From overheating to cant change down the gears

[BroLy]

Persistence, that's what true lovers have when they find obstacles/problems on their bikes/transformations.

[jbalat]

My persistence is in slow gear...

I have taken up bicycle riding now and really loving it. Even if I get the RZ up and going I cant imagine riding it in to work on a regular basis. All that lane splitting and bumper to bumper traffic will drive me insane.

I have a nice bike track almost 90% of the way with lots of great scenery and fresh air. I average 32km/hr which is much faster than my car in peak hour.

My (mechanic) brother said he will help me get the RZ going so we can put it on ebay. Just hope I do it before the next Rego comes around.

[jbalat]

Update.... Rego payed once again and bike is still sitting in the same spot in the garage. I'd say tyres and battery would need changing for sure by now. My brother has one of my pipes but has yet to weld up the crack.

2 things that still bother me about the gear change problem.

1. After I stopped to fill the tank and could not change back to neutral it was almost impossible to re-start the motor with the clutch pulled in even after adjusting the cable to get more throw. This may indicate something broken the clutch. If there is something broken in there would this make it impossible to change down the gears yet easy to change up ?

2. The drive gear for the water pump is not keyed and sits on a slightly curved washer. I have done the nut up very tight, should this be left slightly loose.

I know I am slack but after seeing some guy make over $500K on a Fort GT I am thinking this bike may actually be worth something one day, so I am not in any rush...

PS. Still riding the pushbike although with the cold weather its now only once or twice a week.

[Shaftoflame]

Clutchless up changes are loads easier than down. Going up you just need to drop the power for a moment - a quick shifter works by cutting the ign for tenths of a second as you press the lever and click the gear goes in, on a down shift you need to match the engine and the gearbox rpm to get a down change. So a nerfed clutch would allow up but not down changes. At a standstill you should be able to pop through the gears with just a little rocking of the bike to get them meshing as you go up and down.

R

[ross]

Hi,

compared to most here, I know very little, but I do know how to get the gearbox apart (I took mine out last night). But there's something I find alarming. You say that when you drained the gearbox oil, there was a load of chewed up aluminum in it. Then, you tried various different oils to get the 'box to work correctly ?

Personally... it sounds like its damaged to me... but what do I know.

Taking the gear shafts out doesn't seem so big of a deal (now), but I did recall reading somewhere that you need the engine out first. It's also not really a true cassette gearbox, but that's small beer compared to the peripherals you need to take off to get the shafts out.

Maybe I'm just a coward, but if I thought my gearbox was on the way out, I would probably avoid going above a walking pace...

Values on these 500s are on the up, but bear in mind that the cost in fixing the 'box is probably less than you'll lose by selling something with alloy filings dropping out !

[jbalat]

I hear you Ross.
I wish I had time to do it.

Basically the gearbox was running fine even with the chewed up bits of aluminium from the side casing.

I replaced the nut for the water pump, cleaned everything up and now the gears dont change.

Admittedly I did give it quite a few hits to get the nut off, and I did try jamming a cloth between the gears to try to unscrew the nut to no avail.

Not sure what I upset but I can assure you the aluminium filings have nothing to do with it

[jbalat]

Just wanted to post back 9 years later and say my brother finally found the time to fix my bike. Basically the gear change issue was actually tracked back to a sticky clutch. At the same time we did a first oversize rebore and new pistons and seals.

cant believe I found this old post

[silverstrom]

Nice to hear the end of the story. Thanks for posting.