any luck welding shifter lever?

**200x Basket** · 03-01-2009, 10:54 AM

in my book this is a "it depends" answer.

if the bike is a beater 200s that you just want to ride then by all means weld the shifter on. either mig or tig and then splash it with water to prevent melting the oil seal. in reality you can buy those engines for $50 off ebay and there is no sense in spending big $$$ on a beater machine. buy a whole motor before you spend the $$$ on a single part and then gaskets.

if it is a nice machine then fix it right. a 250r shaft can be swapped in 15 minutes if the engine is sitting on the table. it can be dine in frame too.

so you people need to stop beating on him about it. welding may make sense depending on the machine. inginuity is what keeps these old machines running.

**Custom200** · 03-01-2009, 11:05 AM

I'd agree with 200x basket but I have seen a couple of beaters with the shifter welded on. From what I've seen there was always a problem with the weld breaking when pounding the gears. This was not issolated incidents. It was different bikes with different welders. Not too big a deal to fix again but woud suck to get stuck in a bog hole or something like snow where the bike may be stuck into, too high a gear or even netural.

**freaksfix** · 03-01-2009, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by oscarmayer

NO, No NO! this causes the shaft to be weaker and break where you drill it! that's what happened to the guy's I fixed. it stripped, someone used that "set screw" method and then , Oh Snap! Don't drill it and do that. fix it by replaicng parts or as i mentioned welt on a peice of round metal (all thread would work too if needed) (make sure metal is small enough that shifter can slide over it with some slight effort) and grind the back facing side about 1/4 way through and your done!

Ok.. So you wanna explain to me what the differance is between a small groove horazonilay for a 1/8 set screw so it would be a 1/32 of a groove in the shaft and 1/32 in the shifter or your groove virticly 1/4 the way threw the shaft?

**Jared200x** · 03-01-2009, 12:47 PM

If you need the 2 parts I have plenty here too,...just do it right,...we ATC'ers need to keep these things alive and repairable in the future,..If you weld it, it'll never be right till you do it the next time right,...If you're ever near me in 17331,..you can have those parts for free........

**beets442** · 03-01-2009, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by Jared200x

If you need the 2 parts I have plenty here too,...just do it right,...we ATC'ers need to keep these things alive and repairable in the future,..If you weld it, it'll never be right till you do it the next time right,...If you're ever near me in 17331,..you can have those parts for free........

Damn, You can't beat that!!+10 "Jared your the Man!"

**200x Basket** · 03-01-2009, 02:08 PM

LOL, i will weld it for free!!!

**BigRed_Ryno** · 03-01-2009, 02:36 PM

If the splines are gone you mite as well weld it, coz if you've got a welder you'll probably have a grinder to take it back off with, which you wont even have to grind the shaft if you plug weld it from the end. Sure its a quick fix, maybe a bodge, but if it were my machine id weld it on until a new shaft turned up, then replace it as and when. all depends on how you wanna keep the machine & how desperate you are to ride it

**chris200x** · 03-01-2009, 02:44 PM

Any of you guys ever buy a trike that was cobbled together? what's the first thing you do...

Curse the former owner for redneck riggin the thing.

Fix it right...

There's people here that are offering you the parts for FREE!

**hondahaulic** · 03-02-2009, 01:27 AM

In my mind im picturing this trike is a honda 200 series or a similar everyday non-sport trike. In this case, I would weld it. If the shaft sticks a few inches out from the motor, it should be easy to keep the seal from burning. Throw a small soaking wet shop rag around the shaft up close to the motor while you weld it. As long as you get a little bit of penetration with your welder, in my opinion the only downside of this fix is cosmetic looks.

It doesnt matter how easy or quick some claim you can replace it. In all reality it usually takes a few days to get a part, even with the smoothest of transactions (+the money for the part and a new gasket if needed). Welding is free, and best of all it will be fixed in under 10 minutes. Your machine won't have several days of downtime before you get the part and the time to replace it. If it were me, I would have the old shifter welded onto the shaft and fixed in less time than it took to log on and make this thread.

And about taking it apart, who doesn't have a grinder of some sort or even a hack saw? Thats just ridiculous. I'm sorry but I really cannot see how this would pose much of a problem at all. If you have enough knoledge to split the cases later on, I really hope that you can figure out how to grind off a weld. In all reality, if this is the every day honda 200s or similar, what are the chances that the bottom end even gets taken apart? What, maybe 1 in every 500 of them will be taken apart and re-assembled for some reason?

Having said all that, If it is a show bike or a sport trike in good shape I would fix it right as long as I could go without riding it for a few days. FYI, if everyone would just keep that little bolt tight and make sure there was no play in the shifter, NONE of these would ever strip out.

**brntrbbr** · 03-02-2009, 01:40 AM

I've welded mine and haven't regretted it since. Just do a good job. I've tried the bolt methods and have been left with a long walk home on numberous occasions. Welding will last. Yes, it is *gger rigging it, but it's up to you. If you do decide to weld it, make sure that as soon as youre done running the bead that you pour water on the spline where it enters the trans or whatever, otherwise it'll be hard on your seals. Good luck on however you chose to fix it.

**oscarmayer** · 03-02-2009, 09:31 AM

freaks, the difference is I'm mimicing factory style where your runnign through the center where the strength comes from.

**freaksfix** · 03-02-2009, 11:43 AM

Im not talking about in the center and down threw the top like most people do. Drill from the side not down threw the top. Think of a key way on a fly wheel, same thing just a set screw instead.. A piece of round bar or all thread is the same as a striped shaft no splines its just a little bigger , so its like closing up the shifter more so chances are it going to slip again..

Im sure it worked in the past for ya im not saying it wouldnt. But in theary all it is, is just a bigger stripped shaft but it dosent have the groove all the way around just on the back side witch would be a plus..

**oscarmayer** · 03-02-2009, 02:06 PM

all ok, that makes more sense. it coudl work. I jsu did it that way so the shifter coudl stay at stock distance and operate as stock. i wrapped a wet rag arouhnd the shaft near the engine to keep the heat away from the seal.

**Russell 350X** · 03-02-2009, 03:43 PM

My 200 has the shifter welded on, it stripped out like yours did, I just tacked in on the end with a mig welder, if I ever got to take it off all I gotta do is grind the little bit of weld off. It's been like that for the past 3 years.

**daniel_250r** · 03-02-2009, 05:48 PM

my shifter is welded to the shaft on my 200s i didnt do it and can't change it now but its work great for about a year now, the trike is getting a new bottom end any ways

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