Direct shifter for big bear setup

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boxhead

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Take note, this is a fairly complex project to make one simple and durable part, but will take a sh*tload of stress out of the warrior's shifting slop. You'll need quite a bit of tig/mig welder experience to complete it, or simply know someone that does + a box of donuts to bribe them to do it. At this point if you wonder if it's worth the trouble, f*ck yeah it is!!! ;D

Well here goes, the shifter you want to order for this one should be a stock steel shifter from a banshee, which I chose a 2001 since it was guaranteed to use the same splines. Be sure to cut the shorter segment at 3 1/4 inches about, since I refer to it as the 2 1/2" piece. That is simply because you have to go out 2 1/2" from the end of the shift shaft to clear the big bear components. For the first step you want to straighten the lever by correcting the bends that are at the red circles in the diagram below:

completebansheelever2se.jpg


You want to keep the bend that goes down the whole lever following the blue line, which gives the lever a little more strength. You'll then want to cut the lever using a diamond cutter or a saw that will leave a clean edge for the future welding. All of the cuts are represented by the yellow lines in the pic. The cut that is at the block with the splines should be right up to the block, leaving no stub, so the round surface of the spline piece is all that's left. Afterwards cut a segment at about 3 1/4" (2 1/2" OUT FROM THE END OF THE SHIFT SHAFT + THE WIDTH OF THE SPLINE PIECE!) further down from the spline removal point on the shifter. Place a brass rod in the splines and clamp it slightly to draw excess heat from the welding, and prevent damaging them. You'll want the threaded side of the spline piece to be pointed up when mounted also, since it will allow the tightening bolt to be applied through the bottom and out of the way of the big bear assembly. If you have to install it through the top, it'll be quite a pain in the ass! :mad: The welder I used was a tig welder, which allowed easily controlled heat, since you don't want to go too hot on this project. See the diagram below for proper weld bead setup for the 2 1/2" outward segment and the spline piece:

untitled2jh.jpg


The segment with the rubber piece should then be welded to the shorter one at a 90deg angle following the image below:

directshiftsetup9iw.jpg


All of the welds should be done by a experienced welder, just so the weld isn't made too hot, and a very strong bead is made. The lever will be dealing with quite a bit of abuse by a kicking foot, so it's definately a good idea to make it as strong as possible. After all the welds are complete it can then be sanded to prep it for the paint. When I did this I removed all the old paint, and used a moderate grit sandpaper to remove any marks from the clamps used to straighten the lever initially. The paper should also leave a roughened surface for the paint to stick to. I used a gloss black for the color, but anything can be used here to apply about three coats, one every ten minutes or so. The ten minute interval is to allow each coat to half dry and just become tacky for the next coat to stick to. Allow the lever to dry for about a day or so afterwards, hanging it up by the rubber piece so the paint can completely dry. Here is a pic of mine when I finished it, sorry it's a little dark and dirty!

Picture%20023.jpg
 
Just clamp it in a vise at the bend point and bend away!!! The first cut made will leave you without the splines, so that bend that's closer to the splines can be done afterwards, if it makes it easier. The vise will simply flatten out the other bend if it is clamped on both sides of the bend.
 
Hey Boxhead I've been wondering about direct shift setup for awhile. Me and my buddys ride dirtbikes too, and are used to that ****. The problem seems to be is that when you wipe out or crash hard , that shifter will---A - break off without a prob. B- bend the arm but break the shift shaft & bearing, or C-bust out a piece of the case. What we've found is that we have like 5 good old motors with broken cases around the shifter. Thats a lot of expensive garbage for only 7 guys.... I know that that jiggly shifter is a pain but that stupid linkage is there to givein instead of a costly motor replacment. Good idea though man, it should work really well. I hope I don't jinx you. :-X
 
yes yes....the linkage is there for a reason....direct shifters are known to ruin cases but for me its worth the gamble ...i put a 400 ex shifter on mine and it feels like a whole new quad shift wise....and its alot easyer to get in neutral.....but if something does some how hit the shifter just hard enough....you may be wishing you hadnt have changed it....its your call wether to gamble your motor ::)
 
yeah ....basicly.....but even then with out nurfs its pretty unlikely that anything would even touch the shifter in a crash....but on a dirtbike if its laid on its left side the chances of breaking off the shifter/case are pretty good....
 
Landing on a stump(beaver or logged) or rock crawling will grab the shifter, nylon straps do nothing with rock and tree, I agree that it will greatly cut down on damage , but only eliminate most obvious damage, not the damage coming from directly below. :mad:

Shitty luck is the only kind--rely on skill.
 
i ride mx so....logs and **** arnt gonna be in my way...but for the guys who do have this prob ...should deff know the dangers in it....
 
The shifter ends up right next to the engine in a way where your more apt to hit the side of the case cover before hitting the shifter. I would rather take my chances than deal with that shitty linkage again!!! ;D
 
The shifter ends up right next to the engine in a way where your more apt to hit the side of the case cover before hitting the shifter. I would rather take my chances than deal with that shitty linkage again!!! ;D

Hell yea to a big **** the linkage!! But yea if you have nerfs and make the shifter the same way as us the chances of something hitting JUST the shifter or the shifter at all is slim to none. It's about the same odds of a chain breaking and lashing through your case.
 
I would say the chain is a much greater chance, especially if you're a retard and don't lubricate it ever! ;D
 
Not really, just need to know how to use a tig. Otherwise you need to be good at buying the right donuts to bribe someone to weld it up for you. ;D
 
Not really, just need to know how to use a tig. Otherwise you need to be good at buying the right donuts to bribe someone to weld it up for you. ;D

Your way would of been easy but I had to be dif and use a torch and bend it into shape. I also used a plasma cutter, tig, and mig welder. I wouldnt say its "hard" just tedious and takes time this way.
 
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