Crashed - shifting problem
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 111
From: Phoenix AZ
1st Gear Member
Crashed - shifting problem
Hey Guys,
I slid out and went asphalt surfing on the left side of my bike. I bent the shift rod out and now I can shift easily through 4-5-6, but I cannot go further down into 3 (or 2-N-1 for that matter)
Anybody come across this before?
I slid out and went asphalt surfing on the left side of my bike. I bent the shift rod out and now I can shift easily through 4-5-6, but I cannot go further down into 3 (or 2-N-1 for that matter)
Anybody come across this before?
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1st Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 288
From: Maple Ridge, BC Canada
I remember my son test riding a KLR250 that he wanted to buy, and once he got up into 5th, he was unable to get it back down past 3rd or 4th. After fiddling and messing with it (rolling it forward a little, back a little while trying to downshift) we finally got it to downshift. He tried again, had the same problem, so we called the seller and he came in his pickup and picked up the bike. Never found out the problem, but i'm guessing it's a mis-alignment of the shift star. I thought I read a thread here where somebody had a similar problem and it was the shift claw or shift star or something in that area had bent - wish I could find the thread now.
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 283
From: B.C. Canada 2000' ASL
The shift star can be a problem spot on these bikes:
From: So what are the KLX250S flaws? | Adventure Rider
From: So what are the KLX250S flaws? | Adventure Rider
There are a couple of items related to the shift mechanism that have bit some of us.
Problem one: shift star breakage. So far this seems specific to the 2009 model: pins broken off of the shift star after crashes on the left (shifter) side of the bike. This causes the bike to lose any gears beyond the pin that broke off. Kawasaki changed the shift star design in 2009 resulting in a weaker part. I haven't read of this failure on any of the earlier ('06 & '07 in the US) models, and I haven't happened across '10 models with the same failure (not sure if they changed the design back). It may have been a one year only design boo-boo. The part sent to replace mine was essentially identical to the '06/'07 part, and was a bolt in replacement. The replacement part is something like $25, plus about $9 for a new gasket. Takes maybe an hour or two to replace at a leisurely pace.
Problem two: bent shift mechanism return spring holder pin. Basically, there is a stud in the shift mechanism that if bent can prevent shifts into first gear. This one doesn't seem year specific. It's about an $8 part, and the same labor as the shift star.
Neither of these problems is super widespread, but they both happen frequently enough that multiple people here and/or over at kawasakiforums have reported them. The bent travel stop pin isn't going to hurt anything else, but there is some potential for the broken shift star pin to get into other parts of the transmission.
Problem one: shift star breakage. So far this seems specific to the 2009 model: pins broken off of the shift star after crashes on the left (shifter) side of the bike. This causes the bike to lose any gears beyond the pin that broke off. Kawasaki changed the shift star design in 2009 resulting in a weaker part. I haven't read of this failure on any of the earlier ('06 & '07 in the US) models, and I haven't happened across '10 models with the same failure (not sure if they changed the design back). It may have been a one year only design boo-boo. The part sent to replace mine was essentially identical to the '06/'07 part, and was a bolt in replacement. The replacement part is something like $25, plus about $9 for a new gasket. Takes maybe an hour or two to replace at a leisurely pace.
Problem two: bent shift mechanism return spring holder pin. Basically, there is a stud in the shift mechanism that if bent can prevent shifts into first gear. This one doesn't seem year specific. It's about an $8 part, and the same labor as the shift star.
Neither of these problems is super widespread, but they both happen frequently enough that multiple people here and/or over at kawasakiforums have reported them. The bent travel stop pin isn't going to hurt anything else, but there is some potential for the broken shift star pin to get into other parts of the transmission.
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