Gear shift lever bolt

Turbo DV8

Turbo DV8

0
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Messages
114
Location
Silicon Valley
I read of a few people who's gear shift lever fell off, so I went to make sure mine was secure. I noticed one of the two grease seals was exposed out of it's seat, so I am thinking the bolt may have backed out a bit. Cleaned the old grease, applied new grease, and cleaned the threads up and put a bit of blue thread lock on the thread and put the bolt through the shifter and the washer between the shifter and frame. In tightening the bolt, however, I noticed there is no step or such on the bolt to stop the torqueing of the bolt at the proper location, like there is on my CBR250. One can just keep tightening the bolt to the point which feels snug, but this equates to a binding shifter. One may back out the bolt a bit until the shift action is easy, but the bolt is nearly free-wheeling at that point, and the only thing keeping it from backing out more is the thread lock. It's hard to believe this is normal. Or, is it?
 
The original bolt has a deep shoulder that bottoms when it's all the way in. By the way, another NT friend had that bolt fall out while on a ride.
 
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I have had this bolt loosen twice. Both were after SAD incidents. It IS quite a shock to go for a shift and find nothing there. Both times I did not lose the bolt so I just screwed it back in and tightened until I could turn it any more. Seem like it must have some sort of shoulder or something to bear on so the shifter does not bind.
 
The shoulder I mentioned is slightly wider than the width of the shift lever bearing surface.
 
I keep an eye on mine and use Blue Loctite on the threaded part. I also ordered a spare bolt from Honda and keep it in my tool kit.
 
I had mine fall out on the way to ride support for a bicycle event. I used my friend, electrical tape, a twist tie and an allen wrench to get through the day. It was a little less precise, but got me through long ride at 25 mph (I road about 100 miles) and the ride home. I now carry a bolt with me, but after the new bolt and tread lock it not had issue.
 
Thanks for that link. Looking at that diagram, that is my bolt and that is my washer, but for some reason before it seats, it binds the shifter when I tighten it. Have to look closer. Maybe just need to use a slightly thicker washer.
 
I took it apart again, and all parts seemed right. Used a micrometer to measure various spacings, and could see no reason why it would bind. When I put it back together again, all was magically as it should be. My guess is that perhaps a part of one of the seal lips out of sight wasn't seated, and was getting squished.
 
Had to happen to me! On a return group ride yesterday, I attempted to downshift and NO SHIFTER! Looked down and see the shifter lever 'flopping' around beneath the bike. Luckily we were maintaining a good clip of 50 mph and I was in 5th. I'm in the back of the group so I'm running different scenarios as to what to do IF I need to stop really quick and/or what am I going to do. The guy behind me (our sweeper) sees the shifter so at least I'll have someone to see IF the problem gets worse. He calls ahead to the Road Captain and a few miles down the road, the group stops. Using only the brakes and the clutch I stop and we assess the situation. Yup, the bolt is GONE, shifter hanging by the shifting rod. Using some Southern/Yankee engineering, we use a few zip ties to put it back together, I'm underway again. Got off the secondary roads here in Florida and get on the Intra-state. Less shifting necessary ... just staying ahead of traffic @ 70+ mph. Made it home, in one piece, and looked up the needed parts online so come Tuesday I get to go to Honda with my laundry list. Definitely going to invest a little lock-tite when I put his this back together!
 
Add me to the list. I was just coming into Twin Falls, ID, when I wanted to downshift at a traffic light.

Wow! That is a thrill to find no shift lever!

Like everyone else, mine was still there, so I screwed it on the best I could, made it to my motel, then found a Lowe's nearby and bought some Blue LocTite. That was two years ago and its been fine since then.
 
I had to use a hex wrench, and electric tape for a ride once. Bolt fell on way to bicycle event, 4 hours of riding in race then 35 miles home. It worked good enough to get by but I now have a extra bolt kit. Best thing is to have backup of something and you never need it: what you don't have will break away from home.
 
Parts arrived yesterday and installed today ... everything is looking good! (Made sure I used a little Loc-tite this time AND some lube on the bolt).
 
I got really close to losing mine yesterday. Didn't notice anything unusual on my ride to work, but when I gave the left side a quick glance before heading home I noticed that the bolt was very loose, about 1 remaining engaged thread. I got it to finger-tight and made the ride back home keeping an eye on it, it seemed to stay well in place as long as the engine stayed below ~4500-5000 rpm. Above 5k is would back out visibly within a mile. Shifting and road bumps didn't seem to bother it much.
 
The bolt fell out on a couple of friend's NTs including one guy from Cleveland who was at our NT Gathering in May. I checked the tightness of that bolt periodically although I've never used Loctite on it. A few months ago, the shifter bolt on my NT fell out just as I left a stoplight and luckily one of my friends saw it fall onto the road. I resolved to fix it so took a hand grinder to the footpeg mounting piece to make room for a nut and that did the deed.

shifter bolt, 2.jpg

ps. I did put Loctite on the nut but not on the threads in the footpeg mount which I honestly don't trust.
 
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With the footpeg mount unmodified, the pivot bolt barely protrudes out but not all the way 'round. If you drilled the threaded end of bolt for safety wire, you'd still have to grind away some of the footpeg mount to even see the hole.

My first idea was to drill it and use a small cotter pin & flat washer but I ground more clearance so I could use a nut. :)
 
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