Shifty Levers

[vmx1963]

G'day all, I'm having a $%#@ of a time with missed shifts.  I've gone from one extreme to the other with shift levers... the standard lever on my 74 is pretty darn long and I seemed to only catch the tip with the end of my boot.  I tried one of the new folding levers from Al today but it's way shorter and I end up contorting my foot to work the tranny (with the same problem of missing gears).

What alternatives (if any) have people found for shift levers (14mm shaft)??  I'm like Goldilocks: this one's too long, this one's too short, I want one that's just right

Cheers & Beers

Allan

VMX1963
Western Australia
<a target="_blank" href="http://members.iinet.net.au/~allantud/"> VMX KTM</a>

[firstturn]

VMX 1963,
   We are talking about a Sachs?  If so what side boots or possibly slippers (Goldilocks) do you wear.  I found in the old days for MX I had to set and have the correct length of shifter and the height by a riders style and boot size.  So please include if you stand a lot or hold on with your knees(you know like riding a bull[)]).
  What town (city) do you live in Western Australia?

Ron Carbaugh

[James]

VMx, I hope this helps. I am 6'2" and 220. Though not very quick I ride agressive. The solution to my shifter problems was two broken ones. One broken KTM/Penton non folding bent and broken off at tip.
The other was an aftermarket folding steel shifter that cost me a chwed up shift shaft on a 93 kx250.   I measured out the length I needed-cut the two pieces with a 1-1/2" overlap, and ground them at a bevel. Of course after welding , I had to grind to clearance the side cover. I worked great but looked horrible. Maybe if you have more time than the night before a race you could smooth it , powder coat or paint. Keep us posted. James

I have bike parts in the kitchen cabinets where most people have dishes..

[vmx1963]

Thanks fellas, I might end up doing your trick James and take to my shifter with a hacksaw & welder to get the right length.  Another trick I've seen on the European 72 KTM 250's was to heat & bend the shifter so that it has a curve in the vertical plane & is therefore shorter in length.

Being 6'3" and size 11 boot, I guess I have to learn to nurse the tranny and not stomp on the lever like it's something that's crawled out of the bathroom drain.  But being gentle is pretty hard when there's a couple of Huskys hard on your tail (that's the bike variety, not the woofing kind)!  I seem to get missed gears 3 - 4 times a lap, mostly between 2nd and 3rd accompanied by all sorts of colourful language as that bloody Husky gets past again

Ron I live in Perth, the absolute best city in Oz [8D]

VMX1963
Western Australia
VMX KTM

[firstturn]

vmx1963,
  The old bending the lever trick is actually a great way to somewhat shorten the lever.
  Several suggestions I would like try to help you on your quest to learn how to "get along" with the Sachs tranny.  If you need to e-mail me  directly on setting up your shifter(under the clutch cover) please do, but you may already know all the tricks (if any one person does).
1.  Mark your boot on where you feel you would like the shifter to cradle on top of your boot.
2.  Sit on the bike and have someone mrasure the distance from the shift shaft to the mark on your boot.  Cut and weld the shifter to this length.
3.  The stomping on the shifter only works on CZs and Japanese bikes.

In closing, the Sachs transmissions I think get a lot of bad press, but if you truely look at and study the system it is very well engineered.  What other race bike of this size offers track side adjusting without splitting the cases?  The engine and transmission must have some good engineering qualities to win sooo many Championships.

My e-mail is:   [email protected]

Hope this helps.

Ron Carbaugh