Shift arm spring, a replacement option

[Saltspringer]

Hi, my 1976 GL1000 is now back on the road.

Previously I found that the shift was very harsh and the clutch had a very much on/off action. The clutch issue was solved by carefully following the adjustment instructions; now it is much more progressive and easy to use.

During my first road test I lost my transmission and managed to limp home in third, the only gear I could find. The shift lever appeared to be disconnected from the transmission and when I pulled the front cover I found this spring lying in the bottom of the engine case.

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It is part number 19 on this parts diagram.

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This is the Shift Spring, Honda part number 24641-371-000 and unfortunately no longer available. The only place I could find that has this spring is CMSNL in Holland (https://www.cmsnl.com/products/springsh ... vrEuOpKjIU) but it is expensive to ship to Canada.

After some searching I found a replacement from Gardner Spring in Oklahoma. The part number is GE030-0237-0750-S (https://gardnerspring.com/product/ultra ... nsion-340/) the picture on their website is not an exact representation of the extension spring, but the specs below it are correct. The price was about $6 for three springs, I bought my springs through McMaster-Carr, but I imagine you could order direct from Gardner.

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The top spring is the Gardner spring, the bottom spring is the original Honda spring. Once installed it looked like this...

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I think that after 45 years service the original Honda spring just fatigued and the upper loop opened up. The new spring seems to be a direct drop in replacement and has a slightly stronger tension than the Honda spring. I installed it this afternoon and my transmission is now working just fine. I am hoping that this spring lasts as long as the Honda one it replaced.

I will let the forum know if this spring gives any problems in the coming months. Given that these springs are cheap, and the failure of the original Honda spring will leave you by the side of the road, I would suggest that anytime you are replacing a water pump, you swap out this spring out too.

[ob1quixote]

Nice find! You should post this the the Parts Reference subforum as well.

[Whiskerfish]

Nicely done! I will move this.

[Saltspringer]

Thanks guy's.

For the sake of completeness, the spring that I used is also available through McMaster Carr (part number 9065K171), and appears in their online catalogue at: https://www.mcmaster.com/9065K171

The spring is pretty exhaustively described and illustrated. The issue with McMaster Carr is that they only sell to other businesses and I am not sure how, as a private individual, you are able to purchase their products without a business account.

I ordered through my brother and when the package arrived it was marked "Gardner Spring"

[Pony Ruiz]

Cool. I will have to remember this.....I mean write it down.

nice collections of motos Salts....

[wannabridin]

Awesome find! I should order some and replace it since I'll have the cover off for a gasket anyways!

[ericheath]

I notice the OEM has nine coils and the Gardner has six, depending on where and how you count.I don’t know spring nomenclature, perhaps it’s still the same force applied?

[wannabridin]

One needs to determine the spring constant which is a function of material, thickness and coil count. Those springs appear to be a 302 grade stainless, but I'm unsure of the wire dimensions used to make them. OP likely could take the stock spring, clamp the broken end into a vice and pull w/ a fish scale until it gives a stead reading and then repeat with the new ones to compare. Might be something worth doing if he has time.

http://labman.phys.utk.edu/phys221core/ ... 20position.