Just wondering if there is some sort of sweet spot or technique for adjusting the gear connecting rod? Wondering if there is a set length to work to or is it a feel thing? A Good while back the lock nuts on the gear connecting rod came loose on me, I tightened them back up to where I thought they had come from, and used some of 'Blue' loctite to keep them in place. But I have noticed recently that sometimes I have a bit of difficulty getting the bike from 3rd to 4th, it usually only happens after keeping the bike in 3rd for a little longer. I've cleaned and the slave cylinder and push rod and bled it along with the master cylinder using a Mityvac and other than feeling a little lighter and more smooth it hasn't improved this issue with changing from 3rd to 4th. Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated.
I take it you are talking about the rod between the gear lever and the spigot on the end of the gear selection shaft? You should be looking for 90 degrees between the rod and the spigot when your foot is not touching the lever. If the nuts on the rod came loose, the angle will not have changed even if you didn't quite put them back to the same position. All you will have changed is the height of the lever relative to the footpeg. When I had a 1098, I found it hard to find a position where I could get crisp changes both up and down the box. If the ups were good then the downs suffered, and vice versa. Getting the lever position good is a matter of personal choice. Some people like it really high, others really low so no general advice from me, other than try it a little differently and see what happens. Take some small spanners out with you on a ride. Change it a bit, try it. Repeat...
My 1198 was the same i put a set of rear sets on, thought they looked great but could not get any selection properly, pain the arse! took ages to get it right but 90 degrees worked for me. persevere with messing around with the linkage
As said, The 90° setting position for both 'arms' is what the manufacture always intended. If you find that you are unhappy with the angle of the gearlever then resetting the gearbox arm on a slightly different spline is the only answer to achieve the above. The only bit above that isn't right is that if both locknuts come loose the 90° angle will not necessarily be preserved as one end of rod is a left-hand thread to make adjustment quicker. This is why you will see the odd thread where someone lost the rod during the journey if they are in top gear for a long time. Before the left-hand thread idea this didn't used to happen as if loose, the rod would 'walk' in one direction only and would often bottom out before it detached completely.
