Airhead GS Transshiftlever play

Hi, (hey Anton! ) I was wondering if you could tell me if my transmission is normal. I am getting a lot of play at the shift lever. Its not play in the ball joint, or lever itself- its in the small transmission arm, or rather, on the other side of it. It seems to move a great deal before engaging the chucks.
I'm trying to adjust the height properly, and it seems like the thing moves more than an inch at the pedal before resistance is felt, and then its the usual half or three quatrer inch snick into gear or so. Both up and down.

I would like to remove this, but there's no adjustment on the outside I can make do the trick.

:help!

Thanks

If there's too much play on the small lever which is sticking out the box, with the allanbolt tight, check if the bearing behind the seal is still ok.

If yes, it's time to open the box.

Paul.

Can't really tell what you mean.

If the self-centering action is really loose, the shifter return spring is broken. But if that's OK, and it engages the pawl properly, it sounds normal. Is this while riding the bike, or is the transmission out?

Everything is together on the bike. Sorry, its hard to describe myself clearly. I'll see if I cant get some video of it today.

I always hate to ask the obvious, but just in case - have you made sure the allen head bolt that holds the shift lever in the transmission is tight? Sounds like what would happen if it was slightly loose allowing the "V" coupling of the lever to the internal shaft to twist a little in both directions.

Yeah, first inclination was to make sure that was snugged. It seems to be all internal play.

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I just checked mine, it has the same play as yours, its just winter and you have too much time to mess with it and not enough time to just ride

Looks pretty normal. Why don't you put a rubber sleeve on it; I bet it'll feel different.

Agree - that looks about like the play in mine. While checking it, I measured and got 9mm free play in either direction at the ball joint on the transmsission lever. (In neutral)

Thanks- seems like it had been getting a bit out of hand lately, trying to get it into gear. NOt like it was resisting, hard to get in gear, but like it just kept never getting there kind of hard. Frickin deep knee bends to get it into second. Shift, damn you! Shift@!

I will try and put something rubberized on the footpedal.

This sounds odd, but look at your shifter adjustment.

On my ST, when I switched from my warmer weather boots to my cooler weather boots which have taller instep and toe boxes I was having to really jack my foot all around and way down with the toes for upshifts. Next outing I wore the warm weather boots to avoid the clumsy shifting. The upshifts remained as clumsy with those boots as with the winter boots. :huh

So I played with the adjuster and eventually set the toe lever to the best "higher" height. Shifting up or down is now perfect. Funny it took almost 2 years to discover that I needed to adjust the shifter position - especially since I switch back and forth between bikes constantly which should have made the clumsy position more noticeable much earlier.

BTW, this is the first bike I have ever seen with the shift linkage rod having right hand threads on both ends. Its nice in that it makes it impossible for the rod to unscrew itself and drop the center section on the road somewhere. But to adjust it one either has to disconnect one of the ball joints, or pull the shifter off the pivot and rotate the whole thing.

It may well be that the downwards movements is restricted by the exhaust. It looks tight. That could be your "hard to get into (1st) gear" problem. Adjust the lever upwards so that when down shifting into 1st, it isn't touching the pipe. About your 2nd: +1 on the rubber, you're missing a couple of mill's there.

But overall, looks ok to me!

Yes to both, I think I was playing with the adjustment... Its not hitting the pipe currently (unlike me :huh ) but it once was. It is now almost topped out. Just a few threads showing so I too have chosen the high level.

I have been having just the little bit of trouble with this whole lever, as of late. The weld at the bottom of the lever where it connects to the pivot tube had come undone, and I rewelded it back together. At some other earlier point the ball of the ball and socket had come unriveted and was also welded back together.
Both o these things had the result of the lower ball and socket joint separating in mid flight, and the lever dangling. Pain in the ass not to be able to shit gears.

As of now the socket is ever so egged out and the pivot tube is not so tight on the pivot. The doubleended threadedbolt is slightly bent and the small wire retainer is hanging on or dear life

I cant believe the whole thing is still together. That thing is a tribute to German engineering... the lowly shift linkage

ANyhow I can usually use the side of my boot to get it up a gear, and sometimes down, without having to get a whole foot under or over it, but it lately just seemed like it was taking 90deg of ankle rotation to engage and I thought damn this feels weird.

I almost wish i could move the ball close to the other end so it meant less pedal travel. Less pedal travel would be optimal. Shortening the pedal have the same effect but make other problems I'm trying to imagine what crap I have lying around that would make some rubber for that peg. An old inner tube, vulcanized somehow? hundred wraps of e-tape?

Maybe part 23 31 1 232 097, for less than $4?

we're all so used to rigging stuff that actually buying the right part never even gets considered as an option

you must have ridden a newer bike or an asian bike.

mine's the same. wear thicker boots and you won't notice.

OH CRAP YOU ARE RIGHT

the "take out your earplugs and discover the new noise" effect :eek1

NO doubt I'll have to modify it to fit

My play is the same too. Well, somewhat less due to the shortened lever I use

Not only that, both ball sockets are secured by pin locks which make it practically impossible for the ball to unseat itself from the socket.

I know what you mean and agree about the ball joint clips. Just for clarity, what I was referring to is other bikes I've had where the adjuster has right and left threads and works like a turnbuckle. I've seen it more than once on the track and amost had one on my Ducati unscrew itself after the lock nuts vibrated loose. Long enough between shifts, and suddenly the center link is disconnected or totally fallen off.

My ST can't do this because its right hand threaded at both ends - I presume its stock, unless a PO made up a new center link himself using two right hand ball joints. (I have found some other home-machine shop gadgets on this bike that have had to be "corrected", though.)