Shift lever won't clamp down

[pyre127]

I was riding my Buell last summer and the shift lever disappeared from under my foot when I tried to change gears. I pulled over and checked it out, and the lever had rotated downwards to about the 7 'o clock position. I pulled it back up to where it should be and limped the bike home. When I got there, I tried to tighten the lever down, but as tight as I could get it wasn't good enough. It still slips on the shaft. Reading other forum posts, I'm anticipating doing a shift pawl adjustment to correct any shifting problems that seem to occur when this slippage happens, but I'm also wondering what to do about the shift lever itself. Is there some sort of shim or something to eliminate the free play/slipping, or should I just buy a new shift lever? I'm even contemplating drilling a small hole between the inner shift "collar" and the lever, and then putting a round pin in it. Thoughts/feedback, anyone?

 

[UMDterp13]

^ that would work but it definitely hurts value if you have to sell it.

Probably stripped the aluminum clamp teeth off. Or bad shifter shaft?

If you need to buy some used parts, I should have them. PM or find my info through other parts threads

 

[jimijeans]

My XB 12R shaft was fine on the splines so when the Threads on the shifter bolt striped out in the shifter adapter that tightens up on the Shifter Shaft,, I just put in a longer 10/24 stainless Bolt and put lock nut on the bolt going all the way through the Shifter adapter at the bottom so it would tighten up on the Shifter shaft coming out of the Primary Case. This is why Speed Shifting is not good for these bikes. Hopefully the Shafts Splines on the Shaft is still good. Maybe this will help. Good Luck. Jimi

 

[jetlee]

^ that would work but it definitely hurts value if you have to sell it.

Probably stripped the aluminum clamp teeth off. Or bad shifter shaft?

It wouldn't hurt value.

Blasts have a very different shifter than XB's. On the shaft is a bushing. The outer surface of that bushing is smooth. The lever then clamps onto this smooth bushing with a bolt.

Here's a decent photo for reference:

Slipping shift levers are nothing new to Blasts. The most common fixes are:
-Align gap in lever and bushing and insert shim
-Drill/trap hole in lever for set-screw against bushing
-Rear-set pegs and shift linkage