Rough Shifter

[PanamaJack]

hey guys, I've been having a little problem with my shifter, sometimes (no matter hot or cold) the shifter get stuck on 1rst and it cost me a ton to shift to 2nd or neutral.. I have to rock the bike back and fort until it engage.

And other times when I am down shifting it feels rough, like I am stepping on grinder or something.

The only mod I have done on the clutch is the push pin mod. I also have the issue of the cylinders head sweating a bit of oil.

I am leaning it could be the clutch cable that might be unadjusted or maybe lack of oil, althought on cold checks I have oil to half the mark of the dipstick.

thanks in advance on your comments!

[antmor69]

Sounds like clutch cable adjustment. Or your cable may be breaking.

[BigpapaM109]

Sounds like clutch cable adjustment. Or your cable may be breaking.

[BAD BOY M109R]

Check the cable adjustment.

[PanamaJack]

thanks guys this was my guess too, I used to have the shudder and it went away when I grinded 2 sides of the pin in the basket.

Just to be clear this could be a loose clutch cable, and not an overtighted one right?

[antmor69]

thanks guys this was my guess too, I used to have the shudder and it went away when I grinded 2 sides of the pin in the basket.

Just to be clear this could be a loose clutch cable, and not an overtighted one right?

Yes most likely too loose or if it's breaking it's getting too long. If it was too tight the clutch would slip on acceleration.

[BigpapaM109]

How do you normally set your adjustment? I keep mine VERY loose and because of that, about twice a riding season it gets to the same point as yours due to clutch wear. I take about half turn on the adjuster and it is good. If your cable is adjusted a little more on the tighter side, then you may be having a cable start to come apart as Anthony suggested.

[PanamaJack]

How do you normally set your adjustment? I keep mine VERY loose and because of that, about twice a riding season it gets to the same point as yours due to clutch wear. I take about half turn on the adjuster and it is good. If your cable is adjusted a little more on the tighter side, then you may be having a cable start to come apart as Anthony suggested.

I keep it tight, probably too tight, might as well rethink my setting, it's something I have been dragging from my other bike.

Thanks guys I will check this asap, hopefully it's not breaking and if it does, I have a spare motion pro in the saddle bag

[BigpapaM109]

I keep it tight, probably too tight, might as well rethink my setting, it's something I have been dragging from my other bike.

Thanks guys I will check this asap, hopefully it's not breaking and if it does, I have a spare motion pro in the saddle bag

Keep it as loose as possible but still being able to easily kick between gears while sitting. Here is how much slack I run.

[PanamaJack]

Keep it as loose as possible but still being able to easily kick between gears while sitting. Here is how much slack I run.

the pic is very helpful! the manual says it should .6 inch max of lever play. it looks like you have a bit more there. And on the engine side, did you have the nuts all the way to one or the other side or in the middle of the screw?

What I did when I changed mine was setting the adjustment on the engine side as loose as possible and then play with the tension on the handlebar, that way I shouldn't be opening that cover every 6 months or so to adjust the cable. Might have been the wrong call.


On the other hand, did you had to grind your chrome lever a bit to fit the mount? I have tried a couple of aftermarkets and all them have a funny fit.

[The HUFF]

the pic is very helpful! the manual says it should .6 inch max of lever play. it looks like you have a bit more there. And on the engine side, did you have the nuts all the way to one or the other side or in the middle of the screw?

What I did when I changed mine was setting the adjustment on the engine side as loose as possible and then play with the tension on the handlebar, that way I shouldn't be opening that cover every 6 months or so to adjust the cable. Might have been the wrong call.


On the other hand, did you had to grind your chrome lever a bit to fit the mount? I have tried a couple of aftermarkets and all them have a funny fit.

Just use three quaters or coins. .6 seems a little bit much to me. Also be sure to down shift as coming to a stop. Our gears have to be lined up in order to shift into position. If they aren't lined up no matter what you do with the clutch it won't solve your problem. Do not force the shift or you will bend a fork

[BigpapaM109]

the pic is very helpful! the manual says it should .6 inch max of lever play. it looks like you have a bit more there. And on the engine side, did you have the nuts all the way to one or the other side or in the middle of the screw?

What I did when I changed mine was setting the adjustment on the engine side as loose as possible and then play with the tension on the handlebar, that way I shouldn't be opening that cover every 6 months or so to adjust the cable. Might have been the wrong call.


On the other hand, did you had to grind your chrome lever a bit to fit the mount? I have tried a couple of aftermarkets and all them have a funny fit.

Ignore the manual. The best way to run this setup is that under wide open run, your lever doesn't maxx out in tension. I have 45k on mine and the wife has 22 on hers, no cable problems...knock on wood.

Here is how I set mine up. I screw the top in almost all the way and the lever should have major slop. I squeeze the lever so it is depressed. I then start adjusting the bottom until the lever gets out to about where my setup is. I lockdown the nuts and then do the final adjustment up top. That leaves me more than enough threads to adjust out and will probably never need to do an adjustment from the bottom.

[snoobzilla]

If you are unable to handle it with adjustment you could be seeing beginning of tube nut backing out. If you are seeing that I would start practicing how to shift without a clutch because one day you will need to do that or tow it. I have limped home twice with no clutch, once with tube nut and once with snapped clutch cable.

Agree on the slack. I pretty much run as much as possible without slippage to avoid stretching clutch cable with engine shift.

[PanamaJack]

Thanks guys! I will be looking into the tub nut too.

I checked the cable and it is fine on both ends, readjusted at the base and the lever and it has been fine the last 25 km trips I made to work between yesterday and today.

Hopefully it end there.

[The HUFF]

If you are unable to handle it with adjustment you could be seeing beginning of tube nut backing out. If you are seeing that I would start practicing how to shift without a clutch because one day you will need to do that or tow it. I have limped home twice with no clutch, once with tube nut and once with snapped clutch cable.

Agree on the slack. I pretty much run as much as possible without slippage to avoid stretching clutch cable with engine shift.

Definitely a possibilty....

[OldMarine]

Hi all,
I've been reading up on what I need to look for with my M109.
I just got it a couple of weeks ago. It's a blue 2011, and it's my 1st bike in 30+ years.
Man! Have things Changed!
I picked this thread because of the subject "Rough Shifter"
It's hard to believe that a top of the line bike has a transmission that is this rough and noisey.
I keep my clutch lever a shade loose. I don't need any clutch slippage to wear things out earlier than normal.
It is a very nice cruiser though.
And it's got enough torque to just roll-it-on without a lot of gear changing.
As you can see - I like it, .. a lot! (Except for the antique tractor transmission. )

[BigpapaM109]

Hi all,
I've been reading up on what I need to look for with my M109.
I just got it a couple of weeks ago. It's a blue 2011, and it's my 1st bike in 30+ years.
Man! Have things Changed!
I picked this thread because of the subject "Rough Shifter"
It's hard to believe that a top of the line bike has a transmission that is this rough and noisey.
I keep my clutch lever a shade loose. I don't need any clutch slippage to wear things out earlier than normal.
It is a very nice cruiser though.
And it's got enough torque to just roll-it-on without a lot of gear changing.
As you can see - I like it, .. a lot! (Except for the antique tractor transmission. )

Welcome to the forum

[OldMarine]

Thank you BigPapaM109