| Author | Message | ||
     Falloutnl |
Hey everyone, you've no doubt heard this before, but I'm having some trouble with the transmission on my M2 Cyclone. It has two problems (that might be related). Problem 1: changing gears feels very heavy, so heavy in fact that it kind of hurts the top of my foot actually. It is also much heavier than the operation on my dad's (otherwise identical) M2 Cyclone. Problem 2: when shifting from neutral to first, 6 out of 10 times, a kind of grinding noise will emit from the primary side of bike, indicating that (I guess?) the primary chain didn't quite latch onto whatever it is trying to grab. Already tried the following: we have changed the primary oil, we have adjusted the clutch mechanism, we have checked the primary chain (within the manuals specs, though with 12mm of play, it's at the loose end of the spectrum), we have also changed the way the shifter assembly is mounted so that the actual shifting bit is level with the bike. Sadly, these adjustments have made it only marginally better. Anyone else have any ideas? | ||
| Zac4mac |
I will make my guess that it's internal transmission parts. Rollers on shifter forks worn or missing or bent fork/s. 02 still had a trapdoor, Yes? If so, not too bad of a job. A completely different cause could be a loose crank sprocket, check when you pull the primary cover. Done guessing for now.  Z | ||
| Akbuell |
A couple of things come to mind. The 'grenade' plate, listed in the parts book as the spring plate, if your bike has one, may be coming apart. Second would be the C clip on the end of the shift drum is loose or has come off. Lets the shift pins move about. Maybe the shift pawl and its spring have issues. All of which means removing the primary cover for inspection. Perhaps a quick call to Twinmotorcycles? They are next door, so to speak, and seem to know Buells. Hope this helps, Dave | ||
| Falloutnl |
Thanks guys. Yeah, I'll give TM a call as some of this stuff is probably a little beyond my basic maintenance capabilities, but at least I'll know what to ask for. Cheers! | ||
| H0gwash |
You can definitely pull the transmission yourself and play with it and give it to a tranny shop if you decide. It does take a long time to do the first time. I pulled and eventually fixed a jammed transmission in a 1988 XLH1200 which also had the trap door. I had moderate mechanical ability and had never been past the primary cover before. I had difficulty removing the primary chain and engine sprocket nut but solved those with DIY videos and a propane torch for 10 minutes. Learning how to use a circlip wrench was an adventure. It took a long time and was quite messy but so satisfactory when it was done. | ||
| Falloutnl |
Hmm, yeah I can see that. Mending something yourself /is/ one of the best feelings in the world, true. | ||
| 651lance |
if its shifting hard, as in the the lever is hard to mover up and down, make sure you check the shifter drum. We have found when XL / Buell transmission get hard to shift or the shifter is sticking in or out of gear the shifter drum has a bur built up (mostly in the first or second gear channel) on the top edge of the shift fork channel. Don't file down the bur if you find one, replace the drum. | ||
| Falloutnl |
Will add this to the list of things to look for, thank you! | ||
| Dannybuell |
the clutch is going out | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Could just be the detent plate, as Ak suggested, since he's done the basic stuff. Don't see how many miles the thing has... could be worn dogs making it harder to engage the gear...the drum burr happens, don't know why you wouldn't just clean it up with a file. (I've just had mine completely apart and polished the drum and smoothed the channel edges) makes for nice smooth operation on the bench, hopefully improves the operation under load as well. It's intimidating, but not really hard to get into the tranny with the right tools. let the shop deal with it if you're not comfortable, twin seems to know what they are about. | ||
| Steveford |
Is the angle of the shifter doohickey where the rod attaches pointed directly at one of the torx bolts on the derby cover? | ||
| Andy350 |
belt tension could be too tight also | ||
| Alfau |
 loose pins cause #8 the detent plate to be out of alignment affecting gear change (Message edited by alfau on October 13, 2016) | ||
| Ratbuell |
When's the last time you checked/adjusted the primary chain? Start simple.... | ||
| Reepicheep |
The 2002 should have the updated tensioner I believe. So less likely to be the "broken backplate". Lance, care to elaborate on why to replace the drum rather than file the burr down? | ||
| Harleyelf |
Perhaps filing the burr will cause the slot to wallow out and allow the shift fork to ride at a strange angle, risking catastrophic failure? | ||
| Devdawg |
Just to add to the list above of possible items that could cause your shifting problems. Check the piece connected to the spring (1) in the diagram above that rolls along the shifter pawl. That little piece broke on my M2 and gave me similar shifting issues your having. While you are in there take a look at your pawl and get the updated version if needed. If you pull the gears and shifter drum out, take a few minutes and polish the drum with a buffing pad metal polish. It will make quite a bit of difference. Good luck. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
I say this having just been in there and spending some quality time getting to know my bike's transmission: I believe as long as the pins are properly seated in the shift drum's channels there shouldn't be an issue with them. It seems that removing the burrs or even making a slight relief to the edge or the channel would allow the forks to move freely instead of hanging up on a high spot and cause fork wear as well as difficult shifting. Getting the drum out only requires removing one more bolt, and pulling the cotter pins, then removing the guide pins. Should be easy clean up from there. File, buff, polish drum and channels, reseat detent plate pins into the drum if they've drifted out, then reassemble. | ||
| Jim2 |
Always use NEW cotter pins if you remove the old ones. |
