay $30....



Even has a folding tip and clears the sidestand switch comfortably.

Mustang, I'll update the parts cross reference guide as well but for those interested it is an MCS item, part no FG5

[KuzzinKenny]

Just shoot me down in flames if i`m talkin pish !!

could you build up the shaft up with weld ?
or
drill a hole in the centre of the shaft, thread it, fit a small piece of threaded rod in it and fill the space with some sort of epoxy, plastic metal ?

i`ll get my coat !!  :oops:

KK

[coachgeo]

if your smoking something Kenny... then so am I.  Was thinking similar too.  Not sure what heat would to what is behind the cover though.  

Drill a hole in the shift lever, tap it with fine thread. Slip it back on.... use a pick or something to mark the spot on what is left of the shaft.

remove lever... with a drimil or something that will let you get at it... drill a pocket into the shaft... assuming you cant get thru it with something as weak as a dremmel.  But if you can get a hole started...

Then put back on lever.. run a set screw into the one you put into the lever and on into the pocket to help keep lever  from spinning on the shaft?

[Advwannabe]

They are not crazy ideas at all gentlemen, at the very least I'll drill the stub shaft and put a blank of the new lever to help hold it in place.

350 mile run to a birthday party today and the revised shift lever is holding up well.

One of the guys I ran into is a workshop manager with some experience with Triumphs. He semed to think that the job can be done with the engine removed from the frame upside down with the clutch out and the sump removed to keep track of the shift forks while I'm changing the shaft out. A quick peruse of the manual confirms this is possible.

However his advice was that my repair, with a bit of tidying up, is fine and that he would just leave it alone until something else requiring engine removal pops up in the job list. Sounds like a good idea to me!

If I remove about 2mm of material from the engine side of the new lever the bolt will be positioned well inside what remains of the spline, so now it's either find a milling machine or reprise the first 12 weeks of my apprenticeship of 30 years ago and drag out the file and blueing plate. Might be kind of fun....

[tomla]

no, I haven't done the job, but in the same boat.  it looks to me like you could pull the clutch side off, and and pull the shaft out a bit, then saw all the stuff off the clutch end.  Then, using the old shaft, as a guide, push the new shaft thru.  One of the dealer mechanics thinks this could work too.  I have a shaft for sale if you want it, cheap.  I bent mine back and it's ok now.

[Advwannabe]

Just an update for anyone with this issue.

Yes the shift shaft can be replaced with the engine in frame and the clutch removed.

While my bike was in a non-Triumph shop I had a look over the manual with my mechanic and he agreed to have a crack at it and was successful.

After several attemptes at getting my bike running properly via my local dealer we set my bike up with the tuneecu interface and my mechanic's dyno. Final result? running perfectly with a bout 8-12HP over stock ( with stock muffler) with my Staintune muffler with the bung in.

Fuel economy is not quite as good as it was before the troubles and the minumum I can run it on now is 95 Octane, but I'll take that for a bike that has bee seemingly reborn. Fantastic!

[Bixxer Bob]

What did you change with the TuneECU then?  Do tell....  

[jphish]

Well...wont hurt to try fix before replacement. The trick will be to drill a straight hole in the part of shaft still attached. The broken 'piece' could be drilled (pick your screw size first & drill small hole - dont want to remove too much material or you risk weakening it more than necessary. anyway...) at a machine shop, dead on straight. Then match up the now drilled broken piece to the shaft and use that as a pilot to drill into shifter shaft. tap it, use JB weld on parts and screw together. I wouldnt grind any off - the broken pieces (if not bent) should fit together like a puzzle piece. Or...I guess you could try to weld it, but would need an effective heat sync to prevent any rubber seals from overheating? Good luck! j