Kickstand problem

The kickstand on my bike interferes with shifting. Has anyone else had this problem, and what can I do about it?

 

Have had that problem on my '83, ended up bending shift lever away from frame to get more clearance.

 

Had that on my '84. instead of bending the shifter, mine was loose just an tiny bit, I inserted a thin washer between shifter and mount and it works fine now.

 

Is this on the VF500? you can send it to me and I'll check it out..

 

Mine was bent in first years ago, after getting all back together last summer I had problems getting it shift properly.

 

Not sure if troll pretending to be helpful

Or helpful guy pretending to be a troll.

 

^LOL both, But personally, I'm not sure how a kick stand could get in the way of shifting, unless the shifter arm is way out of simple alignment, just saying if its that far off in the first place one shouldn't even be attempting to ride it. but on the fun side, it would be nice to putt around on a VF500. those are cool bikes, so of coarse I had to comment .

 

Well on the '83s the shifter will hit the kick stand when you down shift & shift into 1st.

Here the shifter is at rest

When pressed down to shift to first, this where it hits.

Still working on a solution so it can be lower in the At Rest position.

Shift lever is steel and easily bent.

 

The shift lever hitting the kickstand when I downshift I don't see as being much of a problem, but when I try and get my foot under the lever (especially after coming to a stop at a light) I have to wiggle my foot in between the shift lever and the kickstand, and I sometimes partially deploy the kickstand by accident.

 

I agree, my problem is upshifting. I am trying to figure out to lower the toe lower to make it easier to upshift. Limited by hitting kickstand. The old feet don't flex like they used to!

 

On my 84 VF750F I put a shift lever from a 84 VF1000F. Made all the difference, it has a different bend that gets it away from the stand.


On the 500, I think it was a combination of adjusting the height and making sure the shifter wasn't bent in and the side stand wasn't bent out.

 

Looks like what I need, will look on fleabay or try and bend my spare.

 

Found a VF1000 shifter on eBay for $20, hopefully will solve problem.

 

Just as a trial, you could remove the shifter bolt, pull the lever off the shaft and move it up one or two splines.

 

I have tried everything, this other shifter should give me the clearance.

 

This seems like the most elegant solution. In fact, I'd be willing to bet the reason the kickstand interferes with the shifter is that at some point a previous owner had the lever off when they were doing clutch work and when they put it back on they had it cocked 30 degrees or so.

 

I have owned this bike since 85, I bought it frim a friend after I crashed my first one. The shift levers on these early models were welded steel, and bent very easily. Bike fell over while being unloaded in NY after our move. I found a shift lever from a VF1000 that has better clearance.

 

If you look closely you'll see that the factory placed a punch mark on the shaft that's 'sposed to line up with the split on the lever.

 

Problem solved, received used lever from VF1000, rebuilt worn out knuckle on lever end and wire brushed.

Now I have ample adjustment for the angle I want.

A lot easier to shift with my old foot and not the BBQ fork.

 

Just back from a short ride, much better, smoother shifting first to second gear.