shift shaft

Discussion specific to the 1989 - 1994 (E Series) KDX200 model sold in the USA
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bac
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shift shaft

Post by bac »

I replaced the shifter hoping the original was the problem. The new shifter won't stay tight either. When I changed it out I could see that the splines were a little twisted but hoped that a new shifter would work. All that to say this : besides lucking out and finding the last existing NOS shaft what are my options? Surely that shaft is shared with another bike (kx125, etc)? I've considered milling a flat on it and modifying the shifter or something along those lines. Any bright ideas?
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bufftester
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Re: shift shaft

Post by bufftester »

Are sure its the shaft and not the shift lever? IME the shift lever splines wear quick, especially when not tightened and checked periodically. On my original one the shift lever threads were soft and the bolt wouldn't stay tight, so I ran a bolt all the way through and secured it with a nylock nut, never had another problem with it.
bac
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Re: shift shaft

Post by bac »

i tried using a long bolt and nut (with the orig shifter) but that didn't work- still came loose after riding 30 mins or so.

i then noticed that the slot on the new shifter collapsed before shifter got tight on the shaft. i milled out the slot some but decided to go a step further. i put some JB Weld on the splines then installed the shifter. i used the long bolt and added a nut after getting the bolt as tight as i thought safe. after 17 mi of rough single-track its still tight.

i dont think there is enough jbweld there to prevent removal of the shifter if need be. also it probably wasn't clean enough for it to bond real well either. the purpose of it was just to take up the space of the damaged/worn splines. it may be that opening up the slot was what did the trick or adding the jam nut. maybe the combo of all three actions. regardless, it seems to be fixed.
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SS109
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Re: shift shaft

Post by SS109 »

I've seen some aftermarket shifters that don't tighten down properly because of the gap (like you mentioned) not being big enough. I've had to sand/file the gap to get them to tighten down properly. I also use some blue loctite on the clamping bolt/nut to keep it from coming loose. The second nut like you used accomplishes the same, though, so you should be good. The JB Weld concerns me a bit but will have to wait and see on that one.
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