1st gen broken shift shaft

[Reddy702]

So I'm pretty sure that my shift shaft is broken I have a '89 with the floorboard and heel toe shifter is this a common thing or what?

[Chaharly]

Shaft is probably fine, looks like you need a new stator cover. 

[Reddy702]

Nah the end of the shaft wiggles as much as that piece of the stator cover can't get it to shift up or down stuck in first gear, thinking about fixing it I've only had the bike a month already put close to 800 miles on it rides beautifully or rode I should say, I can turn a wrench atleast on cars trucks ,buses anything with 4 wheels so I imagine this shouldn't be to difficult I just don't have a lot of money to put into it at the moment

Edited October 16 by Reddy702
Added more content

[saddlebum]

5 hours ago, Reddy702 said:

Nah the end of the shaft wiggles as much as that piece of the stator cover can't get it to shift up or down stuck in first gear, thinking about fixing it I've only had the bike a month already put close to 800 miles on it rides beautifully or rode I should say, I can turn a wrench atleast on cars trucks ,buses anything with 4 wheels so I imagine this shouldn't be to difficult I just don't have a lot of money to put into it at the moment

Its hard to tell by the picture but I am inclined to agree with @Chaharly. If memory serves me right, (which ain't so great these days ) thats just a through shaft supported by the cover and connects to another flex joint and linkage behind the cover. You should be good by simply replacing the cover. BTW  I have worked and stripped down a lot of these old girls and this is the 1st one I have seen do this. What size boot do you wear LOL.

Edited October 17 by saddlebum

[Marcarl]

There is a knuckle on that shaft on the other side of the cover bearing, so with no bearing to hold things in place the shaft will wiggle wherever it wants and seems to be broke.

[Reddy702]

Im going to trust that you guys know what your talking about this is my first touring bike I've always had "crotch rockets"or sport bikes and none of them as old as this so I guess I gotta find me a stator cover and gasket thank you for the help 

[Chaharly]

I've had the stator covers off a couple times in the last year, and the stator supports the shift shaft. Looking from your pictures, It looks to me like a clear break in your stator cover. These bikes weren't made for heel toe shifters, and I think it puts a great deal of stress on that aluminum to use them. If you can find the parts cheap enough on ebay I'd go ahead and replace your heel toe shifter and floorboard for a set of pegs.

 

Stator can be a bit of a tricky job, make sure to clean all the surfaces really well and put a healthy amount of sealant on the back side of the wire grommets that run through the case. You'll need a middle gear cover gasket and a stator cover gasket to replace. Check out your stator while you have it off. You can find really cheap aftermarket stators on amazon. I paid like 50 bucks for an Amazon one and it lasted me 4 or 5 years, roughly 50 thousand miles. 

 

Welcome to the forum by the way! We're a little less active than we used to be, but the wealth of knowledge and parts and service info you can find here are well worth every penny! Hope you stick around!!

Edited October 17 by Chaharly

[tooldood]

On 10/17/2024 at 11:16 AM, Reddy702 said:

Im going to trust that you guys know what your talking about ....

Reddy - the group here has forgotten more than a lot of other sites ever knew.  There isn't much that will stump the brain trust of VR. You are in good hands.