Zongshen 200GY-2: Gear Shifter Repair at 47,141 Miles

[SpudRider]

Several days ago I went for a ride along Goodale's Cutoff of the Oregon Trail. My destination was Big Southern Butte, a prominent landmark viewed for wide distances across East Idaho. At the bottom of the butte I was located 13 miles from Atomic City, Idaho, which means I was 13 miles from nowhere. :P



Big Southern Butte rises 2,500 feet above the Snake River Plain. The vista is long and magnificent in every direction from the summit.



The visibility was not excellent on this day. Nevertheless, after reaching the summit I could easily look back 36 miles along the route I had followed from Springfield, Idaho.



Looking to the north, one can easily view the Big Lost Range, which includes Mount Borah, the highest peak in Idaho.



The view from the summit is not for the acrophobic. On a clear day it is reported you can view Montana and Wyoming from this spot. Also, the view extends many miles to the west and south along the flat "sea" of the Snake River Plain.









You might enjoy watching a video made by another rider as he rode to the summit of Big Southern Butte.



Evening and a rainstorm were approaching simultaneously as I descended the butte, and headed back home. Wet and tired, I had a mechanical problem at 47,134 miles on the odometer, as I got within 7 miles of home. :? My transmission did not want to shift lower than 3rd gear. :( Using a variety of persuasions, and starting from stop lights in higher gears, I managed to reach home safely. 8O

Is the the end of the Zong's engine? 8O I was so close to 50,000 miles on the odometer. :roll: Stay tuned for further updates.

Spud :?

[zingshoen]

o dear, glad you got home alright. but what s going to happen to the cult of zong? a transmission overhaul may be a possibility or a reco TW 225 motor?

[dapp]

A real shame such a nice ride had to end like that!
At least it managed to get you home ok though!
I'm guessing it's going to be cheaper and less time consuming to replace the lump, rather than a complete strip down?

Awesome photos though! Would love to ride somewhere like that one day!

[dmmcd]

Once again, beautiful photos.

I would not write off the bike yet. Could be something relatively simple in the transmission. Now if you said there were metal chunks and flames coming out of the case, then I would say it's done.

[edtardo]

I'm sure the Zong will come back better and stronger than ever. I love seeing its native habitat.

[Weldangrind]

We should have a moment of silence.

[Weldangrind]

My guess is a shift fork or case bearing. It sounds like a good time for a 230 motor.

[FastDoc]

I have this figured out so listen closely.

This is the Hand Of God.

He's telling you it is time to sell the Zong, and the KDX and buy the Honda 250 D/S with FI.

You know you want it. :P

Do that Brother Spud and rejoice in the amazing memory of the Zong and it's performance BUT...

Fix the Zong. I agree with Brother Weld, a bent shifter fork BUT something bent the fork... Some sort of lower end problem I don't know what.

Alternatives include:

Source a Yamaha motor for an XT225 or similar.
Buy a new Zong engine if available.
Repair the one in the Zong.
Sell the Zong as is.
Part it our to needy Zong owners.

I vote for the repair and trade up to the Honda. You have nothing to lose by tearing into it.

[FastDoc]

Also our Savior was looking out for you. He used that little bike to get you home safely despite it's possibly mortal wound.

[SpudRider]

Dear friends, I have a confession to make. When the Zong wouldn't downshift, I was concerned the bike's transmission had failed. I conferred with Brother Andy, a professional mechanic of 30 years, and he suggested a shift fork might be bent. I was also concerned something had failed with the bike's gears. :(

If the transmission had failed, I could certainly repair the Zong in the variety of ways you, my friends, have suggested. However, I would need to proclaim the Zong's remarkable durabilty had ended at 47,134 miles on the odometer. :?

I knew the only way to determine the problem, and fix it, was to drain the motor oil, and open the engine. Reading the TW200 Service Manual, I was reminded the Zong's shifting problem might be caused by a bad gear shifter, and not a bad transmission!

Brother Andy had previously donated a Yamaha, XT200, parts engine to me. Therefore, I decided to inspect and replace worn parts of the gear shift mechanism before I removed the engine and inspected the transmission. :idea:

After reversing some dowel pins on the drum cam star, and installing an XT200 shift shaft/pawl, my Zong now shifts better than ever! The dream of 50,000 miles is still alive!

I could't resist presenting the question of a failed Zong transmission to you, my friends of the Zong, as the question had presented itself in my own mind. :P However, I am very pleased to report my Zong is alive, and running/shifting better than ever! Therefore, I have changed the title of this thread, and will post the details of how I fixed the Zong's gear shift mechanism with 47,141 miles on the odometer!

As always, I thank my fellow Zongites, and Zong supporters, for your kind words and good advice. The Zong still lives!

Spud

[Weldangrind]

You big tease.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

You big tease.

I couldn't resist. :P

Spud

[edtardo]

I knew you couldn't kill that thing

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by edtardo

I knew you couldn't kill that thing

Once again, I was very impressed with the excellent quality of this Zongshen engine! The Zong is very rugged, and very well built in overall terms. However, the quality of this Zongshen engine is impressive. I probably didn't need to replace the Zong's shift shaft/pawl. However, since this part had 47,141 miles of wear, I decided to install the virtually new, XT200 shift shaft/pawl. All I really needed to do was reverse the dowel pins in the drum cam star. I will post some photographs later.

Spud

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by FastDoc

Also our Savior was looking out for you. He used that little bike to get you home safely despite it's possibly mortal wound.

Amen! I would have had a very difficult time getting home in the rain and mud while riding off road with a worn out gear shifter. I was very blessed to get on pavement, within 7 miles of home, before the gear shifter refused to downshift past 3rd gear.

Spud