Ballabio Shift Lever Stuck in Down Position

[Stormtruck2]

04 Ballabio with Red Line Hy Shock in tranny case. Went for a long spirited ride then 25 miles of 65-70 mph travel. Got into town, fueled and cruising through town the shift lever stuck in the down position after shifting in to 1st gear, 3 times in a row. Then for the next 100 plus miles didn't do it again. Since most Moto Guzzi do not have the self heal function on them, what happened, what should I check? Lube level is good in the box. Half way up the sight glass.

[grossohc]

Well you could be checking the gear linkage is tight on the shaft splines, and all the linkages are clean, free and lubricated. if it isnt that, it could be the spring in the box has stretched/is on its way out, but hopefully its a easy fix. time for some

[fotoguzzi]

I carry a spare return spring as the 2002's are know for breaking it.. have not used it yet, 22k.

[gstallons]

04 Ballabio with Red Line Hy Shock in tranny case. Went for a long spirited ride then 25 miles of 65-70 mph travel. Got into town, fueled and cruising through town the shift lever stuck in the down position after shifting in to 1st gear, 3 times in a row. Then for the next 100 plus miles didn't do it again. Since most Moto Guzzi do not have the self heal function on them, what happened, what should I check? Lube level is good in the box. Half way up the sight glass.

 

 

The first thing to check is the pivot bolt the shift lever is mounted with. It will rust and cause the shifter to stick. I had to remove and liberally grease it to keep it from sticking. * The pivot bolt has a nut on the inside and the bracket it goes through is threaded so loosen the nut and hold it while removing the bolt.

[Tom M]

I had that problem a few years back and greasing all of the shifter pivots definitely helped but didn't completely cure it. The shifter still occasionally stuck on very hot days after a long ride on an interstate. When I changed a broken pawl spring that summer I greased the shifter shaft before reinstalling it in the case and that seems to have cured the problem.

 

If I had to replace the pawl spring again I would replace the return spring too while I was in there.

[AndyH]

I had that problem a few years back and greasing all of the shifter pivots definitely helped but didn't completely cure it. The shifter still occasionally stuck on very hot days after a long ride on an interstate. When I changed a broken pawl spring that summer I greased the shifter shaft before reinstalling it in the case and that seems to have cured the problem.

 

If I had to replace the pawl spring again I would replace the return spring too while I was in there.

This might sound odd, but I got something similar with new bike boots. The depth of the instep meant that the lever was somehow getting stuck in gear. Eventually I was able to get it working again. When I happened to change back to my old boots (just because they were handy one day) the problem disappeared!

 

New boots gear stuck, old boots no problem.

 

Barely used pair of boots anyone?

 

AndyH

[Bjor]

04 Ballabio with Red Line Hy Shock in tranny case. Went for a long spirited ride then 25 miles of 65-70 mph travel. Got into town, fueled and cruising through town the shift lever stuck in the down position after shifting in to 1st gear, 3 times in a row. Then for the next 100 plus miles didn't do it again. Since most Moto Guzzi do not have the self heal function on them, what happened, what should I check? Lube level is good in the box. Half way up the sight glass.

 

 

The first thing to check is the pivot bolt the shift lever is mounted with. It will rust and cause the shifter to stick. I had to remove and liberally grease it to keep it from sticking. * The pivot bolt has a nut on the inside and the bracket it goes through is threaded so loosen the nut and hold it while removing the bolt.

 

Agree, has happened to me on very hot days, and lubricating the pivot bolt has helped. You could drill a hole on the shifter body and mount a grease fitting. I have done it, and it's very convenient...

[gstallons]

You will be able to verify this when you loosen the jam nut and start removing the pivot bolt. It will pull the shift lever downward hard enough to engage it in first gear and when you reverse rotation of the bolt it will move the lever upward...