Transmission Woes

Loktera

.040 Over
Joined
May 18, 2019
Messages
71
Location
Georgia
Ride
2005 RIII
I thought I'd get a little input before I go tearing things apart in a more serious manner.

A couple months ago, I was riding around when I tried to shift from 3rd to 4th. I engaged the clutch and pulled up on the lever, just to feel... not quite a full click. Oh, I'm still in 3rd - I try again, to no avail and no click. Just a floppy lever in both directions, stuck in 3rd gear.

From reading up in a few threads this does not seem like a detent spring issue, but probably a bolt in the transmission working it's way loose. Am I right in my assessment of the situation, and should I take any preliminary steps to check other things before I go tearing the bike down completely to get at that bolt?
 
I thought I'd get a little input before I go tearing things apart in a more serious manner.

A couple months ago, I was riding around when I tried to shift from 3rd to 4th. I engaged the clutch and pulled up on the lever, just to feel... not quite a full click. Oh, I'm still in 3rd - I try again, to no avail and no click. Just a floppy lever in both directions, stuck in 3rd gear.

From reading up in a few threads this does not seem like a detent spring issue, but probably a bolt in the transmission working it's way loose. Am I right in my assessment of the situation, and should I take any preliminary steps to check other things before I go tearing the bike down completely to get at that bolt?
I'll vote for the detent spring due to floppiness
 
The floppy lever in both directions tells me that you're right that the bolt connecting the shift components has fallen out.
But the detent is on the way in, so if you find that first you will know if you need to go further.
Pull the front Engine cover off first before you disassemble the bike to inspect.
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Does it fall out of that 3rd gear when you left off throttle? You can change gears with a broke detent spring but you have to hold in gear youre in or it will fall out. what year is your bike? And you say floppy shift lever as in so floppy its not connnected to the selector drum? Thats the bolt that cooter two had come loose a few months back, but explain more especially about the floppy part
 
Does it fall out of that 3rd gear when you left off throttle? You can change gears with a broke detent spring but you have to hold in gear youre in or it will fall out. what year is your bike? And you say floppy shift lever as in so floppy its not connnected to the selector drum? Thats the bolt that cooter two had come loose a few months back, but explain more especially about the floppy part
I rode it home in 3rd. Couldn't change gears and it stayed in gear the whole time. Floppy as in it will return to the center point like it would normally, but I don't get a click like I'm shifting gears if I move the lever up and down. Just a smooth action, then return to center.

Perhaps floppy is a bad descriptor, as I'm now realizing that might describe a lever that would just fall down instead of returning to center.
 
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I still say detent spring, but as @Paul Bryant said, it is easiest to check that first.

The first time mine broke it was stuck in 1st gear. Fortunately it was not too far to ride home in 1st gear. The second time it happened it changed gear okay but would jump out of 3rd and 4th gears if I didn't keep pressure on the gear lever. I rode home across the USA from the west coast to the east coast that way.
 
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