Just developed a gearbox problem on my Le Mans V on the way home from work.
Started to have problems with gear selection and gear lever seemed to be in a different position.
Eventually could only get 4th and 5 th. finally worked out that if I physically pulled the lever up, I could change down again, so each down change need to lift the lever slightly before pushing down.
The gear change lever is now floppy. I don’t think it is the linkage as it seems to be operating the lever at the back of the gearbox properly.
Any ideas? I am worried it might be the gearbox return spring I have heard about. Anything easy I can do about it or does it have to go to a proper mechanic?
Certainly sounds like the return spring. It’s not a difficult task although it can seem intimidating, there’s lots of advice on the web, but if in doubt always best to get an expert.
Certainly does sound like the return spring. The worst part of the job is getting to the end of the gearbox to get the cover off. From what I have seen of your spannering with your Mk 1 Lemans, you should be competent enough to do the job. It is best done with the gearbox off, but It should be possible with care to do it just by removing the swing arm.
Don-Spada2013-09-19 22:01:04
I thought you were also Darryl from the Squadra site! Also comes up on here occasionally. Confusion reigns, Immaculate Mk1 that got written off and he had rebuilt it, better than before.
I presume you checked the obvious the arm and linkage if that is all good then it is more than likely return spring you can get at it from the back of the gearbox BUT I do believe you have to take the box out of the bike and have it sat vertically to do it without everything falling out.
Have booked into Moto Corsa next week. Quickest and easiest, and that’s what credit cards are for.
Although I suspect I might be able to sort it myself eventually, I think it might take weeks and my garage facilities are somewhat limited for having bits of gearbox strewn everywhere.
Thanks for the advice and let’s hope we are right about the spring.
Yep … I agree though sometimes you get to a stage of complexity where you have to give it to someone else who at least has the facility of being able to operate indoors under cover, and more tools than you can shake a (Halfords) screwdriver at …
Mike H2013-09-21 11:45:47
There are many older Guzzis that have been butchered by well meanint home mechanics having a go. I guess the engineering is fairly simple what amazes me is the Haynes and other manuals are freely available and real good for many many basic jobs, they also often give a home mechanic an idea of the complexity of the job.
There are a few jobs I take to the dealer as I know they are something I am not real good with and to be fair it can be very expensive to make a mistake then attempt to put it right.
It is a good call to leave it to an expert when you feel the job is more than you can take on,
A good engineering shop is worth knowing about too, if you can get the gubbins off (whatever it is) and take it to them to get sorted, I’ve done this for spark erosion of broken studs & bleed nipples, pulling bearing races to name just a couple.
The same thing happened on my Nevada and had Moto Corsa do it. A week later it’s gone again and locked in 1st gear. It has now been collected by them to sort out. Mike ( at Moto Corsa ) told me that the newer springs were less prone to trouble so don’t know what’s gone wrong there.Countrysailor2013-10-05 16:34:29
Hi had the same prob on my 1000s,not a hard job,but box needs to come off,then end cover,return spring is just inside,there is a small ballbearing on the speado drive,and you need to lock the gearbox up to undo the big nut,take the box out then get someone local to get cover off
You can loosen the big nut off on the output shaft by shocking it off whilst the box is still attached to the engine. Use the engine resistance to hold the shaft by putting it into first gear, get a good deep socket on the nut with a T bar and give it a sharp whack with a hammer. It should come undone.