Last fall I purchased a 1980 KL 250, and have been riding a dirt track ever since. I did not have proper boots when I started, and the stock shift lever was working fine as long as I was in shoes, but when I started wearing riding boots I found it to be about an inch too short to allow for comfortable shifting. My housemate has a 1978 KL 250, and we tried his shift lever on the shaft of my bike, and it fit! I would like to replace the lever permanently.

I've been watching eBay for 1978 shifters, but the ones that I've found have often been in poor condition. Does anyone know if there are any later model year shift levers that will fit this bike, or any aftermarket levers? I cannot find any data about the spline pattern, so I'm a little lost here. Anyone else who's ever replaced a shifter on one of these old dirt bikes, I would very much appreciate your help.

Thank you and happy riding,
~Susi

 

Welcome to KF and good luck on the search. Hit up your favorite fiche that may deal with older machines like babbits for example. The splines should be the same, but check out the part numbers and I would think that the 78-94 shifters will work on your ride as well. new of course and worth a shot of purchase. Good luck on the find but please do not shoot me if I am mistaken. I have not researched this thoroughly. lol

 

I've always kinda felt like shifters were the weak link on dirt bikes. Most are poorly made, and bend or break too easily. When you're out roosting, the last thing you want is to do is shift like a wuss. Make one you can stomp on. I would suggest finding the spline, and fabbing one of your own. You can find hobby stock sheet steel at your local tractor supply or big box home depot. Grab a welder, and make a monster.

Welcome to the forums, Gunge. Let us know what you come up with.

 

Just thought I'd make an update post here to let everyone know what my final solution was.

I couldn't find any decent information on the splines in the end. The dealerships told me, at best, "Hmm, I think the shifters from 78-83 KL250s and KZ200s will fit, but I dunno..." So I searched for those levers both as OEM parts and aftermarkets, and found a grand total of nothing. At least 2/3 of the websites I went to didn't even list parts for bikes older than 1984 at all.

The pickings on eBay for used parts were slim, as well. I found a couple levers for the 1978 that were about 20 bucks, but they shared a similar problem: the splines were rounded. This was the same problem on my stock 1980 lever, which prevented me from using it as a base to fabricate a new lever from scratch. I knew that if I could find a new lever for any of these bikes, I could simply cut the lever portion off if I didn't like it and weld on a lever of my own design, but none of the dealerships could get shift levers from this time period at all.

I finally found one on eBay for a 1978 that was brand new, still in the factory packaging. They wanted 40 bucks for it, but for a brand new part from 33 years ago, I paid it. The stock lever for the older bike has been working out great so far.

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So long story short, if anyone with the same problem stumbles across this thread, all I can say is, if the shift lever for your 1980 KL250 seems too short, you're not alone, and you're not doing something wrong. IT IS. If you can build your own and feel inclined to, then Jeff is probably right, it's the best thing to do. But if you want to save the hassle or if you don't know how to weld, then search for a 78-79 KL shifter; it will fit just fine and is plenty long enough to use with either street shoes or motocross boots!

 

Another solution if you feel the shifter is too short, is to raise it up one or 2 notches on the spline. You still have to tip your MX boots into it but it makes shifting a lot easier. Oh and welcome to the forums, post up a picture of the bike, that's old school......wait I was in 10th grade when that bike was made....dang it I'm old!!! LOL

 

good point deej, I assumed that..... meant that the lever itself was too short.

 

I tried raising and lowering the lever a notch or two, and sadly it didn't solve my problem. Deej is right, the lever was simply too short. Using the stock 1978 lever solved the problem completely.

And yeah, I do plan to get some photos together of the bike one of these days. Usually if I'm near it, I'm too busy riding it to photograph it!