1800 does not want to downshift

[waituntilthebeep]

My 2012 1800 has started an annoying and presumably terminal shift issue. I can easily runt the gears up to 5th and back down to 4th but to get lower than that I have to quickly bang it up a gear and then bang it back down. Not violently but with more force than I am comfortable with. The shifter feels just like you have run the range back down to first gear and it has no where to go. Stiff and with no range of motion. The oil change was recent and it has never done this before. Here is the rub though, a year ago... maybe 4000 miles ago, the bike was wrecked. It didn't have shift issues before and not until recently did it start. Is there a somewhat external fix for this or is all of this part of the ridiculous trans issue that require the engine pulled out and gutted? Is there an arm or something that could have gotten bent that could be resolved?

[AZgl1800]

At what speed are you trying to shift into 1st?

I never do that until I am almost at a dead stop, just before it quits rolling, and drop into 1st to pull into the shop.

at 5+ mph, you are going to have a lot of trouble down-shifting to 1st.

[waituntilthebeep]

It’s not speed related. I drive big rigs so I clutch and downshift every gear and I don’t try to drop it to first until I am almost stopped. Problem is that I can’t get to first. I start downshifting and try to put it in third from fourth at any speed and it doesn’t want to go. High rpm, low rpm, rolling throttle to change shaft speeds, nothing will make it shift consistently down. I generally never use first unless I m coming to a complete stop and I usually stay in third or above since the bike has so much power. But as of late getting into third or lower is challenging. If I come to a complete stop, there is no way you are shifting it down to first unless you shut it off and rock the bike. And no... it’s not the clutch. It releases in the first third of the pull on the handle so it is releasing completely. Perplexing

[MikeB]

Have you dismantled things and taken a look at the shift lever mechanism? Maybe there is some binding there.

[waituntilthebeep]

No. That is the next step. I am in the middle of moving out of a project house and onto property so I have no place to work on anything. Was hoping someone had been into that area of the bike that could shed some light on it. This is what my shop looks like. Both cans are full btw...

[AZgl1800]

Ouch,

your workshop is a bit cramped for space...

from what I understand now, it does seem like the shift forks are bent.
also, from what I have read, you can't get there from here, without splitting the engine case.

[Asphaltmaniac]

My 2012 1800 has started an annoying and presumably terminal shift issue. I can easily runt the gears up to 5th and back down to 4th but to get lower than that I have to quickly bang it up a gear and then bang it back down. Not violently but with more force than I am comfortable with. The shifter feels just like you have run the range back down to first gear and it has no where to go. Stiff and with no range of motion. The oil change was recent and it has never done this before. Here is the rub though, a year ago... maybe 4000 miles ago, the bike was wrecked. It didn't have shift issues before and not until recently did it start. Is there a somewhat external fix for this or is all of this part of the ridiculous trans issue that require the engine pulled out and gutted? Is there an arm or something that could have gotten bent that could be resolved?

I normally do almost all my own maintenance. But, years ago I had to take my 1986 Aspencade too a strange Honda shop for an oil change because I was out of state working and had no where to do the work my self.
Now I don't know what oil those boys put in but the very next day riding to work the transmission locked up in 1st gear. The only way for me too get it into neutral was to pull over and shut the bike off, reach down and yank up on the shift lever. Then it was fine until the ride home and it did the same thing again and in 1st gear. But it only did it twice a day in a 100 mile commute. well, after two days of that nonsense I parked it till the weekend. Then begged a spot in a neighbors garage to do my own oil change. And then it was perfectly fine. I owned that bike for another 14 years and 130000 miles and never had that problem again?
So you say an oil change was done recently? Maybe my experience will help you figure it out?

[waituntilthebeep]

Interesting. Now that I think of it, I used a different brand of oil than usual on the last change. It has been 1000 miles or so and it won’t kill me to change it again. Worth a try.

[Asphaltmaniac]

Interesting. Now that I think of it, I used a different brand of oil than usual on the last change. It has been 1000 miles or so and it won’t kill me to change it again. Worth a try.

You figure it out let us know, that way we all learn.

[DaveO430]

I had my shifter pivot suddenly start binding once, caused exactly that problem. Had to remove it, clean it up and grease it. You have to remove the front lower cowl and the right exhaust cover.

[waituntilthebeep]

Right on! I will have to get after that here once the rains let up. Driveway is a lake right at the moment

[MikeB]

Right on! I will have to get after that here once the rains let up. Driveway is a lake right at the moment

I know the feeling.

Saturday and Sunday should give us a bit of a reprieve.

[waituntilthebeep]

I was going to ride to work today but there is 6 inches of water running over the driveway from the creek. Crazy amounts of water right now.

[AZgl1800]

I can't go riding today because there is a full flock of birds on the sidewalk eating breakfast.

I can't disturb them, they are hungry....


We have been putting out huge amounts of grains for the birds and squirrels, the Wx has been so cold, they are really packing it away.

We like our furry and feathered friends, so we do our best to keep the around.

[MikeB]

Well, I took up your slack guys. I rode 150miles south to Milwaukie Oregon, for breakfast.
And of course we rode a little over 150 on the way home. We just had to take some twisties.

Just finished lunch at the Dairy Queen followed by a small blizzard.

Tomorrow the weather promises to be even better so I think I'll do it again only go towards the coast. Here it is the second weekend in January in the Northwest in the weather is absolutely perfect. Kind of feel sorry for the East Coasters.

[GoldWingrGreg]

Honda suggest m/c specific oil and probably 10w-30 in your climate. As for the oil, I find all suggestion in the Owner's Manual should be taken as a requirement. Therefore, when selecting oil, be sure to read all the suggestions and requirements and choose your oil from there. For example, if they suggests a 10w-30 m/c specific oil for your area, that does not mean a 5w-30 car oil.

However, your shift issue is probably not oil related. Here are some things to check. If your Wing has a heal-toe shifter, or some other aftermarket shift device remove it all, and then see if the issue can be duplicated only using the OEM shifter. If a heal-toe was removed, verify that heal-toe in not rubbing on the left engine cover or frame, or that it's pivot and pivot bushing is not worn out.

If your issue exists with OEM foot peg and shift lever, remove the lower center cowl and then the left front exhaust shield. Inspect for any shift lever interference as the lever is moved up/down. Remove it's pivot pin, clean and inspect the pivot bushing and pin, lube with lithium grease, and reassemble. The 2 pivot point at the ends of the rod should be clean and dry (no lube). If nothing is found, your issue is more internal.

The next thing to inspect is the spring (#14) in the parts fishe above. To get to that, and since they are so cheap, order in a new one, a trans-cover gasket, a small tube of Honda Bond 4, and some med strength lock-tight. Drain the oil, remove the slave cylinder and put a clamp on it to keep its piston from coming out. Then remove the trans cover and c-clips, and spring to get to part #14. What you are hoping to find is a broken spring #14. When reassembling, inspect the c-clip the holds #14 in place. Install the c-clip with its rounded edge towards #14. On some Wings, it's sharp edge will cut #14.

If your spring is found ok, then your Wing will require and engine pull.

[GoldWingrGreg]

Honda suggest m/c specific oil and probably 10w-30 in your climate. As for the oil, I find all suggestion in the Owner's Manual should be taken as a requirement. Therefore, when selecting oil, be sure to read all the suggestions and requirements and choose your oil from there. For example, if they suggests a 10w-30 m/c specific oil for your area, that does not mean a 5w-30 car oil.

However, your shift issue is probably not oil related. Here are some things to check. If your Wing has a heal-toe shifter, or some other aftermarket shift device remove it all, and then see if the issue can be duplicated only using the OEM shifter. If a heal-toe was removed, verify that heal-toe in not rubbing on the left engine cover or frame, or that it's pivot and pivot bushing is not worn out.

If your issue exists with OEM foot peg and shift lever, remove the lower center cowl and then the left front exhaust shield. Inspect for any shift lever interference as the lever is moved up/down. Verify that the stay that the shift lever is mounted to is not damaged or cracked. Any header damage ??? Remove its crimp bolt and pivot pin, to remove the lever assembly. Clean and inspect the pivot bushing and pin, lube with lithium grease, and reassemble. The 2 pivot point under the 2 rubber boots at the ends of the rod should be clean and dry (no lube). If nothing is found, your issue is more internal.

The next thing to inspect is the spring (#14) in the parts fishe above. To get to that, and since they are so cheap, order in a new one, a trans-cover gasket, a small tube of Honda Bond 4, and some med strength lock-tight. Drain the oil, remove the slave cylinder and put a clamp on it to keep its piston from coming out. Then remove the trans cover and c-clips, and spring to get to part #14. What you are hoping to find is a broken spring #14. When reassembling, inspect the c-clip the holds #14 in place. Install the c-clip with its rounded edge towards #14. On some Wings, it's sharp edge will cut #14.

If your spring is found ok, then your Wing will require and engine pull.

[waituntilthebeep]

The oil I used in the last change was A Honda branded m/c oil bought from the local Honda dealer. I am leaning towards the shift linkage bonding as it has never been cleaned or lined. I am in a holding pattern at the moment as I need to come up with space and time to address it. The priorities list is swamped at the moment. I will definitely post my findings and thank you for the detailed instructions. Hope to be after this issue very soon.

[Ghostman]

PM sent hope it helps.

[waituntilthebeep]

I think I have definitively confirmed the why. Now I just need to figure out the how.

I got on the bike today to ride to work... we have sun for the first time in over 25 days!!!! and I stepped on the shifter to pop it into neutral and it went down but wouldn't come back up. I could pull it with my foot but it was acting like the door handle on an arctic outhouse. She wasn't interested in returning to the center position under her own power. Further diddlin' with it showed that the shifter is super sticky and my guess is that when I was trying to shift down previously, the shift arm wasn't coming all the way back up so the shift rod never hit it's detent. That is why I could up shift then downshift and it would go. So now comes the how...

I have never looked at the underside of this beastie to figure out how to get into that shifter. I am currently at work, so at lunch I am going to go out and tip the 'ole girl over and check out her unmentionables. I am hopin I can lube up the place that the shift arm goes through the case and get a temporary resolution. I have no expectation that we are going to keep any kind of dry streak in the weather for awhile so getting deep in 'er isn't an option at this point.

That's the skinny so far.

[DaveO430]

You might spray some lube through the rubber boot the shifter comes through and get a little relief but you will likely need to take it apart. You have to remove the front lower cowl and the left exhaust cover to get to it. 1 bolt in the front behind the cowl and the 2 nuts on the bottom edge then slide the cover forward and out.

[waituntilthebeep]

I got into it during the latest sun thing... it's bright and orange but I still think it's a UFO because we don't ever get the sun in these parts

I pulled the cowl and exhaust cover off. Its painfully apparent how ugly the last 2 winters have been as the salt and de-icer has wrecked havoc on all the fasteners. The nice steel studs with stainless acorns on them are sadly torque to yield (in the loosey direction) and now unusable. It highlights how badly I need to get my shop space usable so I can strip this thing to it's tightey whitey's and replace a bunch of hardware that has fallen prey to corrosion. That in itself is the reason why I was having shifter issues. The pedal pivot point was nasty. I was able to clean it up and it shifts fine now. Interestingly enough though, the left side mirror is now out of commission. I had laid the bike down on the crash bars on the right side to do the work and when I flipped it back up on the kickstand... or should I say the flip stand... it folded up like origami and dropped the bike. I have the parts number though since I just replaced that same mirror assembly 6 months ago after repairing the damage from the accident. Just can't catch a break. Broke the mirror and the bucket. Danggggg!!!! Ah well. Its only a quarter of a paycheck.

At least I can ride it again. Just can't use the left mirror.

[GoldWingrGreg]

Glad to hear that your outer shift linkage is moving freely.