Went on a 160mi ride today and near the end of the ride the shift lever was rubbing on the case so bad that it would get stuck in the "UP" position. Never dropped it, but the PO must have because there were previous marks on the case from the lever.

Do i take it off and bend it out a bit? Are there better aftermarket ones that provide more clearance and are a bit longer?

 

 

can i yank on it while its on the bike? i dont want to break anything.

 

No yanking!! Just even pressure and it will bend away from the case. If you have access to a suitable vise, take the lever off and clamp it in the vise.

 

 

Get a small pipe wrench or use a crescent wrench and use even pressure pivoting at the wrench, bending the shifter without pulling on the shaft. Fit the wrench on the shifter then hold your one hand on the shifter near the back at the bend and push in as you pull out with the wrench. You should end up not putting much force on the shift shaft that way. Your hand at the back of the shifter kind of becomes the bending point. I think you know what I mean.

 

After slightly bending the shifter I made a case protector to keep future damage from happening.

 

It's unlikely you'll bend the shift shaft coming out of the case if you're decently careful with how you bend the shifter out. It can also be a good idea to cut a small piece of wood that you can jam in between the frame and shifter where it connects to the shaft. Then you can bend the shifter back in the same plane as the swingarm without much concern of any damage to the shaft. Do not bend the shifter in a twisting motion...like in the same circular motion that the shift shaft turns to shift gears. If you get rough with it in that direction you can bend a shift fork.

 

Nice fab skills.

 

Reminds me a bit of ol' dan888's mod back awhile.