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C109 slack in shifter

1K views 5 replies 2 participants last post by  Latinrascal 
#1 ·
the last few times I rode my 9, after the first shift up or down, the next shift the shift lever is "dead"....if I am shifting up, I have to tap the shift lever forward, it feels like it moves an inch, then I can shift. The same is true shifting down....shift out of 5th to 4th, then have to tap lever back to take up slack, then I can shift down. Am I missing a spring? Went to the local dealer and he noticed the lever bracket was bent and shift rod was rubbing. I straightened it and it seemed to work for an hour, now back to free play in the shifter. Is there an adjustment to get rid of the free play or is it more serious?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Sounds like you may have a broken Shifter return spring located inside the cover where the shift lever shaft comes out of. Its a pretty stiff spring that one would think would not break but ive seen more then a few on the m model do just that and considering they share the same motor it would manifest itself in on the C model as well.

Best way to check is use your hand to shift the gear and what your feeling for is if the shifter wants to naturally return to its home position or not. If you need to move the shift lever back to its normal home position before you can shift to the next gear either up or down there is a 99.9% chance it's that shift spring.
 
#4 · (Edited)
No its not very difficult. Do a search for shifter return spring in the google search box at the bottom of every page and you will get alot of info but these should start you off.

https://www.m109riders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338433&page=2

https://www.m109riders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136181

One more thing.....Dont believe the hype behind the "G-Man" shifter bushing when you are doing your research into this fix. Not to bad mouth the product but its no different or better then the stock bushing already there! So if you think that a sticky bushing is your problem do yourself a favor and just take yours apart and clean it really well then very lightly grease and reassemble......if you want to spend money on a mod that will help improve the shifting then invest in a Factory Pro Shift Star kit which is located under the same cover you will be going into in order to check the shifter return spring.
 
#5 ·
turns out it was the bushing....the heavy rain I rode through must have power washed the grease out.....500 mile ride that day....I sprayed some WD40 on the shifter at the bushing and it cleared right up....when I stow the bike for the fast approaching winter up here I will take your advice and disassemble, clean and regrease.....
 
#6 ·
Thats sounds like good news just keep in mind that if it happens more frequently i would check that spring to be sure its not cracked and weakend.

The wd40 was good to find the problem but you want to be sure to use the proper kinda lube for that bushing so dont forget! Most people use some type of bearing grease but there are those that feel any "wet" grease will attract dirt an have been known to use dry graphite which works really well but washes out easier then grease so they both have pros and cons but either will work so long as you add that bushing to your yearly maintenance cleaning.
 
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