There you go, when you watch what is going on inside with both modified and unmodified components, it becomes pretty clear, that was the point i was trying to make to possum earlier. For anybody still not understanding i will give a hint. With a stock shaft when you move the shifter you are "asking" the bike to shift. With a modified shaft you are "demanding" that it shift. The modded star just makes the process feel smoother. And i will further agree with what has been posted as far as the external mods are worth doing even without the internal mods. If im not splitting the cases i still do the shaft and star mod and it certainly helps. However on all my personal bikes i cut the trans and do a few other tweaks. It just makes a world of difference and i feel its worth the time. Now of course having a properly adjusted clutch with good basket,hub and pressure plate is absolutely necessary as well.