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Broken shifter shaft

16K views 41 replies 23 participants last post by  01Legend 
#1 ·
Well now I've really done it! Moved my Legend forward a bit and turned to close the gait but the side stand had moved back and down the bike went. Broken shifter shaft and turn indicator cover. I've heard how expensive it is to replace that shaft and will try to replace it myself. Anyone done it before?
 
#2 ·
I wonder that none of the experienced Triumph guys have answered you yet, perhaps they were having a great weekend away from the PC.

Have never attempted this task but did some reading on it. Haynes manual says to split the crankcase to do the replacement and looking at photos I can see why.
I found some threads on this site about your bike, some were talking about accessing through the sump.

Can't help your more than that. Good luck whichever way you go.

Bob

[ This message was edited by: bobshields55 on 2004-03-29 04:27 ]
 
#5 ·
I think this is the first time that this issue has come up on this site (IIRC). I have seen it discussed elsewhere though (in particular on yahoo). However, I have not seen anybody say that they have attempted the replacement of the selector themselves - some have managed to modify what was left of the shaftin order to provide a fix though.

This is a nasty design flaw on the Classics, it affects the Tbird, Adventurer and Legend but not the TBS. Options to stop it happening (other than not dropping the bike) are:

1. Convert to TBS (or other) rearsets.
2. Weaken the gearshift lever by drilling or cutting 1/2 way through so that the lever will break before the shaft does.
3. Fit a motocross / ATV style shift lever that folds if the bike gos down on the left.
 
#6 ·
Ouch!

I hadn't realised this was a known weak spot on the classics. As the gear-shift lever is pretty hefty, I thought it would just bend a bit if the bike went down in a low-speed or static drop rather than break the shifter shaft.

Having to split the cases for what seems a trivial accident is a real pain. Classicly, sorry I can't offer any advice, but you have my sympathy :(
 
#8 ·
Oops, I wasn't aware of this design flaw either...gonna keep that in mind when putting the bike on the side stand.

Classicly, I have to split the cases on my 2nd Tbird to replace the sprag clutch. While I'm working on it I can take some pictures which might be of help to you. unfortunately it might take a while before I start this rather complicated operation, and I guess you want your bike back on the road as soon as possible...
 
#11 ·
After thinking it over I decided to call my insurance agent and file a claim. It will cost a hefty deductible but considering replacement parts maybe it won't be much of a difference.
The irony is that I ordered a set of rearsets a few days prior to this which as someone already mentioned moves the shift lever off of the shaft and out of harms way. They should arrive about the time the bike is in the shop.
I would still enjoy hearing if anyone has done this replacement before... just in case.
 
#12 ·
I had my dealer do mine. At 1K miles, I had a low-slide because of my ineptness.

I had my left front turn signal replaced, shift lever and the shift shaft. They did do it through the sump and didn't split the cases (whatever that means) :-D , plus with the change of oil. Total cost was $500. You could knock off about $100 for the oil, filter, and turn signal. I seem to recall 2 hours labor. I haven't done anything to modify (weaken mine), but I mostly use the center-stand.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the info Jerry. Only 2 hours labor without splitting the cases sounds like I could have done that myself but the Haynes manual didn't indicate that procedure.
I'm taking it to the shop tomorrow anyway since I filed an insurance claim. I'll mention replacement through the sump and see what they say about that.
By the time it is fixed my rearsets should be here and I'll post my opinion on them for anyone who is interested.
 
G
#14 ·
Well, I guess I have also had the same problem. My bike fell over this weekend. Nothing broke or was even scratched except for the shifter shaft. It sounds like you guys believe it can be fixed without splitting the cases, even though the manual states the contrary. I hope so. The thought of this makes me cringe. I have broken down a few Japenese bikes, but I really do not want to tear apart my Adventurer.
 
#16 ·
Slinky,

Just a thought, but if a suitable ATV type folding lever can't be found, it might be worth finding out if a small engineering shop could make appropriate modifications to the stock gear lever. If enough UK based riders were interested to generate a production 'run', the unit cost may be acceptable. It's bound to cost less than an engine strip to fix a broken shifter shaft!

One of my friends has a (hobby) engineering shop - next time I see him, I'll ask him how feasible he thinks this work would be.

Cheers
 
#18 ·
When I dropped the bike off at the dealer, the owner / head mechanic said one of his former employees had replaced one of the gearchange shafts from the sump but he was not sure how he did it. The Haynes and Triumph service manuals both recommend splitting the cases for replacement. I should here from the dealer by the end of the week and will post the procedure and total hours charged.
 
#19 ·
There are two possible solutions:

1. weaken the stock lever sufficiently so that it breaks and not the shaft, by either partially cutting through it, hollowing out the back or drilling large holes in it. The trick would be to make it weak enough to break or bend on a tipover but strong enough so it doesn't bend or break in service. Of course it also needs to be weaker than the output shaft.

2. Fit a dirtbike/ATV style shift lever with a folding tip. I have heard that aftermarket ones for Yamaha 4 wheel ATVs fit but don't have any model details. I have also heard that there are many around to choose from which all use the same size (and number of splines) for the gear selector shaft.
 
#21 ·
Put it this way Shedds, it's cheaper to buy LSL or Raask rear-sets. When you add up all the parts from Triumph it comes to significantly more. I managed to scrape in at just over the Raask cost by using used parts which I hunted around for on places like ebay. Even when you have all the parts you have to either live with a reversed shift pattern (1 up 5 down) or modify the linkage to clear the TBird exhaust.
 
#24 ·
First off, I know this is a really old discussion topic, but it seemed like it ended without a lot of resolution or closure. I basically had an identical left side drop as ClassiclyMobile and snapped the end off of my gearchange shaft at the lever connection.

After seeing a couple of the hints at the possibility of going through the sump, I went ahead and started the job. I opened the sump (after draining oil/pulling filter) with the bike on a set of jackstands and held level. The biggest challenge on the sump is the center screw in the rear which sits just above the rear suspension linkage - so tight in fact that I actually ended up creating a tool for the job by cutting a torx bit in half and fastening it to a 1/4" spanner. I also pulled off the sprocket cover and backed out the stopper bolt, before going after the shifter shaft.

From there it was a simple job of removing the stopper plate. I used an alan key type Torx to get the lower screw, and a Torx bit and two extenders connected by a U-joint on my socket to get the bottom one, and it drops right out. The book tells you the rest for fitting the new gearchange shaft and meshing its quadrant properly with the pawl carrier. Reassemble in reverse as described in the coffe and set the shaft on neutral.

Cost for the entire job was a little over $200 dollars US. It took a while for me to do it, but that was caused more by my availability from work, etc., to work on the bike. The shaft itself was $99, then new gaskets, circlips, etc., and the $50-60 for the oil change.

I had a little concern about it shifting before I completely buttoned her up, but got some reassurances from others that this was normal, so I went ahead. The final step was a methodical bleeding of the clutch and the job was done. I just took her out for a test drive and it runs great.

Best thing was, this is actually the first time I had ever worked on a motorcycle, and I was able to pull it off with minimal pain and suffering. (except for the injured pride of having to tell everyone why I had it pulled apart in the first place ... best of luck to anyone who gives this a go. Definitely not as hard as the book makes out. :-D
 
#25 ·
I've heard of the bent/broken shifter shaft a few times over the past 3-4 years and that it's replaceable from the sump -- nice to hear that verified, BTW!

You can get folding dirt bike levers all over the place, but the problem is finding the right one and I'm still looking.

The Triumph splines are on the small side and the (Adventurer) lever is fairly long with an offset. That doesn't seem to be a common combination judging from the levers available from my local bike shop.

I purchased a folding lever last year (can't find the info at the moment) that had the right length and offset but the wrong splines. When I find the info I'll post it -- at least we'll all know what won' t work!

Jim
 
#26 ·
Way to go CrazyCroc
Did you take any pictures by chance?
I took lots when I replaced my starter sprag clutch.
Good for future reference and to share with others that are considering the same procedure.

I've worried about his problem since reading about it here. I think the folding shift lever would be ideal if you could find one. I also thought about getting an extra shift lever and cutting it part of the way through. Cutting it from the back it would not be too noticeable. I figure this would allow the lever to give and/or break away before breaking the shaft. I'm not sure how it would hold up to normal use though.

****
OK just noticed Mick suggested this early in the thread. Maybe that's where I got the idea?

Any thoughts?

stan


[ This message was edited by: SWare on 2005-03-30 07:43 ]
 
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