I need to drop my shifter one notch but when I try to pull it off the shaft it hits the frame where the footpeg mounts! What's the catch? Nothing looks bent.

Not having a clue at all what kind of bike u r talking about, i'll have a stab in the dark for ya.
A lot of bikes do have minimum clearance there, but as far as what i've seen, none ever prevent removal of the gear stick without something having moved or been bent.
Try this, loosen all your engine mounts and move your engine forward a tad, then do the bolts up again.
If that doesn't work, best you start looking harder for something thats bent.
Good luck.

:confused: I'm talking about an XR400 here!!?? I will grind a little off the shifter with a dremel before I mess with the engine mounts. I'm just wondering if this is a common problem? Nothings bent that I can see.

lol, ok.
it coulda been a 250, from any year, plus guys with xl's post in here too.
yeh, grinding if u have a dremel would be easier than going over all the mount bolts twice.

I have a friend that recently had exactly that problem.He thought his was a little bent but it was actually bent UP rather than sideways.Theres not much room on mine either but when I go down a notch there is even less.Sorry I couldnt be more help dude:excuseme:

ive got a 98 400, my shifter is tight too. I only have 2 posittions to choose from. theres nothing bent or wrong with your bike.:ride:

Larraby400 said:

Thanks for your reply but I can't even get it off the shaft!!:thumbsdn:

I have a 97 400 and it has lots of room, I know cause I just adjusted it.
Mine is splined and can be turned one notch at a time. At the risk of sounding like a idiot have you tryed shifting up a gear, holding it there and pulling it off.
If that doesn't work I always use a bigger hammer.:banana:
Good luck

OK, I'll bump this to the top rather than start a new thread.

My bike is a 2002 XR250R. With the shifter in the natural position for me, when I downshift, the shifter bumps the footpeg mounting bracket.

I hit the shifter with a file to remedy this.

What is everyone else doing?

Do you have interferance between the shifter and your mounting bracket?

-Z

I have a stock steel shift lever on my XR400.

A 12" Crecent wrench is the ultimate "steel shift lever adjuster".

If the tip is twisted, put the Cresent wrench on it and reshape the shift lever. If the tip needs to be out farther, open the wrench to about 1/8" and place on the long flat shaft. Bend outwards to suit my needs. The long flat shaft can be shaped like putty.

I was in a head-on collision and the shift lever was bent 180 degrees and under the foot peg. I wish I had a photo of it. No kidding, 180 and under the peg. I took my Cresent wrench and straightened it out. It is so good, I just kept using it. I still have a brand new backup.

If the shift lever is scraping up the cases, time for a Cresent wrench fix.

brace said:

This is exactly what I was thinking: pull up on the shift lever and hold the shifter shaft in that upward-rotated position with a locking plier or something while you pull off the shifter lever. Same can go for installation, if the operation of the lever is not the problem and just having trouble getting it off and on. If the lever itself is banging stuff when you're trying to shift (while riding), that's another can of worms. Good luck.

Can't you just pull the shifter out part way so the inside shifter splines are lined up with the bolt groove on the shaft, then rotate the shifter so she'll come off? I've had to do this before, but can't remember if it was on the 400 or not?

Rman of 237 said:

Easy enough.
Remove the bolt.
Insert your least favorite blade screw driver into the split area of the shifter.
Tap lightly. Pull off the shifter.

If you hammer on the screwdriver and put a hole in the cases, don't cry to me.