RX3 Gearshift issue

[Huck369]

Rode my RX3 into work this morning, and just before I reached my destination, my shift lever quit "Returning" to center, and I could not shift, had to pull out from a stop in 5th, to get on in to work.

From the parts diagram for a NC250 motor, I see there is a "Return Spring" that goes on the Shifter Shaft, but I am unsure how far into the engine I have to go to get at it......so has anyone dealt with this? If so, how much trouble is this going to be to fix.

I dread trying to get it home like this....

[Juanro]

Hi, sure, that's a fairly common failure.
Here are two YouTube videos, the first explaining how the spring works, the second is a detail of the process of replacing it. Videos are in spanish, but the images speaks by itselves.
In short, you need to remove oil and coolant, take out the right side cover, pull the gear change shaft and change the spring.
Hope it helps.

[Juanro]

Originally Posted by Huck369

I dread trying to get it home like this....

You can "manually" (or footly??) return the gear shift lever each time, and it should work through all the gears. Mine broke some time ago, in a middle of a ride some 50km away from home in desolated back roads, and I was able to come back, sure it's a PITA to make each shift but it can be done.

[Huck369]

Thanks Juanro,

I'll check out those video's before I start on it.
So you'd recommend I go ahead and order a new return spring before I tear into it?

Or is it just popped off?

[Juanro]

Order a new one. It breaks at the bend.

[Math Teacher]

I used a long rubber stretchy chord as a temporary external shift lever return spring for a few hundred miles until I got around to changing the spring. I set it tight enough to prevent the lever from hanging down, but not so tight to pull the lever up to the next gear. I found the broken piece of the original spring on the magnet at the tip of the oil drain plug.

[Huck369]

Got the parts ordered...Thanks guys!

[Math Teacher]

Low resolution photo of stretchy chord return spring. Shifted all 6 gears for a few hundred miles like this.

[calvarez]

Always carry bungees and electrical tape.

[Huck369]

Originally Posted by Math Teacher

Low resolution photo of stretchy chord return spring. Shifted all 6 gears for a few hundred miles like this.

I used a couple rubber bands from work, for my ride home yesterday, they did help, but it was still clumsy getting the shifter to shift, but it did get me home

[calvarez]

Oh yeah, in another thread, I posted a photo showing a network cable holding up the sidestand after the spring came off or broke. I usually have a cable with me for work, who knew it would be part of the road-side repair kit too??

[Huck369]

Got my parts from CSC Last Friday, but still haven't gotten around to tearing into it..... (helps that I have a few other bikes sitting around)

[Math Teacher]

Fairly straight forward operation. Careful for the 2 Allen bolts that hold the case together. They are both partially obscured by the frame. You may also need an impact wrench to remove and replace the big nut that holds the clutch housing onto the shaft. Take your time and do a good job.

[NoVa Rider]

Just saw this thread. You may already have finished the repair. However, for the two allen bolts that are somewhat blocked by the frame, one option is to use a sharp 1/4 chisel and just notch the outer rim of the bolt, then tap the bolt counterclockwise to unscrew it. Replace with a hex head bolt so you don't have the same issue next time. Once inside, I think you need to remove the clutch basket to get the shifter shaft out. Not diffiicult, just a fit of a fiddle. A few years ago when I had the spring break on me, CSC had just started advising folks to torque the crankshaft end nut since they had one come off. Since I was in there, I did this as well. 100 foot pounds is a bit of a bear and you need a new lockplate. I don't think anyone else has experienced the crankshaft end nut issue and I am not sure that CSC thinks you should still do this. I don't know if anyone else has bothered with it.

[Huck369]

I actually just finished it up today, but thanks for the heads up, I used a "wobble" Allen wrench to get to those 2 bolts, so put them back the same way...but if I had the bolts handy, I would have changed them out...