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I just went up to Larch Mountain to try to find a road that I remembered was up there. Well..... I go to downshift and my shift lever is gone. I'm like WTF!!! So I pull over and the lever is tucked in behind the side stand thankfully. The pivot bolt had come unscrewed. Well I didn't have any tools so I just put it on as tight as I could with my fingers. So I kept going thinking I'll just fix it when I get back home. I get halfway up the mountain and go to downshift into a corner and it's gone again. This time the bolt is gone! I pull over shut if down and try to figure something out. Well I didn't think about having to be in neutral to start the bike. So I find a rock to push against the pivot point so that I can click the shifter down to "N". I finally get it there and then have to swing the stand up to start it. So I'm squatting down next to the bike on a hill in pine needles trying to balance it to get the stand up and then start it up. Lastly I had to select which gear I wanted to be in for the whole ride home!!! 3rd was the magic gear. Not too high for the streets or too low for the highway. I was at 9k rpms on the highway though. Ugh. This sucks. Now I have to hope that Beaverton Motorcycle has this bolt tomorrow so I can keep riding. Wish me luck![/align]

 

I took my tools out of my little storage compartment on my RR and put them in my backpack. WTF is the point of a tool kit that is hidden undersomething you need tools to remove? This way, I am prepared for the un-expected problem. I also have a flash light and first aid kit in that back pack.

 

A4...you sound like McGyver. These are the kind of things you don't plan for...way to make do. By the way, I love third gear!

 

Yeah I won't ride anymore without at least a leatherman on me.

 

lol, I felt like McGyver! I was sitting there for a minute with nothing but forest for about 5 sq. miles, wondering wtf I was going to do. Then survivor mode kicked in!

 

actually that happened to me on my f2, i was on my way to work and the stop sign before work my bolt fell out. luckly a harley rider pulls up and says i live right around the corner ill go get some washers and a metric bolt for u. within 10-15 minutes i was headed to work, dont have to much bad to say bout harley riders cuz of that. that day i went to the bike dealership and ordered a new pivot bolt, its sucks goin for the downshift and nothings there!

 

Damn dude.. make's me wanna go around my bike and snug everything down...

u know you can just pull the cluth and start it in gear right ? atleast on mine... long as the kick isn't down.

 

why do you have to be in neutral to start a bike?

 

i had something similar happen to me about a year ago. i just left the bank and i was i think in 2nd when i went to shift and my clutch went limp, i was like wtf, not thinking about it, i stop to check it out. doh! so i put it in nutral and try to bump start it without a clutch, well that went unsuccessful after pushing it up the hill 3 times. then a guy stopped and asked if i needed a ride which was a good thing because my phone had been disconnected about 30 minutes prior to that. had to go pick the bike up a little later.

just as an fyi, if you guys read your manual, part of periodic maintenance is to tighten down bolts. i have also had one of my kickstand bolts fall out and realize it when the stand kept pivoting when i tried to put the bike on it. had to lean the bike on a fence and run to home depot.

 

Y NOt just stay in first till u get home?? seems simple to me.