mbellantone
AirandOil In NJ
A little update on a post I made about a year ago
So i've been dealing with this sloppy shifter on my '84 R80RT for over two years now with no fix to be seen. The problem was not with the shifter input shaft into the tranny, but the bearing assembly on the shifter to linkage connection. Changed the needle bearings, tried the wavy washer fix but to no avail...
I was even willing to give up and accept it when i search around some other sources and they all pretty much said it was "born like that", until I meet a crafty fellow who's handy with all things metal and pretty much a mechanical genius.
I now have a shifter that moves more vertically then laterally! After seeing my bike one nite, he emails me 2 days later saying "come over and put your new peg/shifter assembly on your bike". Couldn't believe what i was hearing but on Sunday, there it was. As he put it, i had the old one off like a prom dress...
After he explained what he did 4 or 5 times i made him write it down so i can share it with you all... here's what he did: (in his words)
'83 assemble from Ebay. Year is unimportant, it just so happened that was what was available.
Pressed out the old bushing.
Turned a new one from Oilite bronze (oil impregnated bronze).
Approx .003 interference fit into the lever (same as the original) and pressed in.
Reamed the ID of the bushing to almost zero clearance.
Chucked up the pivot bolt in the lathe and polished the surface the lever rotates on.
Drilled the side of the lever and installed a Zerk (grease) fitting.
R+R : )
If there had still been side-to-side play, I'd have turned back the shoulder on the pivot bolt or used a shim on the side.
It's all just production tolerances. That, and they were too cheap to put a grease fitting on the lever.
Way not rocket science. Anyone with a lathe could do it.
Not rocket science he says...
Hope this helps.
Mike
So i've been dealing with this sloppy shifter on my '84 R80RT for over two years now with no fix to be seen. The problem was not with the shifter input shaft into the tranny, but the bearing assembly on the shifter to linkage connection. Changed the needle bearings, tried the wavy washer fix but to no avail...
I was even willing to give up and accept it when i search around some other sources and they all pretty much said it was "born like that", until I meet a crafty fellow who's handy with all things metal and pretty much a mechanical genius.
I now have a shifter that moves more vertically then laterally! After seeing my bike one nite, he emails me 2 days later saying "come over and put your new peg/shifter assembly on your bike". Couldn't believe what i was hearing but on Sunday, there it was. As he put it, i had the old one off like a prom dress...
After he explained what he did 4 or 5 times i made him write it down so i can share it with you all... here's what he did: (in his words)
'83 assemble from Ebay. Year is unimportant, it just so happened that was what was available.
Pressed out the old bushing.
Turned a new one from Oilite bronze (oil impregnated bronze).
Approx .003 interference fit into the lever (same as the original) and pressed in.
Reamed the ID of the bushing to almost zero clearance.
Chucked up the pivot bolt in the lathe and polished the surface the lever rotates on.
Drilled the side of the lever and installed a Zerk (grease) fitting.
R+R : )
If there had still been side-to-side play, I'd have turned back the shoulder on the pivot bolt or used a shim on the side.
It's all just production tolerances. That, and they were too cheap to put a grease fitting on the lever.
Way not rocket science. Anyone with a lathe could do it.
Not rocket science he says...
Hope this helps.
Mike
