Shift fork and shift cam assembly.

weatherjack

Member
Aug 11, 2018
27
3
39
47
I see a lot of great information and videos on engine builds however all of them that I have seen go from next I will install... to OK now that I have installed... Without really explaining certain details or the process. I have made it this far and I am stumped as how do I get the shift cam and forks to mesh up. I have tried cam first, cam last, all together, forks without guide bar, forks with guide bar off to the side. I may be over thinking it or missed something. So if any one has a tip or trick they could lend that would be great. I am "dry" fitting everything together as I wait for some more parts to arrive but this has me puzzled.
20180911_151038.jpg
 
When I put these back together, i always stick the forks in the correct slots first, then slide the shafts in the forks. You need to grease it up man! thing looks dry as a bone!!!this is a messy part because the oil helps everything mesh!
 
So the forks are not in the correct slots? I have cleaned every part by hand (first was a bath in kerosene, dried with a rag, shot with PB, compressed air to clean anything a rag would not wipe off, then a wipe with acetone, followed by a finger coating of lucas assembly lube, and a thin coating of moly-graph lube on the guide bars for the shift forks) and lubed for a "test" fit. This process will be repeated minus the lucas and moly at which point I will us the recommended trans fluid. So the question still remains. How do I get all of this to fit together. Looking for steps to what do I do in order. [Thanks jbuckster07 for the tip of saying oil helps mesh everything together] I am at a loss with this.
 
Pictures. Lucas oil thickness from the q tip it is very viscus and tacky but oily [not runny as the picture would suggest - more like cold honey] . Very hard to see in the picture. I wiped my finger on one of the gears to get an idea of how oily they are. This may also be hard to see in the picture but trust me. Fitting these together with these oils is fine. I would not run these as a lubricant in my engine but fitting them together and cleaning them off for a final assembly is fine.
20180912_042636.jpg
20180912_042723.jpg
20180912_042819.jpg
20180912_042907.jpg
20180912_043025.jpg
 
Weatherjack, I agree with you this is an area not often covered. I am currently trying to merge the cogs from a WR200 and a blaster to get custom ratios, man, that is a headach with clips and washers and cogs all looking the same! I have however, never failed to install the clusters into the casings, but yes, it does take a bit of a jiggle and can take a bit of time.

Your important step is to ensure the right pinion gear is aligned with the correct wheel gear. So that the 1st gear pinion is paired to the corresponding 1st gear wheel and so on until 6th.
The pinion gears are located on the the drive shaft driven off the clutch and the gear wheels are on the output shaft onto which your sprocket attaches. Now the catch here is that these things dog leg mesh (constant mesh) with each other so for instance, the 3rd and 4th pinion gear are a double sided cog, with a different tooth count. You need to fiddle with the sliding of the moveable cogs and set them in place before the shift forks can be inserted. If im not mistake, there are a limted number of positions the shift forks will fit, so be sure to get it right.

My advice: Check your manual on Page 2-2 , Specifications, check the gear teeth count, then count the teeth on your cogs and label them with correction fluid pen. This will help you see whats potting and whats meshed with what. Then, your shift forks are numbered 1 - 3. So check your manual on page 4-29, and ensure your fork numbers face the left hand side of the motor. (Fork 1 & 3 are on one shaft and fork 2 is on the other)

You should not have any trouble with this. Good luck

Props for the good quality pics.
 
Also if I remember correctly, i waited until the forks were inside of the shift drum before putting in the rods in.

These are the steps I took if my memory serves me...

take the gears and mesh them correctly outside of the case

place gears in case

place forks into correct locations on the gears

I think this way the forks are able to swing on the gears, this aids in putting in shift drum

put shift drum into spot and swing forms into races on drum

if the forks dont line up, spin drum and or raise forks until they fit

once forks are in the drum, insert the rods

Lube, lube, lube, lube

Man I wish KOR still had his videos on youtube lol
 
Also if I remember correctly, i waited until the forks were inside of the shift drum before putting in the rods in.

These are the steps I took if my memory serves me...

take the gears and mesh them correctly outside of the case

place gears in case

place forks into correct locations on the gears

I think this way the forks are able to swing on the gears, this aids in putting in shift drum

put shift drum into spot and swing forms into races on drum

if the forks dont line up, spin drum and or raise forks until they fit

once forks are in the drum, insert the rods

Lube, lube, lube, lube

Man I wish KOR still had his videos on youtube lol
Agreed, here, i totally forgot about the shift drum. The forks pins must locate in the grooves on the shift drum. you need to play with things till you start to figure out which slot is for which fork etc.
 
Thanks everyone. I got it. So to assemble the shift forks this is how I did it. Take the drive axle and the main axle place them together and understand what gears move up and down. It helps to twist the gears while doing this. You will be looking for the smooth parts on the gear for the fork to slid onto. Fork one is wheel gear 6, Fork 2 is pinion gear 3/4, and Fork 3 is wheel gear 5. Now take Fork 1 and place it in the wheel gear 6 slot. Lift this gear up and hold it there. Take the drive axle with fork one lifting the gear and line it up with the main axle. Place these into the case still holding up the gear with Fork one. Place the shift cam in the case (yes still holding up Fork one) and swing Fork one over until the fork nipple is resting in a slot on the shift cam (you may need to rotate shift cam to achieve this). Place shift fork 3 onto wheel gear 5 and swing the nipple into the shift cam. Holding everything steady slide guide bar one into the case. Now insert Fork two onto pinion gear 3/4 and slide the fork over until the nipple is in the shift cam. Finally insert guide bar two through the fork and into the case. I don't know why this took me so long? Maybe I will make a video? Anyway today's pop quiz is (don't worry only two questions) 1.) What is the wankel plate on the balance gear for? 2.) What is the purpose of the rubber like absorber spacers found on the cooling fins? OK an now for the pictures of the dry fit and fork placement.
20180914_012358.jpg
20180914_012342.jpg
20180913_215426.jpg
20180913_215419.jpg
20180913_215304.jpg
20180913_215206.jpg
20180913_215154.jpg
20180913_215023.jpg
20180913_215012.jpg
20180913_214927.jpg
20180913_214920.jpg
20180913_214859.jpg
 
Also if I remember correctly, i waited until the forks were inside of the shift drum before putting in the rods in.

These are the steps I took if my memory serves me...

take the gears and mesh them correctly outside of the case

place gears in case

place forks into correct locations on the gears

I think this way the forks are able to swing on the gears, this aids in putting in shift drum

put shift drum into spot and swing forms into races on drum

if the forks dont line up, spin drum and or raise forks until they fit

once forks are in the drum, insert the rods

Lube, lube, lube, lube

Man I wish KOR still had his videos on youtube lol


Can you see this one?