Bent gear shifter

[MikeN02]

Didn't happen to me but it could happen to any bike.

My sister is still learning to ride and so she dropped her Ninja 250R. Gear shifter sort of bent and is close to the bike and the rod. Anyway to fix this? Heard of heating it and bending it, if you try to bend it without heat it'll break.

Happened when I went down on my Ninja EX500 as well but my mechanic straightened it out somehow.

 

[dart1963]

Problem with bending it back is it will break, if not then at some point down the road (maybe while riding and trying to take off in traffic)

Best to just order a new one, they are not that expensive. Then, make sure your sister has long enough frame sliders to prevent this from happening again!

 

[Spunky99]

Why will it break?

I've had them wrapped around my foot in an accident before and they bent back just fine. Mild steel is very forgiving.

 

[MikeN02]

im with spunky on this one. i dropped my first bike ninja 500 numerous times while learning and took it to my mechanic for a full check up. he bent it back somehow and i didnt even ask him to. to this day the brake and shifters still havent broken on me.

 

[dart1963]

"Why would it break?", stress., but it also depends... if it is steel or aluminum? My buddy's cbr broke when he tried bending it back.

can I bend this shift lever back? - Honda-Tech

bent shift lever : Yamaha R6 Forum: R6MessageNet : YZF-R6 Forums


just a few other links... some have good luck, others break...

and (not sure what year, but that bike hasn't changed much over the years):
13242 LEVER-ASSY-CHANGE 13242-0044 1 $20.11

 

[pyrocpu]

It'd bend back. Watched my MSF instructor bend a coupla levers back, for those who dropped their GZ250 bikes; they also have a similar mild steel construction.

Aluminum levers on the nice bikes (CBR, R6)--yeah, those WON'T bend. Those I'd replace.

 

[porky45]

piece of wood... 2x4 or something of that sort... wedge and bend. That's what I used to bend my rear brake back when i went down.

 

[MikeN02]

piece of wood... 2x4 or something of that sort... wedge and bend. That's what I used to bend my rear brake back when i went down.

Thanks! This was going to be my next question. I'll try this method tomorrow. My initial idea was to take off the whole thing and hammer it away.

 

[btastarsky]

When I bent my shifter during a high side, my buddy and I bent it back with the wrench that comes with the tool kit. You just gotta get the right leverage and put it back just enough to clear. The bend actually shortened my shifter a bit and it shifts faster now for me.

 

[porky45]

Thanks! This was going to be my next question. I'll try this method tomorrow. My initial idea was to take off the whole thing and hammer it away.

it's easier to bend it when it's bolted into the frame (or where-ever it's bolted now). you can put alot of torque on it and judge whether it's in the right spot or not.

beat the hell out of taking it off, throwing it in a vice, bending, hoping and then doing it again.