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T120 Gearbox issues

30K views 34 replies 20 participants last post by  IMT120 
#1 ·
I understand that there have been some reports of occasional problems with the T120 gear box resulting in the gearbox locking in gear. To date my 2016 T120 has not missed a beat and at 7500 miles is just fine. I am just curious as my bike is now out of warranty and I am planning some long rides.
George
 
#2 ·
You haven't been watching Stuart fillingham videos have you :D
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but afaik the problems have all involved the gear selector mechanism not the gearbox itself, which is a much cheaper and easier problem to sort out yourself beyond the warranty.
All this talk about it being locked in gear makes people imagine the gearbox itself locks, when in fact it just means you cannot select another gear the same as if your gear lever was loose or fell off.
If your bikes running fine now I seriously wouldn't worry about it it, just maybe watch out for warning signs when changing up or down, having to have two stabs at the lever.
It can happen without warning and leave you stranded but a lot of times you can just get home in whatever gear you're in at the time, probably not much help if you're all long ride though.
if you want extra reassurance before planning a long ride you could probably change the relevant parts for just over £100.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Had this very thing happen to my '16 T120. The whole story is linked below. If nothing else I learned that this failure cannot be predicted, and that it only happened with a relatively few of the many bikes produced. Since it's really unlikely to happen to you, I say ride on, brother. If possible, I wouldn't worry about it at all.

 
#4 ·
In addition to what CafRacer said, the overwhelming shifting issues occurred AFTER the bike was DROPPED on the left hand side. The drop bends the claw on the gear change selector mechanism to the point where it will not grip the detent wheel attached to the gear selector drum.
The lesson is, “Do all that is humanly possible to prevent a left hand fall and most likely you will never have a shifting issue.”
For the record, back in October of 2019, Triumph updated the shifter mechanism. It is retrofittable to the start of production. The new part number is T1191968.
 
#16 ·
I dropped mine on the left hand side due to old Metzler's and a wet roundabout and now it won't come out of gear. I thought it was due to breaking the clutch lever but no it ain't. The mechanics on about having to take the lump out and splitting the engine to find out what's gone wrong... it's gonna be expensive I think
 
#5 · (Edited)
Damage from striking the shifter in a left side drop is a separate issue. My T120 never got dropped, so there's been no damage to the shifter. It just stopped downshifting.

Install a nylon or Delrin ring on the shift shaft, in the cavity between the left side engine case and the shift pedal. This will prevent displacement of the shift shaft in a left side drop with damage to the shifter and forks. This little mod has been discussed on these forums.

 
#7 ·
I blew my transmission at 20K miles on my 2018... At 45K miles and the bike is running well!
Here is some of the issues I've been through that I touch base on my 45K mile review.
 
#8 ·
This just happened to my T120. Locked in 4th yesterday will not down shift. Had to ride through the clutch to get it home. Its going today under warranty. New bike less than 6 months old under 3050kms on the clock. In addition had a starter solenoid break in a factory sealed location after 2000kms. Seems the build quality is on the nose ...
 
#12 ·
Damn! It happened to me today something similar on my 2020 Scrambler 1200 XC (3.000 kms on it so far). I was almost by the office when suddenly the no traction control light spinned up. I thought, I am almost there - 1 turn to go - I'll check it applying the old rule first (i.e. switch off and on the bike). So I did the turn and suddenly the engine light started coming out but I was right in front of the office. So I stopped the bike and tried to go from 2nd gear down to Neutral. No way. It was not moving. I moved the bike back and forth, pushed the clutch, no way at all. I could not downshift nor upshift or at least the pedal was going up but nothing was happening and the same when pushing it down. So I had the bike to be driven to the shop and next week (today it is friday) hopefully they will let me know something. Hope it is something simple and under warranty. I am pretty sad and disappointed today. My weekend trips are gone and most of all I do not have any clue about what is wrong with my beloved bike.
 
#13 ·
Doesn't sound like the same issue as there's no reason it would show an engine management or traction control light.
Also I don't think a worn pivot plate has ever prevented upshift and downshifts all at once, its possible some other part of the gearshift mechanism could have failed I suppose but still doesn't explain the warning lights.
Hopefully they sort it out quickly and under warranty.
 
#20 ·
Not sure why you'd take both sides off, nothing at all to see on the RH side linked to this problem.
Before giving the bike to the mechanic did you replace the broken clutch lever, set the free play but the clutch wouldn't disengage?
Is the mechanic saying the clutch is working now?
Obviously can't be 100% certain without seeing the bike in person but AFAIK every bike that has suffered this problem due to a drop on the LH side has only damaged the mechanism on the gearchange shaft or bent the shaft itself, its never caused damage inside the gearbox.
Was the gear lever damaged in the crash, any evidence of impact?
 
#22 ·
So its on a linkage, no chance of a bent shaft then, at worst it could have forced the mechanism past its natural "stop" and maybe damaged the pivot plate.
Is the clutch working now?
 
#24 ·
Yesterday during a 150 mile ride in western Vermont my 2018 T120 had a similar failure, I was in 6th gear tooling along and when slowing I could not downshift. The shift lever moved, but nothing happened. Bike has 15,000 miles on it.
I did manage to eventually downshift to 4th, and rode home that way. It is very much like what Stuart Fillingham has described. This will wreck plans for spring rides on my favorite bike, or what was once my favorite bike.
 
#25 ·
I haven't posted much on here, so forgive me if posting on older threads is looked down on here, but as it came up in a google search I thought I would add, that I have a brand new '22 T120 and am not even 2k miles in. It has started not wanting to shift intermittently. Little surprising to me, to be honest. Wanted anyone else that might find this, to know they [Triumph] still haven't remedied this somehow. Amazingly...
 
#26 ·
I have to chime in since I have just had this issue again for the 3rd time. Bought a brand new 2020 t120, June of 2021. I have never dropped the bike nor do I ride very aggressively but it stopped downshifting after 1900 miles. Fixed under warranty. Happened again after 3400 miles, fixed under warranty. It has just happened again after 5500 miles, still under warranty. What happens when the warranty runs out? I have no confidence in this bike, if I get stuck in the middle of nowhere it's gonna cost a bundle to tow it and get repaired again. I won't sell it to some other poor bastard but I will be trading it in immediately. Hope to have better luck with a different model. Disappointed because I really love this bike.
 
#27 ·
Shame to see the fault still happening with the supposed uprated or improved parts fitted.
There's been at least one other bike on here where the fault would return repeatedly after relatively few miles despite all the relevant parts being replaced, I think there's something inherent in the gearbox or a tolerance issue on these bikes that means the only solution is to swap the bike.
If its only lasting 2k miles, that would be my answer, at least trading it to the dealer who's "repaired" it each time should ease your conscience.
Luckily its extremely rare and the majority run for years and thousands of miles with no problem, or at worst the issue is resolved after one replacement.
Hope you have better luck next time.
 
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#28 ·
A few of us are thinking about having someone CNC the little gear selector mechanism that seems to be too soft for the job. Expensive endeavor if you don't know someone that can though. Am surprised it happens at all, after this many years with the issue.
 
#29 ·
Hi
There is a wonderful video on Utube on how to replace the selector, in 'show more' are step by step instructions including the torque values.


I did this about a month ago on my 2017 T120, It is the second time this has happened in 27Km . The first was an expensive exercise from a workshop. JH does not show how he clamped the clutch to torque the main clutch shaft nut

Here a clutch clamp that I drew up from the clutch cages and had cut on a hobby cnc out of 3mm acrylic
I used three of them, put the bike in gear, and put a wedge under back wheel. Worked like a charm
Hope you find these of use.
pm me for the dxf file of the design. I cant upload it here
 

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#30 ·
Hello all, I'm sorry if my question has been asked before. I'll get straight to it.
I've had the problem with down shifting my 2016 T120. It will go from 6 to 5, but after that I have to double shift the rest of the way. If I have been riding in slow traffic in 5th for a while it will change down to 4th, but after that it is the same problem. After doing some research I thought it was the selector, so my mechanic changed the selector with the modified parts that triumph now sell. He rang me and said that the problem is still there. He was saying that the next step is to pull the motor off the bike and go from there which will take about a day remove it and put it back in. He was disappointed and baffled (not as disappointed as me!). I was asked if it had been dropped on the left side? I bought it second hand so I don't know the bike's history. I wasn't switched on enough when I took it for a test ride and have been kicking myself ever since.
 
#31 ·
Hello all, I'm sorry if my question has been asked before. I'll get straight to it.
I've had the problem with down shifting my 2016 T120. It will go from 6 to 5, but after that I have to double shift the rest of the way. If I have been riding in slow traffic in 5th for a while it will change down to 4th, but after that it is the same problem. After doing some research I thought it was the selector, so my mechanic changed the selector with the modified parts that triumph now sell. He rang me and said that the problem is still there. He was saying that the next step is to pull the motor off the bike and go from there which will take about a day remove it and put it back in. He was disappointed and baffled (not as disappointed as me!). I was asked if it had been dropped on the left side? I bought it second hand so I don't know the bike's history. I wasn't switched on enough when I took it for a test ride and have been kicking myself ever since.
Sounds like the problem I had. New 2020 t120 stopped downshifting about every 2 thousand miles. Still under warranty, so I'm going to the dealer, this happened to me 3 times. Went to a new dealer the 3rd time and credit to him he got onto Triumph. He told me they said to replace all the parts in the shifter mechanism. Seems they found that some other part,not the one that broke and they replaced, is causing the problem. Since this last fix I have gone 2300 miles, so about 300 miles more, and it's still shifting smoothly. Still hoping the fix is permanent. I hope this information helps you, good luck.
 
#32 ·
"Luckily its extremely rare and the majority run for years and thousands of miles with no problem, or at worst the issue is resolved after one replacement."
I gotta chime in... as I'm about to pay for my second gearbox repair on a scrambler 1200 at 32k km....
Years and thousands of kilometres isn't good enough at this point in history and at these price points.

I'm used to Hondas that ran for decades and rolled over their 5 digit odometers trouble free.

The 1200XE is mint and fits me like a glove when it isn't having problems though.
 
#33 ·
Well heres my update copypasted from elsewheres
"Had it fixed again with the gear selector kit T1191977 and it runs like a top again. The amount of wear on the part removed is very small, (the shovel shaped bit) noticeably not symmetrical anymore though. So they must have pretty tight tolerances like a swiss watch. edit oh and 17k km and 33k km when these issues occurred. Im having signal issues and wear on my clutch cable too from the cable tidy... I wish triumph would hurry and take responsibility, such issues get recalled (though it takes years) on the mass produced models and you're out of pocket for the exact same issues on models not mass produced?! Come on! Nobody said biking was gonna be cheap but own your mistakes and I'll be a customer for life, probably even shout from the mountaintops about great customer service!"
 
#34 ·
My solution to these rare problems is to own more than one bike. One of my first "real" bikes was a '74 Honda CB360T known for breaking rocker arms (or something like that). Got tens of thousands of miles and it wasn't until shortly after selling it that it developed the problem. The guy I sold it to said he adjusted the valves and it got worse so he put them back loose and rode it that way. It was noisey but still ran. It was only about a year ago that I learned that it was a common occurrence with the 360.

I've own a few bikes that were known for their particular common problems but luckly never experience any of them myself.
 
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