Broken Shift Actuator on AE

Yesterday I had my 06 AE strand me on the side of the road when I got a weird shift and a SH_51 code came up on the dash.

I was stuck in gear and the bike would not restart. Fortunately I was still in town but the bike was not going anywhere. I pulled the side panel off and noticed that the shift actuator was loose. I got the bike up on the centerstand and grabbed the shift rod and was able to get the bike into neutral so I could push it to a safer location.

I had called for a tow truck but someone came along that I knew so I cancelled the tow truck and my friend gave me a ride home so I could get the trailer and go fetch the bike and bring it back home. Today I got into it and found this when I pulled the actuator out of the bike....



To replace the actuator is roughly $1400 and there are none in the warehouse in Canada anyways. I have both CFR and Red Lodge coming up so it was time to McGyver something. A quick run over to Canadian Tire and I came back with some Weld Bond and some 8mm washers....



I had the broken piece so I used the Weld Bond to reattach the broken piece and then I used more Weld Bond to sandwich the broken piece with two 8 mm washers. I gave it time to let everything setup and remounted the actuator. The captured nut on the front side was defective so I had to remove it and had a bad time of it getting an 8mm nylock nut up into position but I was finally able to get it and tightened everything up. The actuator is now very solidly mounted.

I checked the alignment hole to make sure the shift rod was in proper alignment and then boxed everything back up. Turned the key on and the shift error code cleared. Ran the bike through a couple of shifts while on the centerstand all all seems good.

With luck crisis averted. I'll take the bike for a short run on Monday to see how the patch holds up before trusting it on the run up to CFR.

That sucks. Hopefully your temporary repair will be solid enough to ride it until you decide to replace the part. Good luck Billy.

I hope it works out as planned. Good luck with your upcoming travels and ride safe.

I seem to remember there was some Yamaha support for broken shift actuators on some of the early 06 AEs.

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/121234-shift-51-code/?hl=++shift+++actuator+++broken

A few other references popped up on a search. Might be worth investigating.

Good luck!

Edit: I know it couldn't help you in the short term but if the temporary fix holds, maybe they can do something for you later.

All I can hear is "Canadian engineering, eh. JSNS!!"

Good luck with the temp fix, Fitz!

RossKean said:

I seem to remember there was some Yamaha support for broken shift actuators on some of the early 06 AEs.
https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/121234-shift-51-code/?hl=++shift+++actuator+++broken

A few other references popped up on a search. Might be worth investigating.

Good luck!

Click to expand...

I already had the recall done that replaced the bracket that holds the actuator so I think I'm probably out of luck on that score

Somebody, somewhere, must have wrecked an AE by now. Moto salvage yards?

BTW, impressive ingenuity.

Bill, do you shift with your boot all the time?

a darn good thing he used metric washers...

Well I was hoping that phone call I got was good news!! Any theory on why it broke, or is it just a flawed design.....?

I agree, that seems like an odd place for the thing to have mechanically stressed and broken.

Not so sure as to the Canadian Engineering. He didn't even use any duct tape!

Fred W said:

I agree, that seems like an odd place for the thing to have mechanically stressed and broken.

Click to expand...

I would have thought so as well, unless it wasn't properly tightened down and was able to move while shifting. The break suffered by canucklehead-biker in the link I posted above shows essentially an identical break.

I just read the link that RossKean provided about canucklehead-biker's experience. His JB Weld repair failed quickly and he was glad that he was able to get the correct parts through a dealer quickly.

When I first read this thread, I was a bit skeptical about how well an epoxied repair would work on a stressed part with relatively thin glued cross section. I've not had good luck with that sort of repair myself.

I skimmed up to look at the picture of the epoxy being used in the present instance. It is rated at "up to 900 psi." I think that this sort of spec just means that the most you could hope for is 900 psi, and you will probably get less ... still within their spec. It could fail at 100 psi and it would meet an "up to 900 psi" rating.

I then took a look at the glued cross sectional area, and it looks quite small. I guess this was the motivation for including the two washers and their increased surface area, although it would appear that they would be loaded in shear rather than in tension, and no shear strength spec is given.

At any rate ... if it's possible to get a replacement unit from a salvaged AE, that would seem like a good solution.... I would hesitate to consider taking a trip with one that was jury rigged with epoxy and washers, but maybe that's just me.

I went through the Kabuki dance with Yamaha over the '08 FJR AE last Fall, and there were many parts that were unavailable in the US, but that were sent by air mail from Japan to assist in the trial and error troubleshooting being conducted by the dealer. The turnaround time for the typical part from Japan was typically a bit more than a week, but less than a week and a half. That's not as nice as having parts available in North America, but that's what we get since the North American importers have abandoned support for the AE model. My '09 was one of the last sold in the Yamaha blow out and is still on Y.E.S. for another 10 months, but after that, the U.S. Importer probably has no specific obligation to support any of them. Sigh....

The McGyver patch let go in Pembroke on Friday during CFR. Onto Phase 2 when we leave for Red Lodge tomorrow. I clean up the damaged area and had a rethink about the whole situation....



The problem is when the shift rod pulls back it causes the assembly to torque about the front bolt if the rear area is loose from the break. This is what causes the SH_51 code and locks the bike in whatever gear it is in at the time. To counteract the torque for now I was able to find a spare socket that I could wedge between the assembly and the frame to stop the assembly from rotating....



I then used some Weld Bond to hold the socket in place....



I then added a more weld bond to the rear of the assembly to build it up and give it more strength than last time.....



I plan to check the bolts each night for tightness since the last repair did last a couple of days before working itself loose again. It's all I can do for now. It was go with this or stay home and my vote was go on the trip. If it breaks I find the nearest motel go to an airport, fly home and get the bike hauled back to Spearfish for Ray to bring it back with him. Leaving tomorrow for Ray's place and then onto Spearfish by trailer and start the ride from BigJohnSD's place.

.By the way for those that not visit the CFR thread I hit a deer with the bike on Wednesday so this was not the only repair I have to worry about whether it will hold up. This is shaping up to be an adventure.

Crossing fingers and other appendages for you on that repair, hoping it gets you through without leaving you stranded somewhere!

As Ross mentioned, it looks identical to the break I had - although mine happened at about 28,000 km on the clock. The jury-rigged repairs you've done are impressive, and I hope they hold for you. I agree with others that the best solution is to find a used actuator from a wrecked AE. Getting a new one at the price that Yamaha wants is a beastly option at best.

Good luck!

Griff

That is ugly as hell Mr. Bill

Get it welded and then machined properly or it will never hold.

Canadian FJR

This thread needs zip ties. I see a place you could grind out some metal and install a zip tie to hold it to the subframe.

Looking for a use for tooth picks and soda straws.

Good luck with the second temporary fix. It looks really ugly so it may end up being a lifetime fix. I won't be underwriting a warranty on it though. Have a good trip and keep Ray in line.