Stuck Gears

[pindie]

Hi,

I have a 2005 Raga Rep 300, Its stuck in 4th gear! It will go up gears but will not engage third properly on the way down. The lever seems stiffer than normal and does not seem to be as slick as normal however, it does seem like the spring to return it is working yet it is stiff in use. I have changed the gbox oil and it has made no difference. Is there anything else I can do before I strip the bugger down?

If a strip is required is it going to be out the frame and gbox out or can I resolve the matter whilst motor in the frame and if so how?

Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks

P.s. Anyone ride near the Newport area of South Wales?

[ham2]

pindie,

I don't own a Pro but I know there is a cam like adjuster for fine-tuning the gear selector mechanism.

I think it sits just underneath the clutch and you don't have to take the motor out of the frame to fettle it.

Do a search on this topic and hope that someone with a lot more detail than me can reply in the meantime

Just twigged..you may get better results in the Gas Gas section of these forums.

Edited December 31, 2007 by HAM2

[betapete]

clutch height may wans setting correctly

[stevel]

There is a shear pin arrangement on the end of the selector shaft, designed to break in the event of hitting the gear lever on an immovable object. This could give the symptoms you explain as although the pin may have sheared the friction of the sheared pin in its shaft still gives some drive. (speaking from experience) It is very easy to check. Lie the bike on its side and remove the water pump (you don't need to disconnect it, just tie it back out of the way) remove the clutch cover and check the movement of the selector.

I would advise you not to loosen the centering cam (which the 2 legs of the return spring sit on) as it can be a pig to set back up.

There are many possible explanations of the problem you outline, but for the sake of 30 minutes to check that the selector is working OK it is worth doing before you start thinking of any serious strip down

[jse]

Hi,

I have a 2005 Raga Rep 300, Its stuck in 4th gear! It will go up gears but will not engage third properly on the way down. The lever seems stiffer than normal and does not seem to be as slick as normal however, it does seem like the spring to return it is working yet it is stiff in use. I have changed the gbox oil and it has made no difference. Is there anything else I can do before I strip the bugger down?

If a strip is required is it going to be out the frame and gbox out or can I resolve the matter whilst motor in the frame and if so how?

Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks

You might try centering the shift shaft return spring under the clutch basket. The process of centering it is a little tricky at first, so expect to make several attempts to get it right. If someone who knows how to do it shows you, it's a lot easier than describing it. Lay the bike on it's side to take the sidecover off and you won't have to change the oil and the rear wheel will be free. Loosen the 4mm capscrew that locks the eccentric bushing (under the clutch basket) up a little but not loose. Put the shift lever down into first but do not release it (you may have to rotate the rear wheel a little to get it to go into gear). SLOWLY allow the shift lever to come back to center and just before it hits center you should hear a light "click" (which you probably will not hear, which is why it's stuck in gear). If you don't, adjust the eccentric bushing (10mm open-end wrench) a very small amount either way and try it again (it only takes a very small amount of turning). Repeat this if necessary till you get the click. Then try the same process with shifting up into second gear, slowly allowing the lever to return to center to make sure you get the click. If you hear the click in first (downshift) and second (upshift) the shift shaft mechanism is centered, tighten the capscrew down and your problem should disappear, hopefully.

Jon

[peterb]

Happy New Year pindie,

I've fixed a couple of PRO's with your exact problem. It was a straight forward repair so nothing to worry about. Sometimes when the gear lever clouts a rock or a bank, it can rotate past it's supposed mechanical limit, this extra force causes the opposite end of the gear shaft to twist apart the metal cap unit that the return spring sits over. You can buy these as a complete unit, the cap with the spring as P/N MT280238037CT with the spring cable tied in position - cut the tie only after fitting.

If you have access to a brazing set, you can repair the cap but then you need to be sure that the cap components are in the correct position before doing so.

Best not to disturb the return spring locator, this has its mounting hole eccentrically drilled to provide adjustment for the gear lever "throw" for up and down changes.

As previous responses, you can leave the oil and water in, just tip the bike well over to the left, remove the clutch cover - don't mix up the many different screw lengths, look out for the kickstart shaft washer and the clutch slave thrust bearing.

You can remove the clutch as a complete unit, tap the clutch centre bolt (4mm allen screw) a bit with a drift to help to undo, then pull off the complete clutch. Do not use a ball ended allen key for this. Under here you'll see the return mechanism. Remove the circlip very carefully as the end of the gear shaft can be quite brittle, then the shim, then you can remove the spring with cap as an assembly. The cap has a piece across its diameter that locates into the end of the gear shaft slot, it's this piece that will have rotated slightly in respect to the tongue that actuates the spring. From memory, I think they should both be in the same plane - you'll see what I mean when you have a look. It would look as though there is nothing wrong with it, it only takes a bit of a twist to be out.

Rebuild with a new case gasket.

Be sure to use 10 weight mineral oil or an ATF rated to Dexron III in the gearbox - no synthetics.

Bye, PeterB.

[pindie]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies! I have had the cover and clutch off and I think I can see what is mentioned in the replies.

I see a small peg with a 10mm bolt through. This has a double legged spring that is located on the change mechanism shaft. Is this the tiny adjuster that is mentioned?

Do I need to slacken the bolt and just tweak it either way until I can get a good change down from 4th where the box is stuck now. I am right in thinking that I repeat the process until I can get back to neutral reset the peg and I am away.

Just to add a bit more info: When I try to change down at the moment from 4th I can feel it begining to catch 3rd but it does not shift positivley down into gear and if it feels like it nearly there will jump out if you rock the bike back and forth. It almost feels like something in the box is jamming gears and stopping the movement. The oil when first drained came out normal with no metal fragments on the magnetic plug. With this in mind it probably is not a piece of metal jamming gears but the adjuster is out and needs resetting to finaly sort.

Is this likely to happen often and is it ok to use Morris light gear oil in the bike - it is a semi synth blend. Should I change over to ATF as the clutch does drag a bit but i thought they all did that as my old TXT250 did the same.

Thanks so far.

[peterb]

Hi pindie,

Best not to use anything but mineral oil, or an ATF rated to Dexron III in the PRO gearbox. Anything else can cause the friction material in the clutch plates to swell.

Yes, the small peg is the eccentric adjustment, with a 10mm hex bolt through it.

You can certainly try adjusting this, though I am pretty sure the problem is as derscribed earlier, why would the adjustment alter? (Assuming the gear change was fine previously)

Bye, PeterB.

[pindie]

Hi Peter B,

I have checked the spring and the horizontal locator pin........ All ok, no cracks present in the hat either and no signs of anything out of place thisside of the cases. I rang Gas Gas UK and I was informed of some link in the shift drum that may have gone caput, as all else has so far failed they suggested to check this. Apparently the top hat should break if the gear lever is knocked, so the job is easy to do but sometimes this link bends or breaks instead and it is a bigger job. I shall strip the old girl and see if the problems are further inside. Thanks for the advice so far it has been a great help in eliminating other possible causes.

Where's my spanners...................?

P.s. The spring on the hat is a bugger to get back on! I see why it comes ready built.

TTFN

[peterb]

Hi pindie,

The top hat unit is a pressed together 2 part item that can twist out of alignment, rather than crack or break, I have repaired two bikes with this problem. On both occasions the part looks fine at first, on closer inspection you can see that the centre "pin" (a flat piece through the middle) has moved out of alignment with the spring tab at the other end of the top hat. Before stripping down the motor, best to have a look at a new one and compare with yours. You may be able to twist the 2 parts back into alignment and braze up the unit so it stays there - a friend has done just this.

Only other area of possible breakage is inside the selector drum, there are 2 pawls here, rollers, that are each held in place with a tiny hairpin spring, if one of these springs are broken, then you would not get any gear selection in a particular direction at all, e.g. you could change all the way to first then not get out of first again. It has been know for these springs to give way, not so common though.

Good luck, PeterB.

[pindie]

Hi Peter,

I checked the top hat by taking it of the bike afetr removing the spring.The bar at the narrow end was in the same plane as the tap at the larger end - I assume that these would not be aligned if it was the problem. I shall check further in the motor because i have notice a small chip on one of the gears and am wondering if this chip is stuck elsewhere and stopping the gear change that way. I shall let you know.

Thanks

[gjbiker]

Hi Pindie,

if you haven't already done so it's worth downloading these videos HERE

I've found them very helpful in the past.

GJ

[Farmlad]

Hi I have a 2005 scorpa 250 but it’s stuck in 1st gear it doesn’t matter how I work it it’s just unresponsive the lad I bought it from said it will come to when it gets warm but I have been riding it for over an hour.how do I sort it out 

[Cee-B]

9 hours ago, Farmlad said:

Hi I have a 2005 scorpa 250 but it’s stuck in 1st gear it doesn’t matter how I work it it’s just unresponsive the lad I bought it from said it will come to when it gets warm but I have been riding it for over an hour.how do I sort it out 

I'd ride it a little further - back to the lad you bought it from 😑