I believe I was the first person to post about that gear shearing problem. The problem part isn't covered in the recall work, but could easily be done if the recall HADN'T been done yet. That said, to fix it requires basically the same work that the recall does, which is pulling the entire motor & trans out and spliting it right down the middle. It's essentially a total rebuild. I'm up in Canada so I'm not sure if the conversion is right, but I believe I was told to expect around $2000 after taxes to do the repair. Fortunately, I have gearheads in the family (as I'm not much of one) and we all did the work together.

That said, that happened to me at the end of the 2nd year having the bike (bought it used with about 44,000km). Since doing the repair, not a wink of a problem. If you're comfortable with what the repair could cost, or you're comfortable to buy the parts and invest time yourself, then I say have at 'er!

Thanks for all the info everyone! I'm now concentrating in finding an 04-07 I like by the end of the month. More then just the money it sounds like it could be pretty dangerous to have that shearing happen and don't want to take that chance with my wife on the back.

May want to drop the 04 from your list, they have a tendency for the SVS............

Flashback wrote:
May want to drop the 04 from your list, they have a tendency for the SVS............

Really!! I didn't know that about the 04's. Have 11,000 miles on my 04 without any problems so far... touch wood!... but in saying that I do use sea foam on a regular basis.

Ringo

I don't think there is much to it, but it has been an issue a time or two, something about re-designed heads I think...

Great thx for that info. What about the 2002? I'm finding some nice 2002 Midnight Stars in my price range with low miles.

I think you'll be great with any Road Star you end up with. ALL bikes have their individual issues, you just hear about all related various years of Road Stars here.

FYI - the tranny recall is on 99-03, so any 1600 you get COULD have the shearing problem. Then again, just by going for a drive in a car, you COULD get into an accident. Just because it COULD happen, doesn't mean it's going to happen.

Go ahead, pull the trigger on any Road Star and you'll be happy

I thought the shearing problem was only on the 2003's from what I read. If I can't make a deal on an 05-07 I will definitely go back to a 1600. How big of a difference do the higher rev limits make?

walker8989 wrote:
How big of a difference do the higher rev limits make?

A lot of it depends on your riding style. but if your like most, you will probably want to up the revs on a 1600. that said, you can pick up a 1700 ECU pretty cheap and its plug and play...or go with an aftermarket.....

What can be done about the SVS? Is it very serious? and how much is a 1700 ECU?