My girlfriend's 2005 Honda CRF230F dirt bike was having some issues with the shifting down to 1st gear. The dirt bike would constantly go to neutral from 2nd regardless of the force of the downshift. This has become extremely problematic as we do a lot of technical trail riding and would constantly leave her stuck on uphill's.
I did a bit of research online and determined that it was most likely due to a worn shift star gear, shift shaft, and shift linkage. I set out to replace all three as it did not appear to be a tough job and the parts were not very pricy.
The parts needed for this job were as follows:
The tools needed for the job were as follows:
First step was to remove the right-side cover. To do this without draining the oil, although you should change the oil after its done, I laid the bike on a jackstand on its left side. The rear brake needs to be removed in order to remove the right-side cover; the exhaust does not need to be removed. Remove all the 8mm cover bolts and remove the cover. A pry bar may be needed to remove the cover but do it carefully.
Next remove the cotter pin, snap ring, and spring on the shift lever. Followed by removing the shift plate.
Inspect the shift plate and compare to the new one.
Then things get interesting... The shift rod does not appear like it can come out without removing the clutch basket and a lot of people say it can't. I am here to tell you that it can be done IF you do not care about the shift ride and are replacing it.
You will need to twist it slightly to the position in the picture and pull it up with vice grips. The vice grips will damage the shift rod, but if you are replacing it then that doesn't matter. The clearance between the shift plate and the clutch basket is very minimal, but it will fit.
Once out you can inspect the shift rod against the new one. Be sure to remove the snap right and spring and place it on the new shift rod. I reused all snap rings and springs, but they could be replaced.
Next remove the old star gear (10mm) and replace it with the new one.
Inspect the differences in the old and new star gear. Mine did not appear worn, but the slight wear marks on the star gear could be enough to give the shifting issues I was dealing with.
Next install the new shift rod, lining up the spring below the shift rod. Keep in mind this is a very tight clearance to get it in, but it does fit past the clutch basket.
Place the new shift plate on the shift rod and reinstall the spring and snap ring as well as the cotter pin.
Lastly, clear the old gasket off of both the engine side and the cover side.
Install the new gasket and reinstall the right-side cover, making sure the clutch mechanism is lined up.
At this point I would suggest running it through all the gears and making sure it shifts fine, run it and do the same, then drain and replace the oil. Not required, but I suggest it since these only have a screen and not an oil filter and debris may have broken loose during the process.
Run it through all the gears and make sure everything feels right. Then go and ride!
