I just done a oil change on my TTR250 & boys chinese 125 pit bike
with Motul 5100 "Yamalube"
The pit has been running 20/40 Mobil 2000 car oil... gearbox stiff/crunchy
& near impossable to find neutral
After 5 mins with the motul in it.. box is smoother & neutal
is easy to find..very easy..

So theres oil & theres oil..

my XTR has never had anything but Motul in it 42,000k and counting... "fingers crossed"






.

Bang, bang, bang... 2008 22,000miles
 

So during a little trip to Morocco in May the gearbox stuck in 4th gear... This was the day after a long day on fairly tough trails, and a day of more trails and tarmac... all at 30+c temps. I assumed it was vapour lock or some such problem due to the heat. I managed to bang the gear unstuck... changing the oil on Larache beach was interesting, but nothing appeared in the oil or the filter. I rode back through Spain to Santander and then from Plymouth to the edge of London.

Over the following few weeks it happened twice more and both times I managed to bang it unstuck.

During this time the bike would struggle to select 4th... this was cured to an extent by slowly changing, taking time to pull the clutch in properly etc...

Anyway in October the bike started to rattle a bit, so I took it in to my dealer for a full service... and they found one of the dogs. Following a full engine strip they found two more... 4th gear was operating for 5 months on just 2 of its 5 dogs. Fortunately they didn't decide to tour the rest of the engine and no further damage was incurred. The rattle turned out to be a loose crank shaft lay key... apparently the torque setting was changed on later models (?)

The pivot arm bearing had cracked and was effectively gone.

At the dealers I go to, mine is the second bike with this exact problem to have occurred. Now fully rebuilt and running fine... the bill? Well the part is �35, to get to it and put it back together, �600 labour! All in �950.

Two lessons. 1st When it ain't right. It ain't right. Bite the bullet and get it sorted earlier rather than later. 2nd Amazing how you can ride round a problem and have the engine / gearbox survive.

I think it's been suggested before... But it sounds as if there's nothing really wrong with the gearboxes. That pivot arm bearing seems to be the real factor, which is not a comfort to those of us with blue 2009-build Teneres.

I think a spare one plus gaskets might be a good idea to have for the most likely candidates eg me.

Btw, is it just me or don't the XTX/XTRs have any issues with that bearing? if not, why not, I wonder?

Whew , just glad I got a French built Z, those buttery croissants should keep it sweet

No. The pivot arm bearing I'm referring to is actually called a 'stopper lever assembly', and it lives behind the clutch, attached to the gear lever shaft. It locates the gearshift drum in correct position for each gear.

As I understand it, the bearing that is on this arm and locates the shift drum fails, allowing two sets of gearwheels to fight it out as to which gear ratio is selected. Result - breakage.

I think that us calling it a pivot arm bearing has led to confusion. Sorry mate.

My stopper lever assembly was definitely fubar... but, the other bike the shop has dealt with didn't have this fault. The mechanic explained to me that the bearing on that pivot shouldn't be carrying any load (hence surprise that it had gone) so why would it fail? Mine had a crack right through the housing...

Well if (as it seems reading this thread) the problems seem to come on the Tenere and NOT on the XTX and XTR, then I suggest that the off road riding is the likely difference???? Surely the transmission is more stressed off road than on road, so can this factor explain why only the Tenere seems to have this problem???????

I don't think so... I've had an X and abused it on road, probably more than the Ten has ever had. And lots of folks have used the R for off road. It'd be interesting to see if the part no's are the same... (going to check now that I've thought of it).
The mechanic at my dealership reckons the design of that particular gear isn't great. The flange that the dogs sit on is particularly thin (designed that way?) and with the heat cycles maybe the flange becomes weakened.
As for the stopper lever assembly failure, could this be forcible gear changes offroading, or leaving your foot on the lever too long? I tend to have the habit of double tapping into first gear... does the second tap put stress on the bearing?

Yep, same part number.... 5JW181400000 for the Stopper Lever Assembly

Mate, I'm no kind of mechanic, but it doesn't seem likely as there is a limit to how far the gear lever can travel - as far as I know that's controlled by the stamped metal plate which usually holds the detent spring.

I think it must be poor quality which allows the bearing to fail (oh really?). And it's obviously random, since there are some blue Teneres which have travelled a long, long way without that item failing. Bloody thing.