85 125m shifting issues...broken part?

[auto5man]

Hi All,

Some of you may have been reading my posts in the new member forum....picking it back up over here as it seems like a more appropriate place to post these long winded questions and discussions.

Okay, so I have the clutch off and the primary driven gear off. The gearshift drum stopper part seems okay but the gearshift drum will only rotate two gears and seems to hang up in the middle. Still does this even after I remove the drum stopper and the shift spindle from the crankcase. I even took the star looking part (drum stopper plate) off and the neutral indicator shaft off from the other side....shift drum still won't rotate freely beyond the two years.

So I'm scratching my head trying to figure it out....found this other part that fell out of the case when I took the right cover off and couldn't figure out where it went:

176614

So I got to looking a little closer and figured out that this little part had broken off in the crankcase at the threaded end. My service manual pictures were not very clear and didn't show this even as a separate part in the parts breakdown diagram (that seemed a little odd). Here is a couple pictures of the case:

176615

and close up:

176616

The pin side of this little broken part notches into the shift spindle assembly into the "shift return spring" assembly area. Not sure exactly what the function is but I'm assuming this spring action returns the foot shifter back to 'zero' after shifting. If that's the case then my other problem of the shift drum only going through two gears won't be solved by fixing this part. And that brings up the next question....is this part even fixable (getting that broken bit of bolt off from the case does not look easy, and if was able to I sure havn't seen that little part for sale)? Or am I left now with getting a new right side crankcase. What are my options to tackle this problem?

Hopefully my post and questions are clear, I tend to get wrapped up in the problem I'm focused on and don't always include all the information someone else needs to help.

[kb0nly]

Wow, first time i have seen that part get broken in one! Its purpose is to limit the travel of the arm when the shift lever, the foot lever, is pushed upward.

Your going to have to use a left hand drill bit and easy out to remove it. Get an extractor kit from your local hardware store. The bits drill in reverse so you don't risk forcing a broken bolt farther in. I have had a few items snapped off like that come out with the drill bit force alone, but most of the time you have to drill it a bit then you use the left hand threaded extractor to spin it out.

Its not in the parts diagram, your correct on that. You probably going to have to remove it and repair it, unless you can find one.

Ok that aside the shifting problem... Did you discover this problem before or after teardown? Generally everything needs to be spinning to get it to mesh into the next gear and shift through them all. So its no surprise you can't do it with it at a standstill. If you had it running and couldnt shift and that prompted the teardown then i suggest you go a bit further and split the case and inspect the gears and shift forks.

[auto5man]

after teardown, this machine came to me in non-running condition. Glad to hear it has to be running/spinning to shift properly that gives me hope. Since the accident that doomed this trike was a jumped chain and fracture/failure of the left engine spacer cover, it was running at a good clip for that type of damage to occur (and therefore shifting okay), we'll see.

[kb0nly]

I just caught your other thread... So this is the one you need the left side stuff for. Its probably ok internally then. If you wanted you could spin the output shaft while trying to shift it to give it some movement and then you can engage the higher gears, but it sounds like its working normally.

[Howdy]

auto5man, I am sure I have a couple spare pins. Hard part will be getting the broken piece out.

I have seen 2-3 like this in over 24 years of fixing these. I would say it's probably one of the rarest issues with these.
Howdy

[auto5man]

Howdy, I will make my first attempt tomorrow at getting it out after a trip to the store for left hand drill bits and exractors. Fingers crossed. Gotta say....excited to hear you have a a few of these pins. I was daydreaming today at work about how to possibly fabricate one, lol.

[kb0nly]

First time i have ever seen this failure Howdy! Good to know its not just some weird isolated incident that this particular motor has, aka something really bad happened etc. Manufacturing defect maybe??

That Howdy has like one of everything, or at least two... LOL

[ps2fixer]

I have a spare pin too from an engine with the other common shifting problem (broken engine case for the shift drum stopper). Looking to part out the whole machine, so if you make a shopping list I'll give you photos etc of everything and make you a "bulk" price :). I'm thinking mine was an 84, 86 must be the year they changed engine design.

[auto5man]

WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOoooooooooooo!!!! Got the piece out tonight! Went to Northern Tool got some left hand bits and extractor set, used the 1/8 bit and let me tell you...had to be patient. Took at least 15 minutes of patient drilling progress was slow. Kinda started varying the revolutions of the drill, sort of like gentlly revving it. That seemed to help find the sweet spot as far as drill speed and cutting....and then I was shocked when the bit just seemed to bite and the broken bolt just backed right on out, never had to use the extractor!

Here's how it looked on the drill bit:
176718

the broken bolt/pin:
176721


And the hole ready for replacement, a little wallowed out but should be okay...
176720

[ps2fixer]

Nice work! Too bad exhaust studs didn't come out that easy :).

[kb0nly]

Awesome! Gotta love left hand drill bits... I think around half of the time i don't even get the extractor out. As for exhaust studs, nope they are a painful process.

[auto5man]

For sure it was well worth the money for the bits. Guess I will be EXTRA careful with exhaust studs with those words of warning, lol.

Howdy, sent you a pm.