Here is a how-to for the Factory Pro "Pro Shift Kit". This isn't the easiest job to do, but now that I have gone through it without a paddle, I figured I'd document it to help the next guy. Following this will make it MUCH easier. The instructions provided by the manufacturer are pretty much useless.

Get your kit here or here (cheaper, not thru FP) (thanks tahoerider). Part number is 'SHFT-PRO-HON-1'. This includes the detent spring, microbearing detent arm, gasket, and stickers (if that's your thing). This run at $90 + s/h. A bit steep. For those who want to go a bit cheaper, you can get the same kit without the detent arm (SHFT-HON-1) for $45 + s/h. You might have to call direct to get this one, as they don't list it on their website (thanks to me calling them and explaining their misleading info on the website).

Before you get started, you'll need:
- Fresh oil/filter
- Impact driver (preferably with setable torque) is highly recommended, but not necessary. It might be worth going and renting an electric or pneumatic one for a day if you can.
- A new shift nut (Ron Ayers has it for less than $10) is HIGHLY recommended. I didn't know to get one, so I hope it's ok.
- Basic metric tools. Wrenches, sockets (27mm in required), needlenose pliers, screwdrivers.
- Punch/chisel
- Safety glasses
- Loc-tite
- Misc sized washers
- Rubber mallet (or a regular hammer, just use a wood block or something so you don't damage the aluminum)
- Torque wrench (if not build into impact driver)
- FSM - I will gloss over all steps that the FSM goes into detail about.
Optional:
- Lift, stands, or some other way of securing your bike. This job required alot of 'massaging' parts to get them to fit. Leaving the bike on the centre/side stand is doable, but just be careful!
- Black Sharpie
- Bent needle nose pliers (I needed them, you may not, see below)

I took pictures of what I could when I remembered too. My hands were oily so I didn't want to handle my camera too much.
Ok here we go:
1. Remove right side fairings, fuel tank, and the seat. Shift the gearbox into 6th. If possible, lift the bike/put it on stands.

I had mine up for removal of the wheels for new rubber/brakes.
2. Drain oil. Best to do this while the oil is warm. While your here, disconnect the shifter from the shaft. Its a 10mm pinch bolt that needs undone. Look at the punch mark on the shaft so you know where to align it back when you are done. The punch mark on mine was right at the opening.
3. While waiting for the last of the oil to drain, unplug your alternator plug (under the seat, right side, white connector, 3 yellow wires). Pull this wire out so its hanging off the right side. Loosen off the clutch cable at the hand lever and disconnect the clutch cable from the lever on the cover (not hand lever).
4. After your oil is all drained out, replace the drain plug! You will forget later and bad things happen. Good time to change the filter.
5. Here is the side cover that needs removed.


6. Use the sharpie to right numbers on the heads off all the cover bolts, starting from a known starting place. This will ensure the correct bolts go back in the right place (there are 3 different lengths of bolts). Using an 8mm socket to remove the bolts. It might take a smart knock with your mallet or hammer (remember the block) to knock the cover loose.
7. Pull the cover off. Careful of the clutch mechanism on the inside of the cover (the pin and spring like it move about). You may notice some resistance until you get the cover off the bike and a ways away because the alternator is a strong magnet!
8. Here is a look at your work for the next 2 hours.

9. Start backing out the clutch lifter bolts (the 4 10mm ones you see). Do this evenly so it comes straight out (there are springs underneath).
10. After the lifter is off, the nut needs to come off. Notice the stake? Yup, that's why you need a new nut each time! Loosen off as much as the stake as possible, and knock the nut off with an impact driver (its torqued to about 61 ft.lbs, so its on there). If you don't have one, use the rear brake and a breaker bar (being in 6th helps here, less torque on the brake).
11. Remove the clutch centre. Be careful here Take special care to disassemble the clutch. You want to make sure you put it back the way you took it apart. There is an anti-jutter spring that's on there too. Lay the centre face down on the ground and build the clutch as you remove the parts. Put this aside to not knock it over.


12. Remove the clutch outer. Its the one with the big gear on the back, toothed with the main gear on the crank. You may have to turn the engine a bit (with the bolt on the flywheel) to get the crank out of the way. This will uncover the shift mechanism.

The factory pro instructions tell you to dismantle it. DON'T! A full dismantle is not necessary. This method is less intrusive.

13. Pull the shift spindle towards you (shaft in the bottom left of the pic). It only moves out about 1/2", but that is enough. Shove some rags down around the oil pump. This is just incase you drop parts, they won't go in the pan.

14. Back out the 2 10mm bolts holding the guide plate. Rotate it out of the way. Here you can see the detent spring and arm.


15. Use needle nosed pliers to remove the detent spring. Careful with the spring, as it has alot of tension on it (hence the safety glasses). After the spring is out, remove the detent arm and collar.

Stock spring and arm above the Factory Pro components. I was relieved to see the PO didn't do the mod already!

16. Insert the new detent arm, followed by the collar. Next is to install the spring. This is the tricky part of the process. You need to use pliers or a screwdriver/prybar to pull the "hook" of the spring to catch on the groove of the new arm. Trouble is the spring likes to pop off. What I did (but forgot to take a picture of) is use the 10mm bolt that held the guide plate, along with a big enough washer to cover the spring. Screw it in to create a "plate" that the spring will push against while you pry the spring around. This will likely take a few tries. Its helpful of you have someone (or do what I did - zip tie a small flathead screwdriver to the shift spindle) to hold the detent against the shift star. (Forgot pics - sorry!)

17. After you get the spring on, slowly and carefully back the bolt you placed in there out. Watch for it to snap out! I'd try holding it in with a flathead just to make sure. Replace the guide plate. Push the shift spindle back into place.

18. Test time! Don't skip this step! You will save yourself alot of work if you test if it works. Reattach the shifter (remember the mark you looked at, right?) Turn the ignition on (just to see the neutral light). Remember, your in 6th. With your left hand, actuate the shifter. Reach over the bike and with your right, spin the splined shaft to allow the gears to lock in. Make sure you can get down to first, neutral, and back up to 6th (leave it in this gear).

19. If it doesn't shift, you did something wrong! Check your work.

20. Time to reassemble! First thing to do is get the clutch outer back on. Notice the back of the gears have 4 indents, which align with the 4 bosses on the oil pump drive sprocket. Check your clutch outer for the teeth being aligned. Having these not aligned caused me about 2 hours of headache.


Even a slight mismatch here will not allow the teeth of the outer to mesh with the crank gear. If your teeth are aligned, skip to the next step. If not, read on... To align the gears on the outer, I used a set of angled needle nose pliers (like these) to squeeze the 2 sets of teeth together. Easiest to use the leverage against the left side of the case to keep the pliers from slipping off the teeth. Use a rubber mallet to lightly tap the outer into place.

21. After the teeth are meshed, you will want to make sure the oil pump is aligned. To check this, spin the oil pump sprocket (the lower sprocket on the little chain). If it doesn't spin, you're good. If it does, slowly turn it while pushing in on the outer to get it to lock into place.

22. Clutch reassembly. There is 2 ways to do the clutch. You can rebuild it on the spline, or rebuild it on the shop floor and insert it. I tried both ways and only rebuilding it outside the bike worked. If you left the clutch assembled, great - you're halfway there. Take 2 of the 4 springs your removed and place them on 2 opposing posts. Grab 2 washers and use the bolts to keep the clutch plates tight. You don't want any compression on the springs, as you will have to rotate the friction discs to align with the clutch outer.

23. Insert the clutch pack into the outer. It may take a few tries and orientations to get the spines to align. It should look like this. Notice the springs holding the clutch pack together.

Note: I took this picture after I replaced the nut.

24. Leave the springs on until you replace the nut. First replace the washer. Notice it is printed on one side "outside". This obviously faces you. Then replace the bolt and torque it down (61 ft.lbs) the same way you got it off. Make sure you stake the nut with a chisel or punch! I tried my best to make a hash of the nut to make it as staked as possible, as it was being reused... This may be something I replace in the near future.

25. Remove your springs and replace it with the lifter plate. Tighten the plate down like you would a tire, a bit at a time diagonally. It is important to finished with tightening down the 2 bolts with the punch marks, followed by the other 2.

26. Ensure the cover and its mating surface it clear of old gasket material. Ensure you aren't leaving any foreign bits in the bike (paper towel!). Check the operation of the clutch lifter (the one on the side of the cover). Replace the gasket and tighten down the cover. The cover will likely snap into place (remember the magnet). Read your FSM, as one of the bolts required loc-tite.

27. Plug in the alternator wires, reattach the clutch cable (don't forget to adjust the hand lever!!). Actuate the clutch lever to make sure it feels right. Top up with your favorite MoO (motor oil). Shift to neutral and start the bike. Make sure nothing is in front of you, and you have a good footing. If the clutch wasn't reinstalled correctly, the bike may lurch forward and stall. Best not to drop it. If all is well, replace the fuel tank and seat, and take her for a test ride! Shift through the gears and make sure it is good. Replace your fairings and your done!

My first impressions are the
Good: - Really snappy shifts, especially from 1st to 2nd, where these bikes are a bit soft with the stock equipment
- Quicker shifts (quick and snappy, tom-Eh-to to-mah-to right?)

Bad: - More effort required (stiffer spring... duh...) It's designed that way, so thats fine
- Harder to find neutral. Maybe its just me but it is harder to find the green 'gear' now. The heavier effort required usually makes me go from 1st to 2nd, or vise versa. Maybe it will ease up a bit with time.

Well that's it. A bit long winded, but I figure I'd save everyone else the pain of figuring it out. Thanks to tahoerider for giving me a warning about this job beforehand, and some troubleshooting with lining up the clutch outer! He is another one that has suffered through this process. Not all that bad if you have the tools, patience, and a good guide!

If anyone have any comments or suggestions, good and bad, they are welcome. If I miss anything, let me know (this is all done by memory), and I will amend the list.

From my limited time on the bike with it installed (~1 hr), while at the same time breaking in new tires and brakes, I am very impressed with it. Well worth it. The race teams used this exact modification for a reason.

 

Nice write up! Should save anyone else some frustration doing this job in the future. I had the same issue with finding neutral after installing mine too, but it didn't take long to get used to it. I still go back & forth between 1-2 sometimes, but the improvements are well worth it. Clutchless upshifting is a lot easier with this installed also

edit: I ordered mine from starcycle.com for a little cheaper than Factory Pro directly

 

Thanks for the help man. Ok I am glad I'm not the only one noticing the trouble finding green. Yeah I noticed on the up shifts the shifts are completed before I finish with the clutch (dunno if that makes sense, basically my toe is beating my hand).

I'll add the starcycle link.

 

hey corruptfile, this is a really great bit of work you've done for the forum and I'm really in awe of your mechanical ability. I hope in time I'll be able to do this kinda stuff on mine. good job man

 

Thanks man. I see your bike is really coming along. I'd definitely recommend this kit to anyone with an old hurricane. You get used to it after about 100kms, but its just so darn smooth. I just wish I did it earlier.

You should pick the kit up, I'd be curious to see how someone else fairs when following this guide. Most of the time spent was head scratching and swearing. The two biggest time wasters were getting the spring on (which was pretty easy after I figured out the trick) and the clutch alignment (didn't figure it out until I used a dentist style mirror to look at where it was grabbing). Should be an easy 2-2.5hr job with the knowledge here.

 

bookmarked. nice write up. thanks for the paddle. now I want to do this sometime in the near future. (should have done it a long time ago, oh well it's only been 20 years)

any reason to order / not order the EVO kit w/ the Shift Star?

 

thanks man. Never too late to breathe new life into the old girl. I told my Mrs. that after putting in the shift kit, along with the new brakes and tires... was like having a mistress get a boob job and tummy tuck. She was not as amused :P

As for the evo kit - I haven't heard of anyone doing a straight up comparison between the "pro" kit and the "evo" kit. Another $110 for the star just seems a bit much. Honestly, from what I've experienced from the stock arm/spring to the pro kit, I don't know how you can really get much better/faster. Go with the pro and put the difference towards new rubber or something.

 

Is there any way to tell if one is already fitted or not?
Reason i ask is the gear selection is very positive on my bike and the lever only moves half an inch or so up and down.
I don't fancy buying one only to find out ones been fitted before

 

Not really. If your bike never jumps out of gear or misses shifts, then you might be ok just leaving it as is.

 

Not without taking the bike apart and actually looking at the pieces