2012 RTL (SE5) will not shift

[stevencovert]

Shock Method

When I changed mine, I used the shock method. Remove the lower shock nut off the bolt (13mm). Jack up the bike about midway on the center frame, slowly. The rear A frame will drop and you will find a point where the shock bolt slides right out. Keep jacking up and the belt will slip right off. No messing with the alignment screws.

 

[pegasus1300]

jay Hawker,I have to go along with Snowbelt Spyder. Without confirming that the splines on the little shifter are good we can't tell what's going on. The shaft coming out of the engine is much harder than the little shifter shaft. It is much softer then the engine shift shaft so it's splines are going to go first. And when it goes it is going to be stuck in whatever gear you are in at the time. The little shifter will need to be replaced(cheap part) and a new retainer bolt put in to hold it to the shaft. You can then put it in any gear you need it to be in then loosen it and index it as you need. This is more difficult to write about then to actually do. Anyway once you have it as you want it tighten it down and go on your merry little way. At this point I really don't think more then some stripped splines are involved here. I am adding to my regular oil change procedure a quick check of this little shifter and bolt for tightness. Hope you get your problem solved quickly.

 

[RickyBobby]

Front pulley and GPS

After ohming out the connector (yes, meter set to Ohms) on the GPS and getting no resistance at all between the pins (the pins on the sensor, not the cable) or pins to ground, I went to the dealer.
The Can-Am certified tech was there. I explained the whole ordeal. Not wanting to commit to a definite "yes, that will fix it" without having inspected it himself, he suggested that replacing the solenoid would be where he would start if it was his out of warranty bike.
Ordered the part from 2WheelPros for $120. Should be here 7/25.
One of the screws that hold the sensor comes out without a hitch. However, the other one bottoms out against the belt sprocket before clearing the hole in the transmission housing. My next task is backing the pulley out 1/4" or so without messing up belt tension or alignment. If possible.

http://www.2wheelpros.com/oem-parts...roadster-se5-05-shifting-system-assembly.html

I have seen in a couple of places where it's stated that the GPS can be replaced without removing the front pulley. On a 2010 RTS SE5, that is positively not true. The most frustrating part is that I only need about 1/16 of an inch more clearance. You cannot get the ridge on the sensor over the positioning shaft that works the sensor.

 

[billybovine]

Jayhawker, Thanks for posting this, add another SE5 Gear Shift Lever Can-Am item# 420257881 failure at 30,000 miles. I happened to have read and followed your post when you started this thread just as I was buying my (Used) '13 Spyder with only 8k on it. Yesterday with only 29,800+ miles on it, it happened to me. Thanks to Billybovine and Bob's suggestions, I was able to get moving again very quickly (Factory included tool kit had the 13mm wrench and 5mm allen that allowed me to pull the Socket Head Screw M6 X 25 Can-Am item: 205062544 out, slide the Gear Shift Lever back on and re-affix. Before I could get home, it happened 3 more times! I'm thinking that just ordering the Gear Shift lever and replacing that bolt MAY not be the final fix.
I'll take any suggestions of what else I should look at if I have to have the Shift Shaft replaced. Per my Service Manual, the Clutch Shaft Ass'y 420620598 includes all the seals, sleeves, springs needed for the shaft. Thankfully that shaft can be done without removing the engine, but there's gotta be other gaskets / seals that have to be replaced with that. I know the clutch cover and hub have to be removed and to take the clutch cover off the right side is almost completely removed, all panels, and the support bar (what there's only 20 zip ties on that support:banghead.

Anyone actually done this themselves?

Why the hell are you going to change the shifter shaft. The shift lever is far softer steel then the shaft. Take some pictures of the shaft splines and let us have a look.

 

[DGoebel]

Why the hell are you going to change the shifter shaft. The shift lever is far softer steel then the shaft. Take some pictures of the shaft splines and let us have a look.

BB, I'm actually in the process of starting another thread about this and deleted my original post in this thread. IF I have to replace the shifter shaft, due to wearing the splines on the outboard section of the shifter shart, else why would the gear shift lever keep working loose after being re-mounted and bolted.
I'll be taking those pics and posting soon. I'm thinking that every time it worked back loose, the retaining bolt was wearing the outboard splines off/down as it became loose / canted again.

 

[billybovine]

BB, I'm actually in the process of starting another thread about this and deleted my original post in this thread. IF I have to replace the shifter shaft, due to wearing the splines on the outboard section of the shifter shart, else why would the gear shift lever keep working loose after being re-mounted and bolted.
I'll be taking those pics and posting soon. I'm thinking that every time it worked back loose, the retaining bolt was wearing the outboard splines off/down as it became loose / canted again.

No need to start another thread it is not that complicated. Now that I understand what you are doing. I will guess you don't need a new shift lever either.

Put the shift lever back on. Tighten the pinch bolt until the shift lever will not move on the shaft anymore. Done.

Slightly tightening the bolt and leaving the lever loose on the shaft. It is going to just fall off again. As you found out.

 

[DGoebel]

Billy, I guess I wasn't clear, we did reinstall the shift lever and retaining bolt several times on Sunday while trying to ride the spyder home from the first fail. We were using the 5 MM allen wrench that was in the factory tool kit and cranked that bolt as tight as the 7 inch long allen wrench lever would allow. We never slightly tightened it at anytime. It was tight enough I used a breaker bar on my 3/8s drive with 5mm allen tip to remove the bolt at home. And yes the lever splines are damaged so the lever and bolt are being replaced.

My question was if the shifter shaft splines are damaged enough that the new lever won't maintain grip has anyone replaced their shifter shaft as well, and what all else needs to be considered/ordered/inspected when doing that. That is all in the new thread since mine's not a '12 for clarity's sake.
Photos in the SE5 Gear Shift lever fail thread

Your post in this thread at least helped us get the spyder home without towing fee's etc. Thank you

 

[lima_golf]

This information and pictures helped me a lot!

You've probably figured out by now that the little bolt that goes through the shift lever isn't really there to squeeze down on that shifter shaft, but rather it's supposed to go through that groove that's machined into the shaft. Why these things come off is a big question. If the bolt is properly positioned in that groove, then it should keep the shift lever on there. You do use that slot to align the lever to the shaft. Align the slot to the dot at the end of the shaft. But I doubt seriously that the bolt accomplishes much, if any, squeezing of the lever to the shaft. That thing is pretty stout. Pictures below.

Was riding from Seattle to Vegas with a family member who was on a 2013 STS-SE5. Stopped at a rest area on top of Mammoth mountain 60 miles from our motel, 900 miles from home, 400 miles from Vegas when the spyder stopped shifting. Long story short a flat bed tow truck picked up the spyder and transported it to Bishop CA. I rented a Penski 16' truck, loaded the spyder and Indian Chief, which I was riding and working perfectly, transported both back to Seattle. Once back home I discovered the root cause was the shift linkage detached from the shaft. The pinch bolt was tight. With the help of your pictures was able to align the shaft and arm to get it to shift correctly. Wish I would have saw this a week ago. Would have saved me $1400 in rental truck, towing and gas.

 

[professor56]

ive got a similar first time out in two or three months will not down shift when coming to a stop only to 4th or 3rd any ideas for this. upshifts fine

 

[larry555]

Hello fellow spyder lover. Can am one tell me why some time I get a check transmission error message across the screen on my 2010 can am spyder could it be a sensor