Merde ! The gearbox !

[ledany]

I have some trouble these days to shift from 2nd gear to third (and sometimes from 4th to 5th. Or is it beacause I'm already in 5th ?  ). Sometimes I have to rev to reach the third (> 3000 rpm I guess), sometimes everything's normal. I don't like it at all. The bike has 41 440 miles on the clock.
I knew the GW gearbox had some failures for the 5th (as the GW taxi cabs in Paris know) and I reckon that I usually shift at +/- 2500 rpm qhich I thought was high enough. It seems that Honda improved the gearbox in 2015, regardless of the Valk I would bet. 

Some say that the heel-toe lever is bad for the gearbox but I have it since january (= 5000 mls only) and I don't believe it.

[zackod]

More problem description please.   You are in 2nd, give her some gas/revs build, pull in clutch, up-shift, let out clutch/apply throttle, then what do you experience?
1.   Get a false neutral, meaning after you hit the gas, you just rev and rev with no gear (neither 2nd nor 3rd) engagement?
2.   Still in 2nd gear after you let clutch out?
3.   Make 3rd gear, but then 'it' drops (IE slips back into)back into 2nd w/o any rider input?

My issue was this.   I would be in 2nd gear, then hit the gas hard.   Without any further clutch or shift lever input what-so-ever from me, the tranny would pop out of 2nd with a loud 'bang', then drop back into 2nd.   After the dealer tranny tear-down, the problem found was a bent shifter fork.   Repaired under warranty (thanks Honda), otherwise would have been 2.5k to me.

FYI - If you take her into your dealer, REMOVE YOUR HEAL/TOE SHIFTER PRIOR, and re-install the OEM lever.   Make no mention that you ever ran anything other than the OEM lever.   My dealer stated installing heal/toe invalidates your tranny warranty.  Maybe the French dealers are different, but I doubt it.  Also describe to the dealer exactly how to replicate the issue and ask that they test ride it per your instructions.     If they can't replicate the issue, you will be SOL.... my opinion.   

[ledany]

I'm in 2nd. I want to go faster  , try to up-shift as I usually do and the 3rd doesn't answer. I may be around 2200 rpm or 2400, I try again and nothing interesting happens. So I have to rev up fiercely and then the 3rd consents to show up.
But you are right, tomorrow I'll take  away  the heel-toe, wear bike shoes instead of italian summer shoes  and see what happens.
Of course, if the mess carries on, I'll go to the dealer AFTER taking away the heel-toe lever. And, the fact is that I can't dismiss the possibility of the heel-toe lever's guilt. There's a play between the heel-toe lever and the OEM lever that may cause my trouble, as if it was not tight enough and thus the shift is compromised. I'll take away the lever tomorrow and hopefuly have my bike back   

[bscrive]

I have had the heel-toe shifter for two years now and I have had no issues. I currently have about 26 000 kms on my bike.  . 

There is no way a shifter can cause this issue unless you constantly have your foot on the shifter as you drive and even that is doubtful.  It is a flaw in the transmission that shows up on the unlucky ones.  Some guys on the GL1800 forum have had heel-toe shifters on their bikes for over 100 000 miles without any issues and others have had this failure without them on.
But, like you are going to do, take off the shifter before you bring it in.

[Jess from VA]

I have no 1800, only two 1500s with heel toes for 10yrs each.

The only thing I have is that sometimes guys adding heel toe shifters got a better result after moving the shift lever up or down one notch on the spline.

But frankly, if your bike was doing fine for miles and miles how it is, and now it isn't fine, maybe it's something else.   

[rudymsmith]

I have some trouble these days to shift from 2nd gear to third (and sometimes from 4th to 5th. Or is it beacause I'm already in 5th ?  ). Sometimes I have to rev to reach the third (> 3000 rpm I guess), sometimes everything's normal. I don't like it at all. The bike has 41 440 miles on the clock.
I knew the GW gearbox had some failures for the 5th (as the GW taxi cabs in Paris know) and I reckon that I usually shift at +/- 2500 rpm qhich I thought was high enough. It seems that Honda improved the gearbox in 2015, regardless of the Valk I would bet.  :'(

Some say that the heel-toe lever is bad for the gearbox but I have it since january (= 5000 mls only) and I don't believe it.

Just for fun: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/honda-france-says-the-gold-wing-is-not-a-taxi-bike-59742.html

[ledany]

Problem solved ! 
I took away the heel toe lever today and everything went back to normal 
I believe that the rubber of the OEM lever suffered a bit and got flat somehow so that the play with the heel toe lever got wider and thus the shift became uncertain.
But like Brian I like the heel toe lever and I'll try to fix the play with something but not too tight though if I don't want to really ruin the gearbox. 

[st2sam]

Problem solved ! 
I took away the heel toe lever today and everything went back to normal 
I believe that the rubber of the OEM lever suffered a bit and got flat somehow so that the play with the heel toe lever got wider and thus the shift became uncertain.
But like Brian I like the heel toe lever and I'll try to fix the play with something but not too tight though if I don't want to really ruin the gearbox. 

  YAY!!!

 I'll share this.
In my 51yrs. riding street bikes, this one is a tank, a pretty quick one at that...

I plan on putting lots of hard miles on this one and if lets me down I'll be greatly surprised.

Thanks ledany for the update...

[Robert]

Glad you found the problem

Dont be casting doubts on our bikes 

[bscrive]

ledany,
Which shifter do you have? 

I have the Kuryakyn set up and I have not had any issues.  I know there are a few different types out there and not all shifters are made equal.

I am glad you got it figured out. 

[ledany]

@Brian, it's a no name stuff but I see now that it costs more than half the price of a kuryakyn (90$/200$).

#Robert, I'm sorry for the worries I might have raised  but you do know that the gearbox (5th gear actually) is the main problem you might have on a GW. Read in a french GW forum that someone took the  engine out of the bike, brought it to the dealer (in his car I guess  ) had the gearbox renewed ... 2800 US $/2500 €
Otherwise, if you have no time or mechanical skills nor car  , let's say between 4400 and 6600 $ 

So much money I saved yesterday ! 

[Bill Havins]

Ledany, talk to some of the Moto Guzzi riders who have Californias (the Tonti frame version, appx. 1995 through 2005).  They will tell you the pivot bushing on their heel-toe shifters have to be replaced periodically because, as they wear, there is too much play in the shifter to make reliable shifts.

Mine was a 1998 California EV.  The original pivot bushing was made of plastic (crap!).  I replaced it with a brass bushing made by a member of the WildGuzzi.com forum.  So long as I kept it greased it would last two riding seasons.  Then I had to replace it.  Plastic bushings are for disposable kids toys.

The moral of the story is this:  play in a heel-toe shifter, whatever the cause, leads to "sadness."

Bill

[ledany]

I tried to  fix the lever in a better way, tried it on the bike this morning, upshift from neutral to 2nd gear was OK, from 2nd to 3rd too. Arriving at the red light, I tried to downshift, nix ! Had to stop the engine and take away the whole stuff to come back home worryless.
Whatever comes out of this, the good point is that the Valk gearbox is OK 
And that I must wear proper bike boots, regardlessly the hot weather we have here, at last ! (28°C/82.4 F).