While we are on the subject of gears... Strange shifting

[DiverRay]

I would look at the way that works BEFORE trying the flat washer. I've not checked it, but I can't believe Yamaha would spend money on the star washer if a flat could have been used! The ONLY thing is it may have been cheaper to make the washer than get two different size pins, but that is hard to believe.

[Orange4]

My guess:

The pins are one length to make assembly easier and they are then cheaper to source/produce because quantity. One part number. The washer is probably cheap to produce compared to assembly mistakes.

Where to find those pins? They sure look like cylindrical (rather than ball) bearings to me.

[3Phase]

Orange,

The pins are hardened steel. Like bearings, they're crunchy-metal so they don't bend or wear easily.

Off the top of my head I don't remember exactly why the shift drum and pawl is set up that way but there is a reason for the different pins and the shape of the starfish washer. Run the shifter through the entire gear range a few times and watch the shift pawl and drum closely, you'll see how it works.

Fishing the pin out of the oil pan was not fun so I went through the whole
shift drum; shift pawl; shift fork; shift fork rod; oil-pump gear; spacer; washer; beveled retainer clip trip
when Columbo kept eating starfish washers and getting stuck in 5th gear. Fixing the it along the side of the road can be done fairly easily but it's really annoying.

And of course the washer is no longer available.


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[TopCatGr58]

Well, in this photo from the shift lever adjustment tip:

You can clearly see that the shift PAWL rides in the groove between the 2 thick portions of the cam/drum that hold the pins....Yes, Orange the pins are all the same part #, so they are all the same length. What I can't see is WHY they protrude from the end of the drum at different distances? I don't have a spare drum to personally inspect. I am suspecting that the inner plate isn't drilled to the same depth for each hole/gear slot?? But again WHY?

The pins/dowels are quite strong. We know that sometimes due to a freak action of either being in the wrong gear..or hitting a bump while trying to shift, that causes the shift pawl to put undue stress on the drum and pins causing them to get pushed OUTWARD bending the washer tabs. SO...is this a design to help prevent breaking something when this rare mishift occurence happens.....or is it just a design FLAW in the weak design of the tabbed washer??? Yamaha did some great stuff...but they weren't perfect, and did design some flaws on the XS11...ie. the CCT, the squarecut dogs/slots on the gears, the wonky swivel 1 bolt calipers for the specials, etc.!

SO...it would be nice for someone who has a spare shift drum available to check it out to see if they can figure any reason for the different pin depths and the need for the special stepped tabbed washer?

THEN, if not, I say we talk about yet another MOD for the XS11 to fix an otherwise flawed design to both cut down expense....and seeing that the special tabbed washer is NO LONGER AVAILABLE from Yamaha anyway, have the MOD so that we can just eliminate the fancy washer alltogether!?

What say all you GURU's?!

T.C.

[3Phase]

T.C.,

There are several reasons why the stupid washer breaks and yes, the drum is drilled so the pins stick out. I'll take a look at a torn-down engine for y'all and see if I can wrap my head around how it works without spraining my brain again.

In the mean time, look at your picture and imagine how the two shift pawl index pins move, limit, index and supposedly interlace with the pins and the washer on the shift drum:-


Why the shift drum starfish washer breaks


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