"IT's not going to shift out of 6 until I start the motor"...I think by turning the rear,it WILL shift out of any gear it's in.I used the clutch,shifted,then turned the wheel(counterclockwise from the left side),then repeated that(on something I was doing,but not star replacement).It shifted all the way down into 1st doing that.Then of course,it would upshift to N...and that was it with the rear not moving.

I could put it in N by hand and install the battery. My bet is that the light will be on if the star is positioned at N.

My star and arm are in 2. The problem is that it won't go to N or 1. I don't believe putting the bike in 1 or 2 is the wrong way to do it even though the Factory Pro tutorial shows their bike in N. It's darned near impossible to get the arm in there when the transmision is in N. You have to compress the spring about 1 cm farther.

I tried everything I would do to get the bike to shift at a standstill. Everything except roll the bike with the clutch out so it bumps the transmission. I will first try simulating this by grabbing the top and bottom run of the chain and giving it a few jerks. That would be the same as bumping the transmission. If I really want to bump the transmission, I'd need to install the whole clutch.

Next try putting it in N by hand and see if that improves anything. Maybe I can do it without taking the detent arm out.

I dont see what good loosening the bolt would do unless the star was cockeyed which it isn't.

Maybe shoot a video of what is happening when I shift.

The only other thing I can think of doing is put it all back together and hope i can get to work with the engine on.

IDK...putting it back together probably isn't gonna solve this.Hook the battery up,find N.Then align the star with the IDENT roller like the manual shows.That's seems simplest(to me).I didn't do any shifting at all when I did mine.I mean,I had it in first when I started,so if it did move,it stopped before it went into second.

You and me are both half right. I know where N is assuming the shift star is moving with the drum. You think I'm not in N even though I can see I am.

Here's what I found: Damned if Marc from FP wasn't right...I can't believe it. The shift star was NOT engaged to the pin!!! Look at those photos up there---does that not look perfectly square to the drum?

I installed this thing twice by doing the arm first and the star second. Seems that causes the star to get cocked in the drum from all the spring pressure. The bolt has to be tight to keep it flat in the drum I guess.

SO< grn and rudy...the star said it was in 2nd up there but actually, it was not positioned on its dowel pin which allowed it to turn IN the drum rather than it turn the drum. SO i don't WTF gear it was in but I suspect that is why it was only going halfway on the upshift up there in the pics.

Using the Neutral indicator light would have been interesting. I think it was always in N but it was turning in the drum. NOt sure what the click was I heard. Maybe just the shift star.

So--after a couple hours of trying to get this thing to shift, I felt with my fingers around the edge and sure as sh!t, I felt the ridge was higher on one side--cockeyed. I took off the shift shaft (again) and removed the star. Put it in a second time and noticed it was crooked right away. Can't have that shift arm in there or it pushes the star crooked.

I was able to shift the transmission to 1 and N with my hand so it appears there is no damage at least. I can tell the wheel drags a lot harder now that it is in 1. I don't think it was shifting out of N before even though the star said otherwise.

Tomorrow, the arm comes out, the star goes in and then I'll wrastle that arm in again. I hope to god this will be the end of this. This was supposed to be easy.

Okay..NOW..WOHOOOO>>>Victory!Glad ya got that figgered out.You know,I was gonna mention that dowel pin.In the book it APPEARS(the way they have it diagramed)that it can actually come out of that star...I doubt that...but it looks that way.Im sure on that new one it's one solid machining.Alright!NOW...go and shift yer heart out Rook...and no more DRAMA...okay?

It does look fitted in your pics alright.I would've never noticed;)You didn't damage that allen bolt didja?

* Last updated by: Grn14 on 7/4/2017 @ 9:18 PM *

You are a patient man Rook, and a very good problem solver too!

Good job my UP buddy

You didn't damage that allen bolt didja?

Thanks, rudy. I'm not out of the woods yet. Although I was able to turn the shift star by hand, it seemed awfully stiff after it went into 1. It could be just lack of oil on the gears. This thing hasn't run for 9 months. If I'm positive I have the shift mechanism in there correctly, I might just put it together and start it. If some lubrication doesn't make it shift smoothly, I guess I'll have to come back to this at a later date.

GOT IT! The transmission was stiff cuz it was halfway in third, (not 1st). As I tightened the star bolt, it turned to 2nd, N and then 1. After that, I was able to turn the star by hand between 1 and N. Snick snap clickity clack! sounds good! I did install it without taking the arm out....just lift the arm with a screwdriver and make certain the star is on the dowel pin and check it stayed on the pin a few times while tightening the bolt.

EXCELLENT.

OK Initial impression of the EVO Shift Star--------------------------------

WA-wa-waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Pretty damned much the same as stock.

Maybe if you have a worn stock shift star, the EVO might seem a lot better but just a casual ride down the street and I can't really tell any dif. True, this was the first time I rode the bike since it had the stock star and shift arm in there 10 months ago but I've owned this bike 9 years. I could go two years without riding it and if there was something dramatically different, I'd know it.

This was just the initial impresssion. If I don't miss any shifts at high rpm with the quickshifter, I'll say it's worth it but so far, normal riding not at all necessary and I had 49000 miles on the stock shift mechanism. Fun project though if you're into that sort of thing. Oh the EVO is .3 oz heavier. That's the only change I see so far.

Their claim of 'no more missed shifts' is malarky.I feel the same way Rook.I couldn't actually feel any difference either.Well,maybe a teensy bit.Hard to tell though.Possibly clutchless downshifts.

Teensy yes, like maybe if you could ride the bike back to back with and without. How can it be so many people have raved about this mod in the past?

It sure does look like it would roll into gear with less resistance. Maybe it will be more useful with the quickshifter. We'll see. Without having tried a high rpm quickshift, I'd say NO. If it was going to be easier for the quickshifter, I think I'd feel it in my foot.

If nothing else, this was an excellent learning experience in a number of ways.