1150GSA Intermittent downshift

[French Adventure]

My '03 1150 GSA has recently developed intermittent downshift. It appears that the return bias is not raising the the lever high enough to allow the next downshift gear to be selected - can anyone shed some light?

It's fine on the way up.

 

[John Armstrong]

I've had it recommended to me to change the gearbox oil each 6000 miles service when my old GS occasionally dropped from 6th to 5th. Certainly worked for me.

 

[G.C.]

Did you mange to resolve this? I’m having similar problems.
I thought that it might be all the winter crud under the ACF 50 but have cleaned the bike and the downshift problem is still there.
It’s when I need to change down through the box, 2 or 3 gears at a time. Double clutching and “assertive” boot work is required.
Any ideas?

 

[Bigtwin]

Take the gear lever apart and clean it, greasing the ball jointy thing and where it goes through the hanger.

That's what it is, trust me.

 

[G.C.]

So it is all the winter crud then.
Thanks for the advice, thats this evening taken care of then.

 

[G.C.]

That's what it is, trust me.

That hasn’t helped I'm afraid.
I striped it, cleaned it, removed both ball joint thingies, greased them and reassembled.
Jumped on the bike with high hopes and its just as bad.

When French Adv said this….

It appears that the return bias is not raising the the lever high enough to allow the next downshift gear to be selected - It's fine on the way up.

That’s a good description of what's happening, I'm having to raise the gear lever a bit with my boot before it will engage the next gear down.
Still the gear lever got a good clean.

 

[Bigtwin]

That hasn’t helped I'm afraid.
I striped it, cleaned it, removed both ball joint thingies, greased them and reassembled.
Jumped on the bike with high hopes and its just as bad.

When French Adv said this….

Did you clean the pivot point thoroughly and grease - I had to use emery cloth on mine to get it to turn freely (should have told you that before - sorry), and clean the area where the lever enters the gearbox?

It could be conincidence, but I've had to do mine twice (year round commuter) and on both occasions the symptoms were exactly as you describe...

 

[G.C.]

Ill strip it down again and give it a more thorough clean, I didnt clean the area where the lever enters the gearbox, it doesnt fit in the kitchen sink
Ill do that and report back.
I used a high performance grease but not emery cloth. Is that the same as a fine emery paper?

 

[Bigtwin]

Ill strip it down again and give it a more thorough clean, I didnt clean the area where the lever enters the gearbox, it doesnt fit in the kitchen sink
Ill do that and report back.
I used a high performance grease but not emery cloth. Is that the same as a fine emery paper?

It will do. I found that the "bearing" where the lever goes through the hanger was very furred up, and needed a good rub and ream to get it to move freely when greased. You have to take it apart - i.e. knock the centre out then clean it up.

Completly changed the feel of the box though once done.

 

[Snooky]

If you have a Y piece fitted it can be removed easily if not it is a pain getting the allen key in to undo the bolt, but remove this and lube the bearing and should be fine, had mine done under warranty a while back, but happened again so did it myself.
You can help it along with a little oil, but it won't really get in there fully, best remove clean and grease it up

 

[G.C.]

Jobs a good un.
I gave everything a really good clean. Soaked the 2 bush's and they felt completely different after that. I think that was the main problem.
Its like a new gearbox now.
Thanks for the pointers. I love a happy ending

 

[askew piste]

Thanks for this thread, just came off the motorway, 6th gear , it would not change down as i approached roundabout. after much flicking around i got the bike into third and had to pull away slipping clutch because lights changed.

Search on here, had a look at the gear linkage, had black dirt on all joints, sprayed some wd40 on it and wiped away crud, changed very smoothly now.

Thanks everyone!!

Adam

 

[askew piste]

Thought putting a bit of wd40 on it was sorting the problem, but it was because the bike was cooling down and it wasn't so stiff. When the bike gets hot the exhaust system drys out all the moisture in the lever making it even stiffer. In the end i :

Removed the shock adjuster
Removed the 3 bolts holding the foot peg on.
Made sure I didn't touch the any other parts of the bike as larger of the bolts was holding up the Sub Frame and i didnt want it to drop.

Theres a little clip that u have to unclip that keeps the lever connected to the linkage, it pops into a little hole when you put it back in.

Then once the hanger and lever are disconnected, used a blow torch to loosen the locktite that is holding the small allen key bolt in. Took it apart, cleaned it up.

Its all good now!