So uh.. my gear shifter came off while riding.

[merczab]

I was in 6th gear riding and all the sudden my gear shifter just disappeared.
I stopped and saw that it was just dangling by my foot.
I turned by bike back on and just decided to drive home and figure out what happened when I got home.

Has this happened to anyone else?
Anyone know what I'm supposed to do?
It looks...screwable. In other words: there is a screw attached that I can twist... sort of.

 

[GIXERHP]

The part that has threads on it does it spin in the shifter, or is tight?

 

[mestona]

Same thing happened to me the first week I had my Gilles Rearsets. I was on my way to school (5-6th time riding it with the rearsets) and the rod broke and fell off. Still had both ends attached to the trans and the set. Got to school, went to class, and manually put the bike in 2nd and rode home like that. They sent me a new rod for free the next day.

 

[BigBSBusa]

Happened to me on my way to the Bash in 2010. Went to shift from 2nd to 3rd and had to glide to a stop and found mine hanging just like yours. Still not sure what happened, was able to ride the remaining few miles to the hotel and Shawn fixed me up.

 

[lankeeyankee]

Blue loctite is your friend.

 

[GIXERHP]

If the post does not spin freely in the shifter, take it apart and clean and grease it before you reassemble it!

 

[E Zurcher]

I was riding with a buddy (Honda 919 Hornet) and we hit a long straight stretch and hammered it. I went up through the gears and kept at it a while then realized he was not in sight so I slowed way down and still nothing. Turned around and after about a 5 minute ride there he was with the gearshift hanging down just like yours. We used a bolt from the grab bar and a couple of bottle caps and reattached the shifter. it held for the ride home just fine.

 

[IG.]

Boy, oh boy! Checking the shifter linkage should be a part of your pre-ride check list, right? LOL

The two threads on the opposing ends of the linkage have opposite direcion thread types, i.e. when you turn the linkage so that the upper part goes to you, both ends go outward, and the other way around - when you turn the linkage so that the upper part of it goes away from you, both ends go inward. This is done in such a way so that you could use the linkage as an adjuster to set the height of the shift lever. Once you adjusted to your liking, you have to tighten both nuts (one of every end) to lock the shift linker into place. Just don't apply too much force. Once those nuts are locked, you are good to go. If both of those nuts gets loose, it's just a matter of time before the linkage may vibrate out. Essentially, the pre-ride check is to try to turn the linkage by hand in either direction. If you can't, you are good.

A couple of side points. You gotta check most fasteners around the bike, bodywork, etc. for looseness.

I had a tank screw (one of the two in the front of the tank) loose once, and I couldn't believe my eyes when one of them started to go up slowly over a period like 10-15 min. I didn't want to stop, and managed to screw it in by hand while riding, although not tight. A few min went by, and the sucker went back up. That's a great illustration what normal bike vibration may do to a loose screw.

 

[beachz]

Blue loctite is your friend.

I am a firm believer...after I lost my clutch lever and the shifter stories. Still thankful it wasn't my front brake lever (near the top of third heading towards a 70 deg turn).

 

[dadofthree]

Got it together

 

[IG.]

Now that I looked at the picture more carefully, it's not the adjuster bar that went loose, it was the locking clip which failed or was missing.

 

[merczab]

Now that I looked at the picture more carefully, it's not the adjuster bar that went loose, it was the locking clip which failed or was missing.

What does that mean?
I can't follow your instructions anymore to fix it?

 

[IG.]

What does that mean?
I can't follow your instructions anymore to fix it?

Here is the link to the micro fiche:

Ronayers.com Microfiche Suzuki>Motorcycle>2001>GSX1300R HAYABUSA>GEAR SHIFTING

Look at part 37 which is a circlip. This is the only thing that prevents the shifter to stay in place. I actually got one from Home Depot. Just measure and buy a few different sizes - one of them will fit snuggly. I later ordered the one from Suzuki, but never bothered to replace. You gotta use special pliers to easily put them on and take them off. A good idea to always install a new one and not re-use the old one.

Regarding my original suggestion, rotating the bar (28) allows for minor adjustments of the shifter up and down, and and the two nuts (35 and 33) allow to lock the bar's position in place.