RTSE5 Won't Shift At All, What Is This Connector???

[solidgranite]

Went for a ride today...about 100 miles total. No problems at all. Got home, and tried to shift from 1st into Neutral to park the bike. Would not shift into neutral, or reverse...tried many times. Put on parking brake, and killed the engine. Started it with foot on brake...no problem starting, but still in 1st gear. Would not shift at all.

I checked the oil level...it was fine. Then I noticed this "connector" hanging down about a foot back from the oil tank. (See pic) I have no idea of what it's supposed to connect to, but I'm guessing that it's involved with the inability to shift. Can anyone tell me where this connector goes? It has a hex screw tightener, and looks similar to an old fashioned battery cable connector, but smaller. There's little to no play in its cable (an inch of wiggle room at most), so it must connect close to where I see in hanging. I've tried to identify it on schematics, but no luck. What is this, and where does it go???

 

[Peter Aawen]

That's the shift linkage!! :gaah: You are SO Lucky you got it home, so that it could fall off there!! :shocked:

There's a few threads here discussing this problem - those things are made of a soft metal and quite a few are stripping the splines that grip onto the shift selector shaft. Tightening the bolt you can see doesn't really help much if at all, it's intended to fit into the groove you'll be able to see in the shaft if you can get under to have a look, but once the splines in that linkage are stripped the hole will rapidly enlarge enough to let that linkage fall off. It's a fairly simple replacement as outlined in some of the other threads. Definitely worth doing some searching for those threads. :thumbup:

Good Luck. :cheers:

Edit: There's a good pic of that item shown as #3 in post #9 of the thread linked below - the rest of the thread probably isn't too applicable in this case, and I'm not sure if it's talking about the right model Spyder either, but the selector item itself is the same.

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?141082-Transmission-problem-stuck-in-gear

 

[pegasus1300]

The only thing I would add to Peter's report is that I put a slightly longer bolt thru the hole and a nylock nut on the end to keep it from loosening.
Oh and when you put the new one back on it points down and there is a small dot punched into the end of the shaft. Index that dot to the line on the shift lever.

 

[Bfromla]

Easily missed when attempting to put on is backing the bolt almost all way out so can slide arm in shaft there is a groove bolt will Slide between & retain when arm is properly seated. Splines & threads on soft metal:dontknow::gaah::banghead:

 

[solidgranite]

That's the shift linkage!! :gaah: You are SO Lucky you got it home, so that it could fall off there!! :shocked:

There's a few threads here discussing this problem - those things are made of a soft metal and quite a few are stripping the splines that grip onto the shift selector shaft. Tightening the bolt you can see doesn't really help much if at all, it's intended to fit into the groove you'll be able to see in the shaft if you can get under to have a look, but once the splines in that linkage are stripped the hole will rapidly enlarge enough to let that linkage fall off. It's a fairly simple replacement as outlined in some of the other threads. Definitely worth doing some searching for those threads. :thumbup:

Good Luck. :cheers:

Edit: There's a good pic of that item shown as #3 in post #9 of the thread linked below - the rest of the thread probably isn't too applicable in this case, and I'm not sure if it's talking about the right model Spyder either, but the selector item itself is the same.

https://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/showthread.php?141082-Transmission-problem-stuck-in-gear

Thanks very much! The pic was a great help, and I was able to put the connector back on the splined shift rod. Plenty of splines left both inside the connector and on the rod. I really appreciate your knowledge and help!

 

[solidgranite]

The only thing I would add to Peter's report is that I put a slightly longer bolt thru the hole and a nylock nut on the end to keep it from loosening.
Oh and when you put the new one back on it points down and there is a small dot punched into the end of the shaft. Index that dot to the line on the shift lever.

Got it back on, and will consider a longer thru-bolt with a lock nut. Thanks for you knowledge and help!

 

[solidgranite]

Easily missed when attempting to put on is backing the bolt almost all way out so can slide arm in shaft there is a groove bolt will Slide between & retain when arm is properly seated. View attachment 192372 Splines & threads on soft metal:dontknow::gaah::banghead:

Thankfully, the splines inside the connector and on the shaft rod were still there. I saw the groove you mentioned, and made sure that the connector was properly seated so the through bolt tightened against that groove. Thanks for your knowledge and help!