IS THIS BAD?

[superman]

so this morning went to take the bike to work half 7 in the morn, i wheel the bike out the garage and warm her up then realise the gear selector rod thing is hangin off WTF? how did that happen i thought so i stick it back on an found i couldnt change up a gear without standin up on the pegs so i could leaver the gear selector. i thought this aint right so i swapped the thing round now instead of 1 down 5 up i got 1 up 5 down?????? iv drove to work like it just wondering if this was a bad idea thought i could smell burnin at some point thoe 2 like plastic then sort of greasey like. not sure if that was a couple of the vans i was behind thoe. anyway all thoughts on the matter welcomed
(i know i am a thick Camel when it comes to mechanics lol )

[RedexRobB]

Umm, i think you mean the rod that connects the gear lever to the selector rod by the sprocket? For whatever reason it has come off, it sounds like you have put it the wrong way up! Where it connects to the selector rod, the joint should be underneath and not on top.

Like this

[rene]

they can wobel lose if not put back on correctly. I've knwon poeple to lose them on the motorway, come off then be stuck in 6th untill they can find away of boding somthing in there!

What you've done is put the rod in upside down so its the same as the way a racer would have it (can change up gear mind cornor without getting your foot ramed into the road)

Put it back the other way then ajust as needed to get a nice change again

[superman]

Oh yea i know iv put it on upsidedown lol its just have i likely damaged anything riding it that way.....
the main thing i need to do is put it back the other way then somehow adjust the selector lever thing so its down more cos i cant knock it up a gear..

[rene]

it wont cause any damage no, all its doing is reversing the leaver's action

[superman]

Ah thats good then so as long as it dont damage the bike thats ok then, ill be ok getting it home i think. im wonderin why the box aint designed this way in the first place its so much easyer to boot up the gears

[cargo]

If you want to ride your bike with one up five down there is no reason why you shouldn't
Nearly every racer I know uses that set up............it make no difference to the gearbox itself you are still turning the selector shaft the same way it's just the lever action that is reversed.

Funnily enough I prefer one down five up

[superman]

Im not actually sure which i like best but im gona put it back i think cos the bar kind of rubs the sidestand.

[rene]

i like mine 1 down 5 up, but i think this is mainly down to what im used to

it would only rub the stand if it rubed it before, you havent changed anything other than puting the rod in the wrong way

[superman]

Na nothin else is changed but when you push it down it just touches the side stand sort of but still never mind ill sort that minor problem out shortley when i get home by changing it back i think. they wouldnt put it the otherway as standard if that werent ment to be would they.

i think im used to 1 down 5 up but the other way does seem to get you up the gears faster with less mess.

[rene]

it wont do any damge, reason why they do it is because its a standard, same as haveing the clutch on the left it dosent need to be, its jsut were everyone expects it to be

same with up to go up gears

[RedexRobB]

reason why they do it is because its a standard - its jsut were everyone expects it to be

You'll have a nasty shock if you got on a british bike then!

[rene]

only the old school stuff!

[deviant]

an found i couldnt change up a gear without standin up on the pegs so i could leaver the gear selector.

then somehow adjust the selector lever thing so its down more cos i cant knock it up a gear..

you've probably put it back on at a different angle to where it was originally. if you pull it off again you will notice that the shaft has a load of teeth on it, and so does the clamp. obviously you can put the two together as many ways as there are teeth.

if you pull it off, rotate it slightly anticlockwise and put it back on, your gear lever will be lower.

presumably, since it's come off, you've lost the bolt which goes through the clamp. you'll need another one of those.

you can also adjust the length of the rod by undoing the nuts at each end then spinning the rod. remember to do them back up afterwards.

And as said above, won't do any harm to the bike, unless you crash because you've changed down when you expected to change up of course!