Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hey all,
I have a 91 ZXR400 track bike that has an increasingly sloppy standard issue gear shifter. Ive coped with it for a while but now I think its responsible for a couple of mis-shifts and wonder if there is a remedy to this- or just find a new one?
What tends to wear more the inside of the shifter or the outer edge of the foot peg that goes thru it?
I dont want to get a new lever and find its sloppy on the footpeg shaft.... so work with the old or go new? it really moves right to left quite a bit and under shifting this must reduce the upward and down ward force needed for gear changes. I considered some washes and the like but that just stifens it up when bolted together so Id be interested in what others may think,
thanks

nothing worse than a sloppy second.

The shaft is hardened (Fnaarrr) so it is the lever that wears.
Has your lever got any splines left on it?
Got a pic of the two? (Fnaaar again)

There are so many single entendre's here.

when you mean splines are you refering to the clamps on the linkage mech?

Drop a Viagra into the sump, that should fix it right up

If you are talking about where the lever pivots on the peg (rather than the splined arm on the selector shaft) it may have a bronze bush inside that can be pressed out and replaced. When the one on my old 6 got sloppy, Kawasaki would only sell the whole gear lever. I pressed out the old bush and got it matched up at a bearing supply, it was about $5 for the bush. Even if the material on the peg is hardened, they still seem to suffer form some wear - they end up like a barrel shape. The new bush will help, but probabaly wont be perfect.

Slow and wobbly wrote:nothing worse than a sloppy second.

The shaft is hardened (Fnaarrr) so it is the lever that wears.
Has your lever got any splines left on it?
Got a pic of the two? (Fnaaar again)

There are so many single entendre's here.

I guess it really depends on which track you are riding. When riding a tighter one, I would prefer a sloppy 4th, 5th or 6th. But if it's looser, more open, then a sloppy second is fine.

If the output shaft spline is not worn, then potentially part of the problem could be a worn shifter rod clamp. But, you say it has lateral movement, which means the bush is worn out on the inner side which the peg runs through. I would be looking at either replacing the shift rod clamp and the Shifter lever at min. A new set of levers will make the bike feel new!!