2nd Gear Fix ideas

[bikerphil]

secret

Ok, when you slide the countershaft up in there, the far right gear (middle drive gear) will have to slide off of it's collar towards the right until 2nd gear clears the engine case, then it can be slipped back onto its collar. The shift forks are gonna be fun too! IIRC, the center shift fork (2) has to go in first before the countershaft. You do have the oil pump out of the way, don't you?

[DGXSER]

yep, oil pump is out. Yes second shift fork is in place, shift fork shaft is all the way out. First and fifth forks are on the ground.

So far I have gotten to where I can get the coutershaft up into the bike fine, all gears together nice and tight, then slide the middle driven gear out to the right till the countershaft is even with the gear edge and first gear also is tight to the middle driven gear and on its bearing with the washer against it also. However, I can not get first past the main gear that interlocks with fourth due to the middle gear not making it up into its pocket by the bearing. seems to be to tight a fit, and do not think I can get forst over after the shaft is in the bearing.

Yes, I knew this was going to be the hardest part, not freaking out, I know it will eventually go in, just not sure how yet. Must not be holding my mouth just right.

[bikerphil]

Yeah, you got the right idea, just keep trying, it'll finally pop. IIRC, sometimes it doesn't slip up there because of some interference with 2nd gear hitting somthing above it, either a gear on the main shaft or the engine case. Might have to rotate it slightly. BTW, if you did the washer swap, that makes it even a little more tricky too because 2nd gear sits a little further to the left now, but it will go. First time I tried, it took a few hours of cussin' before it went together.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey DG,

You did put it in 4th didn't you!? I also found that rotating the rear wheel back and forth helped in wiggling the gears on the main shaft to allow the countershaft gears room to slip in so that you can get the countershaft into the bearing. Keep at it, it'll fit, it came out didn't it!

The starplate has those little lips on the spring side, and they can get caught on the pressure plate #2's spring bolt shafts, I thought I discussed this in the tip, along with also in the extra steel plate tip as well!

No pressure, they....the star plates are NOW Not available from Yamaha anymore!
T.C.

[Pat Kelly]

If you really want some fun try reassembling in an E with the kick-start gears.
I finally left the kick-start gears out and got it back together. Some day I may try again.

[DGXSER]

Almost there

Well I finally got my mouth half way right. I got he middle driven gear and first gear in place and meshed. The countershaft is centered on the bearing, but not in line with it so it seems that is keeping it from going in. Second gear is not clear of the main gear above that meshes with fifth by over an 1/8" inch or more. That seems to be what is keeping me form lining up to get the shaft in. Pics of where I am below, dont laugh or tell me how bad the grinding job is, unless you see it looks bad enough I should just buy new gears before going through all this.

Countershaft is lined up with bearing, centered anyway


Decent view of second gear interferance


First and Middle Driven lined up, (Don't ask me to do it again)


Another look at the second gear and interferance


5th dogs after cutting (think these look good)


Second slots and gears meshed


OK, open to any suggestions. Going to bed, will try again tomorrow night.

[DGXSER]

Update..success

Wow, that was a PITA, but I got it in. Actually pulled it out first, and rechecked my grinding on fifth and second.

Then I found the trick to getting fourth and middle in place is let fourth come off the bearing, then after they are in place, slide the bearing back into place. I had to turn the tranny with the back tire to get the countershaft to work its way into the bearing and let second get past the main shaft gear.

Now, I have read the thread on the clutch assembly and the threat of damaging the star plate, however, the back of my star plate has lips that catch the spring and the other side of the spring sits on a shelf, there is a groove in between that there is no way for the spring to get into. Looks like the threat is that the spring may slip onto the lip closest to the center of the plate leaving the "end" unsupported as you tighten the bolt causing the plate to snap. It would appear on mine that is almost impossible.

[DGXSER]

ITs Alive and doing AWESOME

I just wanted to thank everyone here for all the help!!

I just finished buttoning it all up and got it out for the maiden voyage. A short trip due to the less than pleasant temps, but hammered 1st and second pretty hard and not a skip, slip or hesitation!!! Seams like I do need to change the exhaust gaskets, I tried just putting the pipes back in wiht the old, No 1 is smoking at the head, so will need to change them out.

Once again, THANKS!!! to all the great folks on here for the incredible tech tips and the great guidance and moral boost when I needed it most!!

[bikerphil]

Glad you got 'er going and the tranny is shifting fine. Piece of cake, huh?

[Ivan]

the parts houses have some stuff called "Acustiseal" by a company called "Walker". It is some black tar like junk that works wonders on exhaust flanges. I had a tube left over from my wrenching days, and I just put a bead of it around the exhaust gaskets and bolted up the headers. It worked like a charm.

When it gets hot it sets very hard. The stuff was the absolute best solution for headers on cars and even better than using exhaust gaskets on stock exhaust. I never had a comeback on that stuff ever.

It may be faster to get than new gaskets.

Last word of caution. It is asphaltic, so when you get it on you, it will be there for a while. Gasoline won't even get it all the way off your skin. Be careful if you have a date night in the near future.

[DGXSER]

Phil,

Over all, it was not that tough. The exhaust on these things is SOOO much easier than on a car. Getting the gears back in was a battle of wills and trial and error, but it worked out.

The most tedious and time consuming task of the entire job was getting the gasket off the shift fork cover flange on the engine. I spent more than four hours with a piece of a razor knife pushing and scraping to get the thing off of there. Someone had used some kind of super crazy glue stuff to put the gasket on there with and it was impossible to get off. Even bought gasket remover and it only slightly helped.

Ivan,

For that reason alone I am willing to wait for the right gaskets over the goop you mentioned. I do NOT want to battle with getting that goo out of my engines head when the time comes that I need to pull the exhaust again or change it. I am sure it would work great, but my finger tips are still tender and ready to bleed from manipulating those razor blade pieces.

I put some junk oil in it and will run it a bit longer in a day or two to let the oil pick up any dust or grindings left I did not get washed off and change it out for some good oil.

I have done some searching for this but not found a thread. What are the thoughts on oil types, does it have to be MA rated oil? Or is std automotive oil sufficient? My local bike shop says that because the oil in a motorcycle also goes in the transmission it is much more subject to foaming and that is why it takes MA rated oil, to prevent the foaming. Seems to me the crank does plenty of moving and churning.

[bikerphil]

earl

Whoa, there's got to be tons of oil threads. Everyone has their own opinion. I myself and many other members use the Castrol 20w50 (car type) with no problems. Just stay away from synthetic as it might make the clutch slip. BTW, what is MA oil? Motorcycle application?

[DGXSER]

Yes, I have searched for "Motorcycle Oil" and I get tons of thrads that come up, but none dealt with this subject. Maybe I need to learn how to narrow my search on here.

Yes, MA is the rating that my local bike shop said to look for on the oil for it to be "Motorcycle" oil. I called them while at a KOI and the only thing KOI had that had that rating was $9 a quart and full synthetic. That seemed WAY to pricey to me, and I did question putting synthetic in.

I always use Castrol in my cars with good luck in general.

[trbig]

After a while, the stock gaskets get really smashed due to torquing them down, then the bumps and jolts from the road. This last time, I left the original gaskets in place and put some new ones on top of them. It worked like a charm.

I know some of these bikes have shorter exhaust studs than others, so this might not be an option for you.

Tod

[DGXSER]

One of th elocal bike shops actually had the exhaust gaskets in stock. $3 a piece, which seems pretty reasonable, compared with the price on Parts-n- more if you factor in the shipping and making a minimum order.

The old ones come out pretty easily also, got everything buttoned up and even took advantage of having the exhaust off to retighten some pan bolts and stopped a minor leak I had.

Now that I can hit it hard when I want to, I am REALLY surprised and impressed with the power this bike produces. Of course this is my first bike with more than 750CC.