1st Gear Problem

This is my second attempt at posting this, my first didn't appear to upload! So if anyone sees a repeat, please forgive me!

I have recently acquired an A5 1300 from an old family friend. The bike has been garaged for +/- 4 years and was in perfect running order prior to being parked. It has done only 32k km and is still in pristine condition, given it's age. All 100% original, bar the exhaust. The bike has an excellent service history and has never been ridden hard.

Besides all the carb issues etc. that come with a bike that has been standing for an extended period, i have a problem with 1st gear (this was guaranteed not to have been there when parked). When starting off with little throttle, the bike 'feels' undecided whether it's in 1st or a higher gear!!! It feels like it is automatically changing between the two with out missing a gear or grinding gears etc. Somewhat like an automatic vehicle up shifting and down shifting. Start off with a fair amount of throttle and you get a loud grating noise and no movement.

I took the oil pan off and looked up into the box and checked/changed the following

1. Shift forks/selectors. One was what appeared to be very fractionally off true, literally by a ball hair - I replaced that
2. Gear grooves, dogs, dog hole etc. - All appear to be in a new, excellent condition.
3. shift drum grooves - like new
4. Shift drum positioning pin spring - measured 30mm, manual states limit as 30,7mm - I have replaced that
5. shafts look perfect bar a slight smear of superficial rust. All gears etc. appear to be sliding/running freely on the shaft.

The clutch is still binding a little, making the bike want to creep forward when fully pulled. I haven't done anything here as have read that this will loosen with running, having been parked for so long. I only put 30km on the bike before I started to look at the gear issue and the clutch is much better, but not 100%.

Has any fellow biker had this problem and am I missing something that needs to be checked further before I put all back together and try again?

Any comments and help will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

Craig,

Its very rare for any 1300 to have gearbox issues.
I have had more than 8 1300's and NEVER had a gearbox problem.

Its quite common for any bike from the 70's & 80's to have slight clutch issues.......especially if the bike has stood for long periods.

My advice would be to strip the clutch fully & inspect every surface of each plate, both the metal & friction surfaces.

Also take a close look at the teeth on the clutch basket itself, as they often develop small ridges where each plate rubs against them. If yo have ridges, just carefully remove them until smooth with a fine file or grit paper.

Finally, make sure the clutch is CORRECTLY adjusted. The small (pathetic) arm that the cable goes into on the LH side on the engine is a very very poor design & often fails. I have also seen the main long clutch push rod slightly bent on one bike, causing gear change problems.
Once you are sorted, its well worth considering doing the hydraulic clutch mod too.

Hope that helps

Pete F
UK

Thanks Pete, I will strip the clutch tomorrow and follow your advice. Funny you mention the clutch arm, my cable pulled through the attachment today when i was rocking the bike to shift through the gears!

It was definitely designed on a Friday afternoon or by someone who was working thru their resignation notice !!

Go hydraulic ................no more cable problems or arms snapping !!!

Pete F

I think I'll do that Pete. Is there a site you know of that I can order a full conversion kit from?

MCG Germany..............but its expensive.

Better make your yourself.

Pete F