Forum

[jaffa90]

As said positive heavy footed needed.

[Alan R]

Hi guys-------- RUSTYGMAN, I like your air of confidence young sir !!..going to the front of a queue AND hoping for a fast getaway as well ??..............Just doesn't work, does it ??....mine neither..LES H put a moving schematic diagramme on here a while ago which clearly shows the long distance the sliding gear has to travel along the mainshaft etc....All of which adds to the "Mustapha slow change" way of doing things...... On a 500 in particular just let the engine's torque accelerate you rather than the "slick-shift" method that a higher-revving engine might require..............It's all in the supple wrist action of the throttle control allied to your slow but POSITIVE gear-change......Have a chat with a Moto-Guzzi rider as their 'box is of a similar nature PLUS they have ball-jointed rods in the linkage as well....

[Norm]

Hi Alan, I recently rebuilt a 4 speed box that was brought to me in a box of bits. I got it back together with difficulty because it was hard to tell what fitted best the new bits or the old bits. Got the bike sorted and running but the owner kept complaining of a neutral between every gear and constantly dropping out of first gear. Finally this afternoon I took it for a ride, not once did it jump out of first and not once did I get a false neutral, as I pulled up beside the owner all I said was, "operator error" the gearbox works perfectly and it does, they can be made to work well within the design capacity, they aren't a Japper for sure but an effective gearbox they can be

[Riggers]

Hi all and a Happy Noo Year! Just to add my twopennyworth here, I've always been 'lucky' with my 2000 Classic 500, and found the box to fall into the 'OK' category. Over the years it's been in two guises - standard and now with the two close ratio pinions (which incidentally made no difference at all to the gear change). What I have found is my footwear can make a huge difference to the change. I normally wear a pair of steel toe-capped ankle boots which allow me to make a very slow, but firm change and they work a treat. BUT if I wear heavy long motorcycle boots they seem to restrict my ankle movement and that's when I get missed gears - especially changing down (i.e. moveing the lever upwards). Having said all that I think it's also important to get the gear lever in the right position on its splines to get the best purchase. I think to sum up "slow and deliberate" is the best advice. Cheers. Tony.