Check the gear lever and shift linkage

Home mechanic (basic tools) · Time: 15 to 30 min (estimate)

The gear lever turns a shaft (the shift spindle) that comes out of the engine. Inside, the spindle turns a drum that moves the forks that select each gear. Many "gearbox" faults are really outside the engine: a bent lever, a loose clamp, a dry pivot or mud packed under the lever. This check finds those before anyone opens the engine. Some bikes have the lever clamped straight onto the spindle; others have a separate pedal on a pivot with a rod and ball joints (a linkage). Step-throughs often have a heel-and-toe pedal.

Safety

• Engine off, key out, bike on the centre stand or held upright on level ground.
• Keep fingers out of the chain and sprocket when you turn the rear wheel by hand.

You need

• Spanners or sockets for the clamp bolt and linkage nuts.
• A wire brush, degreaser and rags; grease for pivots.

Steps

1. Look at the lever from above and from the side. It should be straight, with its tip a little below the top of your boot when your foot is on the peg.
2. Check the lever does not touch the engine case, footpeg, frame or chain cover at either end of its travel. Clear any mud or stones packed under it.
3. Hold the lever near the spindle and try to move it without moving the spindle. Any movement means the clamp bolt is loose or the splines (the fine teeth that lock the lever to the spindle) are worn. See Refit or replace the gear lever.
4. Try to move the spindle in and out and up and down. A little end float is normal on some engines; clear wobble, or oil weeping around the spindle, means a worn bush or seal. That is a workshop job.
5. On a linkage, check each ball joint and rod end for play. Check the nuts are tight. Clean and grease the pedal pivot. A dry pivot makes the lever stiff and slow to return; see Service footpegs and foot pedals.
6. With the engine off, slowly move the lever up and down through the gears while you turn the rear wheel by hand. Each gear should click in. The lever should spring back to the middle on its own after each change.
7. If the lever does not spring back, take it off (mark its position first) and move the bare spindle with a spanner. If the spindle returns by itself, the problem is in the lever or linkage. If the spindle does not return, the return spring or spindle inside the engine is faulty; go to Assess internal gearbox faults.
8. Refit the lever on the same spline, tighten the clamp bolt firmly to your manual's torque, and check the full stroke again.

Check your work

• The lever is firm on the spindle, does not touch anything, and returns to the centre after every change.
• All gears select with the engine off while the wheel is turned.
• On a short ride, the lever moves its full stroke without your foot catching the peg.

If it did not fix the problem

• Gears still hard to select with the engine running: check the clutch first, Clutch drags, then Gears are hard to select.
• False neutrals or jumping out of gear continue: Assess internal gearbox faults.
• Oil leaks from around the spindle: Oil leaking from an engine side cover.