Hey guys and gals,

so I am brand new to this forum and not sure where to post this. Anyway this seemed like the best spot for the time being. So I just purchased my first bike a 2009 klx250. After attaining my permit and enjoying a few days of riding I was stopped at a light and noticed my shift lever had bent in. I had not dropped the bike so I was surprised to see the lever bent in. Once stopped in the parking lot I bent down and noticed the lever had a previous weld from the old owner. The weld was near the connection spot to the bike (not sure what this is called). I called my awesome mother and she quickly came to my rescue with the family tool box. I bent the shift lever back out without much effort. I then proceeded to run the bike through the gears at a stand still to make sure she was okay to ride home. After running it through the gears I kicked it back into first with a little extra pressure this time. The lever bent back in to the position where I was unable to shift it into 2nd. So I grabbed the plyers and proceeded to bend the shift lever back out. Once I bent it into a better position I hoped back on my baby and slowly tried to put it into first gear and this time it didn't want to go into first. I proceeded to try and put it into second and once again nothing happened. There was no click or feeling of engagement. The shift lever would move up and down with what seemed to me as a normal range of motion. This being said I took the bike to the shop because the problem was to large for me to solve in the garage with my current skill set. The shop informed me I would need a new shift lever. After waiting days for the part to arrive I got a call today (10-25-17) stating that the shift lever had been replaced however they still couldn't put the bike into first or second gear. They told me that they are going to run a diagnostic on the bike which entails taking apart the tranny and finding the issue. Me being me quickly assumed that the entire transmission was a dud considering the bike has 17,000 miles on it. So being 19 I began freaking out in my head how would I afford a couple thousand dollars to repair my lovely bike. I did a bunch of research on my bike and noticed the very common shift star problem with this specific make and model of bike. I am still extremely worried about what is wrong with the bike. I am curious if anyone has experienced this problem or thinks they might have an idea of what is wrong with my baby. Please please offer any information to either exacerbate my thoughts or to put them to rest. Thank you so much if you made it this far into my post.

Sincerely,

Sam

 

Firstly I would not allow the shop to take the entire transmission apart until they or you check the shift star and related parts behind the counter sprocket cover. Many others have had similar issues and have fixed it without taking the entire engine apart. Sounds like the shop is seeing dollar signs with your bike.

 

Odds are the problem is with the shift star or the shifter mechanism just under the small cover behind the shift lever. There are a small number of known failure modes of these parts. None of it requires transmission disassembly, nor splitting the cases. A decent mechanic should be able to fully troubleshoot and repair with less than 2 hours labor. Depending on what's broken, the parts cost will range from maybe $40 to somewhere much higher. Depending on what broke, it might make sense to source a used part for substantial savings. In other words, shift star=buy new, shift ratchet mechanism/shift shaft assembly=find good used part if possible.

 

update****
it was the shift star!! I already had them replace the shift lever and went ahead and let them replace the shift star. Total cost was $150 they went a ahead and installed a new clutch lever and tightened up the actual lever not the engagement point. Which was great but I figure they put it in the price but just acted like it was free. All and all im happy with the work done. The bike only cost me $1500 used and now I'm up to only $1650 including the repair. Thanks for the info

 

Glad it worked out for you.

 

$150 seems like a lot, but when you throw in parts plus fluids or whatever else it is fairly decent. Around 2 hr work and the rates seem to be around $60/hr and up for most good shops. Plus now everything is working, makes it a fair deal.

 

Thanks for the update, Sam. Now go ride that thing!