Gear Lever Spline/Shaft

[Fieldie]

G'day Everyone!

I bought my bike (1997 KDX200-H3) off ebay a year ago or so for AUD $900. She has slowly been cleaned up & all little problems are being fixed. (I plan on keeping the bike for single track rides with mates & putting around the paddock with the kids...)

She did come with the gear lever being welded on. The lever was removed & shaft cleaned up to the best of my ability

A new steel gear lever was purchased through local Kawasaki dealer and since installed was never really functioning well, slipping on the shaft... I skimmed the inside gap with a grinder for it to close further to suit the small diameter of the shaft which worked okay until I put my riding boots on. I too resorted to welding the lever on (poory - I'm crap at welding!) which also worked well until the boots came out...

My question is do I bite the bullet & have the local shop install a new shaft? If so, how many hours should it take them to do it if I remove engine from bike & take it in to them?
Is the use of metal putty or the like a suitable solution that will stand up to a size 13 boot in the heat of battle?

Cheers for viewing my topic!

Seats

[dfeckel]

The shift shaft is a pretty easy part to remove and replace. You have to take a few things apart, but it's not too bad. First, drain your coolant and remove the hoses from your water pump. (or just pop off your water pump cover, leaving the hoses attached). Take off your outer clutch cover and clutch assembly (you'll need an impact wrench to get the main clutch holding nut off). Then remove your inner clutch cover. Make sure you grind enough of the weld residue off the shaft so it will be able to pass through the cases, and slide the shift shaft out to the clutch side. Then slip in the new and reassemble. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't too bad, especially if you have access to the online manual.

If you have a shop do the labor, I would expect them to charge for at least one hour, probably two. If you are not too handy with tools, you might need a whole afternoon if you take your time. Oh, and you definitely do NOT have to remove the engine from the frame to replace the shift shaft.

Also, I don't think there's any metal putty that will stand up to the abuse. If you really want to cheap out on it, just have a good welder reattach it and hope you never have to split the cases!

[scheckaet]

+1.
get the manual, a case of beers and a free week end if it's your 1st time.
The hardest part would be for me getting the clutch assembly out since I don't have an impact wrench, everything else is easy. Just take your time, step away if you get frustrated and ask if you have any questions.

[Mr. Wibbens]

You can find good shift rods on ebay, I paid $15 for mine

[Julien D]

+2

Great post David

[Fieldie]

AWESOME work Guys!!!!!!!!!! I thought it was going to be a much bigger job than that - ie split the case...
I got my brand new service manual on Wednesday but haven't had a chance to read through it yet.
I will definately have a go myself though the absence of an impact wrench may cause a little grief.

Cheers Guys! Your words of wisdom have inspired enthusiastic action!!!!

Seats

[scheckaet]

I think last time I used a cheater extension bar and jammed something (piece of wood) in the sprocket to keep it from spinning while in gear and using the rear brake to unlock the clutch nut.

[Julien D]

Yup, use a high gear and either put a long extension, breaker bar, or lug wrench through a hole in the sprocket to stop against the swingarm, careful not to bend any spokes!!

[Mr. Wibbens]

My first time I used a craftsman strap wrench to hold the flywheel and a 1/2 drive wrench

[Fieldie]

Silly question...
Is the clutch nut a normal thread? ie lefty loosey & righty tighty?

[scheckaet]

normal

[dfeckel]

I usually use the old impact wrenchee for the clutch nut, but another way you can lock things up is to get a short length of nylon rope, like a piece of climbing rope or similar size, and thread it into the cylinder through the spark plug hole. Turn the clutch ccw until the rising piston smooshes some of the rope against the head and locks everything up. Loosen the clutch nut, then turn the clutch cw a bit so you can retrieve the rope. It also works great for removing the flywheel nut and the nut holding the crank output gears. Here's a pic of me doing it on my Husky.

[dfeckel]

Oh, and my hand's not really that small--it's my son's when he was 7.

(It's hard to believe the Husky was EVER that clean...)

[Fieldie]

I'm about to order the shaft through local Kawasaki dealer - you've gotta support the local...
Would it be best to order all the other parts - springs & collars - while I have the belly open, or are these parts pretty robust?????
(Bike has only done about 5000 km (3100 miles) if the odometer reading can be believed - although we have all ridden bikes with broken odo gear until we could get time to fix it)

[Fieldie]

You can find good shift rods on ebay, I paid $15 for mine

$15 - I wish!!! I couldn't find any on ebay (USA or AUS) & our local dealer in Aust is chasing AUD68 for the shaft. With it being riding season down here I have ordered the part to get back on track so to speak

Having surfed the www heaps of late, I have found alot of the cycle parts sites in USA won't ship internationally outside Canada, Hawaii & Puerto Rico.
Has anyone detail of a web based parts company that will ship to Australia?

Thanks again everyone!!!!

[Mr. Wibbens]

Bummer

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/KDX200-K ... 3648wt_722


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Kawasaki ... _500wt_735

[Fieldie]

Awesome!!!! Thank you very much!!!!

[Coop]

My first time I used a craftsman strap wrench to hold the flywheel and a 1/2 drive wrench

Before I got air tools I used to use an old fan belt and vicegrips to clamp the belt together to hold the clutch. The rope idea is a good one, I know few folks who do that.

[Fieldie]

Project is underway - leaving the beers alone for just now but the case is in the fridge ready to go... (less 6 from last night)

Right hand side cover is off & I'm ready to take the clutch out.
Question is what size is the holding nut for the clutch? It's smaller than 24mm. 22mm?
I can't see the nut size in my manual & I will need to go buy a socket to suit.

[Mr. Wibbens]

I use an sae size, can't remember what it is