not so happy with gear change on G50
Discussion
hi folks,
not sure if I am doing anything wrong but the gear linkage is not making me too happy. With the standard factory setup I had the choice of no 5th gear or no rear.
I have been putting the seats quite close to the center in my canam because I wanted the full travel to the bulkhead so the pivot of the gear lever was fouling with the seats. I have now cut down the pivot and first rod connector by 1 cm so my pivot point is lower which has improved the situation quite a bit. Still I must use an extension for the gear lever, as the factory length is too hard to operate.
I hope my poor english will help to understand what I am having in mind.
I would say that the pivot actually should start right at the rod and the rose joint should maybe right above the pivot as well, as that would create the biggest movement of the rod without requiring too much of an effort.
Still I think that the whole design has flaws, it is simple but compared how you change gears directly at the box.....
I understand that the lever that attaches directly at the back of the box is creating the most of this travel transformation that makes the whole gear shift soft and undefined.
I think if that lever would be shorter it would give you a more direct feel of gear change, however with probably the problem requiring more force again.
Another option would be a set of gears that would transport the turn of the rod in the front directly to the gear box shaft. 3 gears that would also give the ability of gearing adjustments to balance travel against force.
Has anybody thought of something like this before ?
I have read many posts about converting the box to cable shift, but in my opinion there is nothing wrong about the gear linkage if the construction itself would be more precise and direct.
thanks
not sure if I am doing anything wrong but the gear linkage is not making me too happy. With the standard factory setup I had the choice of no 5th gear or no rear.
I have been putting the seats quite close to the center in my canam because I wanted the full travel to the bulkhead so the pivot of the gear lever was fouling with the seats. I have now cut down the pivot and first rod connector by 1 cm so my pivot point is lower which has improved the situation quite a bit. Still I must use an extension for the gear lever, as the factory length is too hard to operate.
I hope my poor english will help to understand what I am having in mind.
I would say that the pivot actually should start right at the rod and the rose joint should maybe right above the pivot as well, as that would create the biggest movement of the rod without requiring too much of an effort.
Still I think that the whole design has flaws, it is simple but compared how you change gears directly at the box.....
I understand that the lever that attaches directly at the back of the box is creating the most of this travel transformation that makes the whole gear shift soft and undefined.
I think if that lever would be shorter it would give you a more direct feel of gear change, however with probably the problem requiring more force again.
Another option would be a set of gears that would transport the turn of the rod in the front directly to the gear box shaft. 3 gears that would also give the ability of gearing adjustments to balance travel against force.
Has anybody thought of something like this before ?
I have read many posts about converting the box to cable shift, but in my opinion there is nothing wrong about the gear linkage if the construction itself would be more precise and direct.
thanks
Hi Spatz
I assume yours is LHD ?
I had trouble with mine and made a longer gear lever with a larger crank and it works well now .
Did you use drive pins . There is no play with these .
My change is very possitive but slow . I think there is a lot of inertia in all the weight in the steel rods they use . I thought I would make a aluminium set for a quicker change .
Frank
I assume yours is LHD ?
I had trouble with mine and made a longer gear lever with a larger crank and it works well now .
Did you use drive pins . There is no play with these .
My change is very possitive but slow . I think there is a lot of inertia in all the weight in the steel rods they use . I thought I would make a aluminium set for a quicker change .
Frank
SchimmS said:
It all depends on the adjustment of the uniballs - I always need two hands to engage reverse but can change gears quickly and easily (6 speed). I have to admit though that the cable change mechanism is my favorite setup so far.
Exactly the same with mine, short sharp two handed reverse.I'll try to post a pic but don't hold your breath .
I made a clip to fit round the rod at the end where it meets the selector lever coming out of the end of the gearbox . This clip has a hole for a spring which goes up verticaly to a bracket on the exhaust bracket[anywhere vertical will do] . The tension in the spring is the same as the weight of the rod and therefore said weight is not biasing the gate of the gearlever towards 1st/2nd plane . A long spring is best as it keeps fairly even tension whilst changing gear . Its made abig difference . If you come out of 2nd and let go of the lever it flicks nicely into the 3rd/4th plane so you feel confident to bang the lever into the next/correct gear .
Frank
P.s Just thought I'll email a pic later today
I made a clip to fit round the rod at the end where it meets the selector lever coming out of the end of the gearbox . This clip has a hole for a spring which goes up verticaly to a bracket on the exhaust bracket[anywhere vertical will do] . The tension in the spring is the same as the weight of the rod and therefore said weight is not biasing the gate of the gearlever towards 1st/2nd plane . A long spring is best as it keeps fairly even tension whilst changing gear . Its made abig difference . If you come out of 2nd and let go of the lever it flicks nicely into the 3rd/4th plane so you feel confident to bang the lever into the next/correct gear .
Frank
P.s Just thought I'll email a pic later today
ok here my mods
I have changed the position of the joint and uniballs(requires some welding)
including a lever extension, now it works quite well.
Actually meant to remove the complete system again.........but now I know it is feasible without touching engine
or gear box.
As you can see the seats have already suffered from the factory setup, but now the gear linkage is not
touching them any longer. I must say that I do not understand why they do not change the setup to what I have
done, as I can see no drawbacks. Even with the original length gear lever it only has advantages.
The gear lever is now quite long, but I will try this first and I can still cut the original rod
and get the knob lower once I have the driving experience.



I have changed the position of the joint and uniballs(requires some welding)
including a lever extension, now it works quite well.
Actually meant to remove the complete system again.........but now I know it is feasible without touching engine
or gear box.
As you can see the seats have already suffered from the factory setup, but now the gear linkage is not
touching them any longer. I must say that I do not understand why they do not change the setup to what I have
done, as I can see no drawbacks. Even with the original length gear lever it only has advantages.
The gear lever is now quite long, but I will try this first and I can still cut the original rod
and get the knob lower once I have the driving experience.



Edited by spatz on Sunday 16th August 09:35
Edited by spatz on Sunday 16th August 09:38
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