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It's a common problem with those that jam down on the heel shifter.
Even the original Honda 50 (C100) had a problems with the shift levers coming loose do to lack of maintenance. I've even seen it on bikes without the heel shifter.
Even the original Honda 50 (C100) had a problems with the shift levers coming loose do to lack of maintenance. I've even seen it on bikes without the heel shifter.
Yeah. Once you stand on it once or twice and screw the shaft up or twist the shifter arm, or oval the shift bushings, or destroy a pressed joint, it is definitely going to need maintenance.
As far as maintenance, sure...you can keep tightening it as you slowly destroy it (by misusing it) and eventually you will need a new shaft.
Yeah. Once you stand on it once or twice and screw the shaft up or twist the shifter arm, or oval the shift bushings, or destroy a pressed joint, it is definitely going to need maintenance.
As far as maintenance, sure...you can keep tightening it as you slowly destroy it (by misusing it) and eventually you will need a new shaft.
my forward arm came loose at 5000 miles of careful heel shifting and being tight beforehand..there's some kind of design flaw imo...or extremely temperamental and high maintenance...this simply shouldn't be as troublesome of an issue as far as I'm concerned..like I said, there are quite a few of us that have had this happen...one guy 4 times in 30,000 miles on a 2014 EG Ultra...I think I'll just not worry about this one and if it happens I'll spring for the Better Levers....there's just too many bad scenarios where this could be dangerous in when it happens
Try putting some liquid threadlocker on the splines after a good cleaning and ideally while new. Red is the toughest and hardest to remove...takes some heat sometimes. Companies like Permatex also make bearing mounting liquids but I have no experience with that particular product.
Try putting some liquid threadlocker on the splines after a good cleaning and ideally while new. Red is the toughest and hardest to remove...takes some heat sometimes. Companies like Permatex also make bearing mounting liquids but I have no experience with that particular product.
we have tried this..stuff works great on stationary bolts but the constant back and forth agitation over time and slow erosion I believe is the culprit for it losing its grip. I guess pretty much have to take them apart periodically, clean, retorque then say a little prayer
Ok thanks for the report. I've used it but not over a long period without reapplying. Maybe their bearing mount stuff would be better. But I can see the problem when there isn't full contact around the full circumference plus the constant vibration and pounding. Plus the metal's probably poor quality to begin with.
Yeah. Once you stand on it once or twice and screw the shaft up or twist the shifter arm, or oval the shift bushings, or destroy a pressed joint, it is definitely going to need maintenance.
As far as maintenance, sure...you can keep tightening it as you slowly destroy it (by misusing it) and eventually you will need a new shaft.
The problems stem from the arm being cast and not designed too have enough flex to grab the shaft without a bit of TQ on the bolt. With the arm cast, the teeth are too. If you look at a new one, the arm is plated and some of that plating covers the splines. When first assembled the teeth on the shaft need to bed into the arm and the plating squished out. When this occurs, the arm needs to be re-tightened. The problem is because of the thickness of the C part of the arm, it take considerable tq to overcome and flex the C to grab the shaft. Yon can feel the nut tighten in 2 steps. First the C starts to flex second the c grabs the shaft. Once this process has been completed successfully, the arm will stay tight from then on. Might come loose after 10-20k so you keep checking it..
Try putting some liquid threadlocker on the splines after a good cleaning and ideally while new. Red is the toughest and hardest to remove...takes some heat sometimes. Companies like Permatex also make bearing mounting liquids but I have no experience with that particular product.
Because the bolt needs to first overcome the flex in the cast part of the arm and the flex is what grabs the shaft, it's not the nut that comes loose, it's the clamp on the splines.. I use blue on the bolt (don't need red) mainly because it acts as a thread lubricant on assembly.
we have tried this..stuff works great on stationary bolts but the constant back and forth agitation over time and slow erosion I believe is the culprit for it losing its grip. I guess pretty much have to take them apart periodically, clean, retorque then say a little prayer
Don't have to take them apart, only check periodically if the lever is coming loose on the shaft.
Don't have to take them apart, only check periodically if the lever is coming loose on the shaft.
thanks for the great information..this problem has perplexed us for a long time...weird thing is I do check tightness from time to time, and can never get it to budge..feels like it'll snap if I continue...then they have been know to inexplicably fail anyway based on our experiences...hard to trust and have confidence in...was about to JB Weld the *****' $%#^ and have them torch the shaft off if ever needing to work on the low end...bottom line is keep a close eye on them which I do after first hand experience failing on the road..if and when it does I'll probably just try out the Better Lever product
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