Sloppy wobbly gear lever fix

[Esmerelda]

Sunday (10:00 hours) and it has taken more tea than usual to rehydrate my system. I am not sure how Saturday night came to a close!  I know it kicked off with a bang as Rossi sticks the Yam on pole in Valencia!  Cause for celebration in our household .  I look to the other side of the kitchen at the two empty bottles of Rioja and one empty Sicilian red:  it's a merciful relief that he hasn't managed it at every round.  So, what to do with far too much residual alcohol in the bloodstream to go for a ride .  I head for the workshop in search of something to take my mind off the rhythm section beating out revenge in my front temporal lobe .  At times like this I like to make something on my lathe;  I find the  whole process very relaxing.  Taking a piece of material and turning it into a part for your motorcycle gives immense satisfaction.   I have two V Stroms (an 02) see 'Resusitating the old dog thread banished to the Blue Oyster Bar'   and also my recently purchased 08 Strom  and it is the  sloppy, wobbly gear lever on the 08 that's going to get sorted today:  

First I take out the rusty pinch bolt from the linkage, then the sloppy circlip and the rusty washer. I then  remove the gear shift linkage and unscrew the arbour from the foot rest mount. I measure up all and it's in a pretty sorry state:  the bush in the lever is worn oval  and the arbour is worn in a very strange fashion  .  Pathetic really; the bike is an 08 reg ans has only done 21,000.  How hard is it to lubricate pivot points?   Even the slackest service joint goes round squirting white grease on lever pivots and footrest pins and brake and gear linkages, just to make it look like something has been done   !
I decided on the best way to increase the  bearing surface in the gear lever pivot and control the side float:  I pressed out the worn bushing from the lever and discarded the worn arbour (that rinky-dink circlip set-up never did it for me)
 


Then I turned up a  Top Hat bearing/spacer with a simple grease well in the centre, allowing enough clearance for the grease and just enough end float to prevent the gear lever from binding.


 

Lube the new pivot assembly with water resistant grease,  secure the whole lot back to the foot rest mount with a 10mm stainless washer and a good quality shock mounting bolt and a new stainless pinch bolt for the linkage.



Don't you just love it when a plan comes together
 
Regards
Esme

Ps.  The crap quality plaiting on the rear wheel spacers was grating on my tender nerve endings so I made a stainless replacement for the LHS rotter RHS to follow,

[tallpaul]

Very nice work(wo)manship! You need to start selling those bushes and spacers! What lathe are you using?

[SimonW]

....  I look to the other side of the kitchen at the two empty bottles of Rioja and one empty Sicilian red:  ... So, what to do with far too much residual alcohol in the bloodstream to go for a ride ...  At times like this I like to make something on my lathe

Sorry, have I read this right? You like to operate big, scary, life-changing machinery when you're pissed? Yikes!  

[mjc506]

Beautiful work

[Esmerelda]

Hi Paul
Thanks for the acknowledgement and the compliment.  

What lathe are you using?

My machine is a Clarke CL500M  it’s a lathe and Mill in one machine ,  they are far from a top quality precision machine (Chinese manufacture ) when you get them out of the crate  but spend a little time on the initial setup  and they are more than adequate  for a hobbyist  workshop tool.

Regards
Esme

[greywolf]

I love mods like this. I wish I had access to tools like that. The shifter side is pretty easy to grease by hand. The brake side, not so much. Some might want to add a grease fitting on the shifter side too as well as centre stand pivots.

Plastics off 026 by Greywolf, V-Strom rider, on Flickr

[Esmerelda]

Sorry, have I read this right? You like to operate big, scary, life-changing machinery when you're pissed? Yikes!

Simon
if opperating a lathe with a hangover seems risky to you    I daren't mention what I used to get up to in in the dark distant past after a chemical supper  

 Thanks
MJC 506

Greywolf
Good call on fitting the grease nipples I just ordered some .

Regards
Esme

[iansoady]

Looks like a super mod and one I will copy when I finish making spacers for my Triumph. On my antique Granville (Myford copy).........

[tallpaul]

On my antique Granville (Myford copy).........

I had to look that one up!
http://www.lathes.co.uk/granville/

I will soon be taking custody of my dad's "Keighley lifts mk1 ". That's ancient too!

Sorry for the hijack Esme!

[Esmerelda]

It  does not matter what age a lathe is as long as the head bearings are in good condition, just  keep it well lubed,  spend some time adjusting the carriage and the cross slide. make sure the tail stock is centred    . Purchasing your lathe is just the begging, I have spent almost as much again on tooling. Whatever the satisfaction gained from manufacturing a part for your bike makes it all worthwhile.
I signed up for an Engineering course of evening classes at the local collage when I purchased mine, Milling and Turning great experience.  I met a group of friendly helpful chaps building really beautiful steam engines, seems they signed up for the course every term just to access the equipment!  If you are just starting out pick up a copy of  The Amateur'sLathe  by L.H. Sparey  full of excellent information.
Finished the rear wheel spacers last night.    

Regards
Esme

[iansoady]

Just to continue the hijack slightly - my Granville cost me a couple of hundred quid some 20 years ago and has given sterling service - it's fine for screwcutting etc (although I don't have a metric changewheel) but struggles a bit on parting off especially stainless etc where it chatters as it's not very rigid. Light cuts and shallow feed generally get the job done. The bearings are bronze bushes with little oiling cups which are fine and I spent hours getting it level and making sure the bed wasn't twisted. Mind you I should really check it.......

I've just been making some front spring abutments and fork shroud spacers for the 5TA on it.

I absolutely agree about the Sparey book - it and Tubal Cain's thread book are indispensable. I can't remember which suggests setting the top slide over by half the thread angle for screwcutting but it results in perfect threads.

I'd always encourage people to think about getting a lathe - mine gets far more use than I would have thought and it's very therapeutic.

[tallpaul]

I can't remember which suggests setting the top slide over by half the thread angle for screwcutting but it results in perfect threads.

That is the way I was taught as an apprentice. It also helps that text thread is generated by putting a cut on with the compound slide and you just work to a zero on the cross slide when returning for the next pass. Saves needing a pitching indicator on the saddle too!