Feels like I have a new transmission

[DClark]

The shifter on my bike feels lose and sloppy as octomom's love pouch- the little teeth on the spline are worn off. I tightened the bolt to the point before it felt it would snap and the looseness didn't improve.
So, I bit the bullit and spent $60 on a new one. The new one came with new rubber which was nice because the rubber on mine was pretty worn.
Wow- it has pretty solid shifting now! Snick snick snick, the play is gone, feedback is great and I now appreciate the feel of a shifter directly connected to the tranny (my C14 has a linkage type setup).
After I got it, I wondered if I could have saved some scratch by simply wrapping teflon tape around the tranny spline, apply a little JB cold weld around the worn teeth on the shifter and reattaching (teflon would prevent it from being permanently glued on).

[Wild-Bill]

...After I got it, I wondered if I could have saved some scratch...

Woulda, coulda, shoulda, maybe. You've got a great fix for $60. Don't (five letter word for) complain. Glad to hear it worked so well. Mine's still shifting pretty well but at 21 years old I do start wondering how many little quirks are the design and how many are the age.

[DClark]

Woulda, coulda, shoulda, maybe. You've got a great fix for $60. Don't (five letter word for) complain. Glad to hear it worked so well. Mine's still shifting pretty well but at 21 years old I do start wondering how many little quirks are the design and how many are the age.

Yeah, I know. I mentioned the JB cold weld idea in case someone has a worn shifter but doesn't have the scratch for a new one.
With bike parked, wiggle the shifter. If it moves (the spline it is on won't), it is worn. Mine has had play for a long time, but had gotten worse.Once there is play, it gets worse as you are pounding on it.
Bike now feels great. It really is the little things that can make these bikes feel great, I not aware of any design quirks but the bikes are ancient. Next up is to replace all the hydro fluid in the brakes and clutch (I find that annual replacement really does improve feel).