So thats were it was welded

[Kc9ojn]

Well I got the starter clutch fixed and the left side cover back on. And even did a happy dance . Well I got to an appointment and parked the old girl. After I came out and started her up and pulled away, well I put my heal on the shifter and hmmm, I could not shift up or down. Remembering that the guy I got the the old girl from he said he had some peace welded down by the shifter. I looked and could not find any weld marks. So I pulled over and looked. and this is what I found.

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o190/techee28714/Mobile%20Uploads/2014-10/20141027_122545.jpg

Well I have a parts bike so I was only slightly put out, So being well acquainted with that side of the bike from the clutch I pulled the left cover on the parts bike and switched the parts and now am ready to put the cover on. I had to buy a new gasket. That brings me to my next question the gasket is made of what seems to be rubber , I have read two trains of thought on this use a gasket seal and no gasket seal. So what do you all say.

[Snaggletooth]

The gasket its self is absolutely required on that cover for fit tolerance. Without it parts will bind.

 

A thin layer of silicon on at least one side of the gasket will help hold it on place during install and help in the in case you have to remove the cover again in the near future to make any "adjustments".

[Venturous Randy]

This is another reason I don't have a heel/toe shifter. They are known to cause the same breakage you encountered.

RandyA

[Neil86]

Just a heads up....the oil deflector washer that sits in the center of the cover is backwards....lip should face rotor bolt.

[Marcarl]

Looks like it could have happened when the cover was installed with the shifter knuckle in the down position. That will put stress on the bushing\channel of the cover and cause it to break. You may have done the same thing. Be sure that when you install the cover that the locator pins (bushings) are in place and that the knuckle behind the cover is in the up position. It likes to be in the down position and the cover will almost fit that way, but needs a bit of persuasion to finally seat. The cover should slip on easily, especially the last little bit. I never used anything but a gasket, and you will need the proper gasket, because as mentioned, it sets the proper clearance needed for the shafts on the inside.

[Kc9ojn]

Yup I watched for that pesky shifter thanks to you the last couple of times I had it off. But your right I do think the extra stress from the time I did not know to look for it and may have re broke the darn thing. He said it happend the first time when he was slamming gears. I may rev a bit but I don't slam gears anymore. I can't say the same for my 84, I was a bit younger and dumber back then. lol thank you all for the help. I am going to start another thread over in the Water N Hole ( Toe heel or no toe heel that is the question).

[lsutley]

This is what was found when the cover was removed from my rig. The weld repair did not reposition the pivot bushing correctly and made for stiffer shifting.

[Kc9ojn]

It looks stronger than the weld on my bike but ya, not real functional

[Kc9ojn]

How did yours brake

[dna9656]

I'm not into the toe heel thing; there is on one my Roadstar, I NEVER use the heel side as I'm afraid of un-intentional shifting due to bumps in the road. I know some people love it and some don't, and that's fine; it's just not for me.

[lsutley]

How did yours brake

 

I don't know the cause of them original repair as it was that way when I bought the bike. It had the heel/toe shifter and a set of floorboards installed and I thought the shifting issue was due to the heel/toe shifter. I did not know the cover had been welded until I began to investigate the poor shifting. I bought a new cover and replaced it when I did the starter clutch and stator upgrades. It all seems fine now and I did reinstall the heel/toe shifter. I believe that one could apply more force with the longer heel/toe shifter arms but that is a matter that is under the operators control.