Gearshift lever binding -- downshift from 2nd to 1st

Started up/rode the `71 Beast/first trip home this evening, 30 miles on a crowded I-66 West out of Georgetown & beyond after a Winter overhaul stemming from a fork-in-the-road accident last Fall. Everything down to frame, top/bottom ends, superblends,-- rebalanced crank (which needed it) -- pistons, rings, bearings -- gearbox (which needed it 2) -- wheels, tires, brakes, forks, etc etc. CG did a first class job -- started/ran 2nd kick. Engine strong & smooth; steering/handling solid.

I am having trouble in normal downshifting from 2nd to 1st. Whereas normal shift lever operation is to rotate/move the shift pawl -- and then spring back slightly to engage for the next movement, this shift lever "sticks" back on 2nd after shifting from 3rd to 2nd, and I have to manually rock/rotate it slightly forward to be able to then continue shifting back through neutral down to 1st. All other gearing/shifts/operation work without hesitation.

Any ideas/experience in this area of downshifting "stickiness" -- specifically from 2nd-to-1st out there?

Greetings,
A couple of years ago I installed the recommended layshaft roller bearing, during the first ride after the installation I experienced very stiff shifting. I thought, oh great musta misaligned something, but a short time afterward things somehow worked loose and started working fine. Give it a few miles and see what happens, a stiff ratcheting mechanism for whatever reason won't cause damage to the rest of the transmission. Being that the ratchet mechanism is right there under the outer cover if yours does not "loosen up" soon at least it will be easy to investigate/repair. BTW, during your mishap, did you happen to lay it down on the right side?????

GB

"...during your mishap, did you happen to lay it down on the right side?????"

Click to expand...

Negative.... As I was coming around a (very-well-previously-calibrated) tight descending turn on a forested two-lane near Clifton, Virginia, what should appear but a 1-inch layer of pine needles blown into the road by a zealous homeowner. At that point it was all over but the shouting.

Straight Into the right-side shallow ditch which ended 20 feet later in a large boulder ...at which point the bike upended into catapult mode. I landed another 20 feet forward of where the bike stopped, and the bike stopped upside down and backwards straight into an embankment.

The front fork was pretzeled, the rear of the frame bent straight down into the tire, and the left side panel/battery was laying across the road -- and that was it. Damnedest thing I ever saw. Two points of violent contact sufficient to dramatically/permanently bend steel both front & rear, smash through the steering stop/punch into the fiberglass tank.... and not another scratch. I was able to put pieces/battery back together, crowbar the fender to (just) clear the rubber, tape over the tank hole ....and the engine started. Ten miles back home with the (very bent) handlebars pointing one way & the front wheel another, all connected into a solidly bent/frozen front suspension while shaving the tread off the rear tire.

BEFORE:


At that point (36,000 miles and severely bent everything) it was time to listen to God telling me to strip it down and start from the bottom ...beginning w/ a new/`73 frame

AFTER:


So far so good... and your observation that the gear-shift lever might ought to free up as I run-in the rest of the rebuilt engine/gearbox over the next several hundred miles gives me hope (and agrees w/ what CG though as well.) Meanwhile I'm getting real good at fast double-tapping.
:twisted:

(ps: That's the formerly ugly green metal tank from Ebay a coupla months ago. It was a mess to clean up, but worth it.)

MEHAVEY said:

am having trouble in normal downshifting from 2nd to 1st. Whereas normal shift lever operation is to rotate/move the shift pawl -- and then spring back slightly to engage for the next movement, this shift lever "sticks" back on 2nd after shifting from 3rd to 2nd, and I have to manually rock/rotate it slightly forward to be able to then continue shifting back through neutral down to 1st.

Click to expand...

I think one possibility could be that the gear position indicator pointer is binding against end of the shift pedal shaft?
Or possibly the ratchet spindle which drives the pointer may be binding inside the pedal shaft? There's an O-ring on the spindle which may need replacing?

Have you renewed your selecter spring, the one that holds the pivoting pawl?
A friend & I both had the same problem with some new ones a few years ago, Ok changing up, kept getting stuck changing down. We put our original springs back in & it was fine. The bend didn't seem right on the new ones.

I thought I might have the dummy solution there in front of me with the gear indicator pointer binding agaisnt the case, but the Gods weren't smiling on me.

We did put a new selector spring in and that may in fact be the problem. I'll give it until my 500-mile break-in oil swap to iron itself out, then I'll open things back up again and go for a new/old spring. It's gotta be that simple. :roll: