Heads up on something to check out. I will preface this with... I am pretty good about going over the bike every oil change and checking the fasteners. I use locktight on every bolt I replace.

Yesterday, I was riding with a group. Great day, 70 degrees, windy but still good day. Sorry, guys up north but had to rub it in. You can rub in your mountains and roads next season for payback. Anyway we were running down a stretch of interstate on the way home for about an hour averaging 85-90 mph. Exited and went to downshift and nothing there. Shift linkage was dangling. Stopped and pulled over and the front linkage and come off of the shifter shaft. The bolt was still in it, thank goodness. It was snug but obviously not snug enough to keep it on the shaft. Tightened it up and was on my way. This is a good one to make sure you check torque on before you head out! Maybe pull it an add some locktight.

 

Good tip, Thanks

 

Shift lever are notorious for falling off. First thing I did on mine was take the heel shifter off.

 

If the shifter has come loose, it has probably washed out the splines on both the shifter arm and the rod connecting to the shifter linkage. You are still under warranty, get 'em replaced.

Bwana

 

Use lock tite when you put it back together problem solved. But check the splines first, the shaft is harder material than the shifter material so if anything is worn I would suspect that.

 

I think he means where the shift lever connects to the linkage, not the shift lever itself. And you're exactly right, but tightening the bolt is a temporary fix.

Same thing happened to me, but I was riding 2 up and merging with interstate traffic. Went to shift from 2nd to 3rd while merging and I just shifted air. Traffic at 70mph all around me and I was stuck in 2nd. Not good. Cars were passing me on the left in my lane as I was trying to get to the shoulder. I'm not exaggerating when I say my wife and I are lucky to be alive. A couple of zipties got me home, and a couple of heim joints--the kind a $20K bike should have had in the first place--from the auto parts store later and I'm back in business.

Moral of the story--don't just tighten the bolts, check the ball & socket for wear. Or better still, spend $15 and replace them before they fail. If they give you a blank look when you ask for "heim joints", say "rod ends". Do a forum search and you'll see that this is a common failure around 15K miles.

 

I replaced the bolt in mine to one a little longer, then reattached using locktite and a nylok nut where the bolt stuck through the shifter.

 

I dropped one somewhere on 45 N a few years back.

You're right, it was excellent riding yesterday even with the wind.

 

Probably not going to solve the problem if the splines are washed.

jus sayin'

Bwana

 

When you remove the heel shifter, put it in the saddlebags. It may get you (or someone else) home sometime. The same goes for the OEM shifter rod. (And of course you carry a basic tool kit).

I've been fortunate to spend some time with much older guys who had ridden all over the country and/or the world, and listened to their stories about their travels. One who worked at the BMW factory pre WWII and had been a pilot said that a motorcycle should be treated like a plane. Before any substantial ride, or at least regularly, a bike should be given a "preflight inspection". And that means doing it yourself, not slapping down the plastic and trusting it to someone else.

It just may save your life, or at least major heartburn.