52 Twin gear change adjustment

[Ducdude]

Happy new year all,

I had noticed an on going issue with my twin getting her into first gear. Sometimes it would drop into gear like butter other times it would be a crunch fest still others it would engage and as soon as the throttle was treated with a heavy hand it would pop out of gear. So, I went into the starter cover and re checked the spacing in 2nd gear between the ratchet shaft G43 and the G59 and even though it looked ok I tweaked the G61 just a bit. I also adjusted the position of G49 with the eccentric G57 (counter clock wise) moving it a bit closer to fount of the bike, it was about a quarter turn.

The result was that first gear now seems to be an every time affair but 2nd and 3rd now seem to be more of an issue getting in gear.

Here are some data points:

With the motor not running the gear indicator lever can be made to move between all the gears easily with a bit of moving of the rear wheel. Once in the wheel is in a happy position the indictor can be moved with out touching anything else. The foot gear change lever can also be used to easily and positively move between the gears in this position.

With the motor running on the the rear stand all gears can also be selected with out issue.

The drive chain is on the looser side of adjustment

The Trans cam plate spindle was Loctited and race wired in place 2 years and 6000 miles ago. Checking the spindle by putting a finger on it I can feel the 1st gear engagement though the spindle but all the other gears pass with out transferring any feel to the spindle. With a dental mirror and light I also observed the spindle while the gears changed and there was zero observed motion of the spindle and the race wire is still intact.

I also adjusted the free play in the clutch lever to 2-3mm

Before I go back in and back off a bit on G57 I wanted to get any input on what else I could do or check or adjust to ease my shifting woes.
Any and all input is welcome.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Albervin]

How much free play do you have in the gear lever? If there is too much then look at the springs G64 and G70. I replaced them together with a new G49 and G57 last year and the improvement in gear changing was dramatic.

 

[Ducdude]

Thanks Alyn,

All listed parts are new. Well 5 years and 8000 miles or so ago they were new. There is not much free play in the gear lever. It looks like the rain will be gone in the morning and I will have a chance to get her out and flog here a bit. Though a bit chilly 7-8C should be just fine. I expect to find I will need to dial back G57 a bit if the rest of the adjustments do not address the issue...

Happy new year!

Eric

 

[greg brillus]

Eric, make sure also that the gear lever shaft assembly G66 AS has some end play in and out.....If it is tight at all it will hamper the shifting. You need to set up the G49 assembly before anything else, as this dictates the overall travel upward and downward plus the neutral position of the G66 AS and this has a large bearing on the alignment of the G 59 AS and the G 43 Ratchet. Adjustment of the G 61 is done last, but a middle position is a good starting point. It takes fine adjustments to get the shift working through all the gears correctly. With the kick start cover removed ,Put the serrated washer H13 back on the shaft and refit the gear lever, washers and nut, then carry out the adjustments. This way you can try selecting all the gears whilst rotating the back wheel, and make adjustments as you go. It is also helpful to temporarily refit the gear indicator pointer back onto the G 40 shaft so you can better see if the selection is ok, and you can rotate this shaft to and fro to make sure the selection is positive. Refit the cover and check over again. It is quite an interesting process to set it all up. Good luck................

 

[bmetcalf]

Remember to have the E80 nuts on the battery tray set correctly.

Hey, what other motorcycle has a battery tray that affects the transmission? Are we smart aficionados or what?

 

[Jim Richardson]

I did pretty much what Greg suggests, but in a brave moment I also cut the ears off of G61.
I removed the kick start cover, refitted the gear lever and indicator.
Selected the gear with the lever and then gently pushed the indicator, to check whether the plunger on the cam plate had gone fully home.
Then tweaked the various adjustments until it felt right, I was a bit concerned about it over throwing, but it hasn't been a problem.

 

[greg brillus]

You can bend the ears a bit, but need to be careful on the front one so it does not hit the kickstart quadrant. You sometimes need to dress the teeth on the G 43 ratchet if they are worn. It is better if it under shifts slightly rather than over shifting, because the rotating inertia of the cam plate will help it select the next gear.

 

[Ducdude]

Eric, make sure also that the gear lever shaft assembly G66 AS has some end play in and out.....If it is tight at all it will hamper the shifting. You need to set up the G49 assembly before anything else, as this dictates the overall travel upward and downward plus the neutral position of the G66 AS and this has a large bearing on the alignment of the G 59 AS and the G 43 Ratchet. Adjustment of the G 61 is done last, but a middle position is a good starting point. It takes fine adjustments to get the shift working through all the gears correctly. It is quite an interesting process to set it all up. Good luck................

Thank you very much Greg!
G66AS does indeed have some play in it so that bit is sorted. The hand book has the operation G59AS, G43 via G61 then G59AS but has no mention of rechecking the first operation. That said my G59AS adjustment was large enough that I noticed the change in the spacing of the ratchet and then reset G61 again. I think my issue was to much G59AS adjustment.

What is puzzling is that both the gear indicator and gear lever does positively select gears while sitting on the lift. It is only on the road that the issue in 2nd and 3rd not selecting shows up. It makes testing and readjustment difficult.

As I said in the original post with just the right position of the rear wheel the gear indicator can be made to sweep though all the gears with ease. In this condition the gear lever also with sweep though all the gears positively engaging each as it should. My question is it normal to have to find just the right position of the rear wheel to me able to allow the indicator to sweep though the gears one after an other?

As day breaks here the roads are drying off and the temp is heading to 7-8C. As soon as I can start the bike with out drawing small arms fire from my neighbors I will head out for a ride to see what is what. Expectation is I will be come back and have to re adjust the lot. All part of the fun Funny thing is I dream all year of this week where work does not get in the way of fixing the bikes.

Thanks again for your input.

Eric

 

[vibrac]

Ears are a good thing I think.
On the racer without a kickstart I had enough room to do the 1/4"BSF nuts brazed on their side trick, and with cap screw adjusters I could set the throw just right, when that LH kick start tunnel starter comes on line perhaps that's the way I will go for the alphabet twin.

 

[Ducdude]

I did pretty much what Greg suggests, but in a brave moment I also cut the ears off of G61.
I removed the kick start cover, refitted the gear lever and indicator.
Selected the gear with the lever and then gently pushed the indicator, to check whether the plunger on the cam plate had gone fully home.
Then tweaked the various adjustments until it felt right, I was a bit concerned about it over throwing, but it hasn't been a problem.

I still have my original G61 w/o the ears, perhaps I should reinstall it?

Thanks,
Eric