it appears my bike needs a bolt.

My bike hasn't been shifting well. In the process of checking things out the bolt that floats the shift lever was removed. It was a royal pain to get out, and was so stuck into the shift lever bushing that it took the bushing out of the shifter rather than slide out of the bushing. I finally got the bolt out of the bushing and found what appears to be JB Weld on the threads and corrosion inside the bushing. Aaaannnnd: shouldn't that be a shouldered bolt? One that can be tightened down without jamming the shifter? The one I took out isn't.

There is evidence that my bike has been down on the left side at some time. What do you want to bet the original bolt was bent or broken. And then, rather than get the correct bolt, a straight bolt was JB Welded in.

Or maybe I'm all wrong and Honda put a fully threaded bolt into a bushing. Yeah, you betcha.

Ah well, a trip to the dealer Monday will provide the truth. And most likely a bolt and bushing.

 

uh huh same issue I have posted in "why can't I shift into neutral thread"

In any event you will need Loctite High Strength Thread Locker ..the bikes came
with the green "wicking" thread locker from the factory.(medium strength)

My guess is the P/O of your bike used JB to try and lock the thread.

They need a shot of WD every now and then to keep moisture out of the collet
and if you have all the correct washers on there it should tighten down against
the collet and still float ...........but thread locker is still needed

I have two bolts and washers coming from CheapCycleParts for the very same reason
went out and grabbed the Loctite High Strength Thread Locker yesterday.

 

Agree. I have the loctite already. The bolt will be ordered this evening - thanks for the site suggestion. I'm certain one of the PO's (I'm supposedly the third owner) dropped the bike. Scratches on the left muffler, a new handle bar, brake master cylinder, etc. on the left side indicate it slid down the road at some time.

As for the bolt,the parts books call for an 8 x 43 bolt. The one from my bike is a 7 x 46. The bushing id is a hair over 8 mm. That leads me to think someone just stuck a readily available 7 x 46 in and JB welded it instead of bothering to order the correct item.

A new bolt and regular WD40 should prevent any future problems.

 

Spot on DRam....... you and me both on the same path to remedy this issue

edit : hmm have the bike up on the lift !

I may go with a much longer shoulder bolt because there's enough room on the back side of the bolt hole bracket
to get a locknut on it ..........meaning no thread locker would be necessary ! and less chance of ever losing
that bolt .....period !

I think my clutch slave cylinder leak a while back is what made the thread locker break loose in the first place !
Thankfully it didn't happen on the trip to Canada

 

Found a shoulder bolt that can be screwed in and torqued up to the "shoulder" and a locknut added to the back so it never falls off.

Home Depot .....$1.04 !

Comparison pics of new stock v's Home Depot Longer Metric Shoulder bolt
forgot to add the locknut for the pic but you get the idea

Pics a bit fuzzed but its an M8 1.25 x 60mm in the Home Depot Metric Bolt Drawers with right sized locknut

 

Well shiver me timbers! The bolt I ordered came in yesterday, and it's the same as what's on the bike already. Beancounters at Honda must have had something to do with the use of that bolt.

I'm on my way to Ace Hardware to buy a bolt and locknut like the one pictured by Sprock. Should have done that in the first place.

 

It wouldn't be the first time, the members of this "Hurricane Club" can tell you more about your bike than the Honda mechanics. The examples are legion................
3 steps in getting the right answer...............
1 Ask the members
2 read the manual
3 ask at the stealership in that order