Can't get 5th gear wheel off

[jetmechmarty]

I'm following TC's walk-thru on the xmission repair. My bike is on its back. I'm carefully following the instructions. I can not get the 5th gear wheel out. The fork is out of the way. It won't clear the gear that rides on top of it. A step must be missing.

HELP!!!

[bikerphil]

Marty, you have the bearing cap off right? Try rotating the countershaft a bit and wiggle/pry the gear out the side of the case.

[jetmechmarty]

Thanx Phil! It finally came out. Brent Hoovestol was kind enough to ride over and lend a hand. Everything is apart and I have to quit. I might have to wait until I get home again in three weeks to finish putting everything back together.

The dogs don't look anywhere near as bad as I expected to find them. I'm replacing four gear wheels with new ones and doing the washer move.

[bikerphil]

Nice, another thing to watch for is the snap ring next to 2nd gear. It can become distorted when removing, so make sure you straighten it or replace it. When installed with the new 2nd gear, there should be no drag on the gear. It should spin freely with none or very little binding. If the trans is put back together with that 2nd gear binding, it can cause rough shifting in and out of that gear, HTH.

[jetmechmarty]

Thanx Phil. I did not mess with the gear wheels yet. Maybe I'll get some time to mess with it tomorrow. I'll follow the instructions posted by Tod on the washer move.

Many thanks to TC for posting the step-by-step instructions on the tranny fix. It is a big time saver having my laptop on the scene with the simple instructions and photos.

[jetmechmarty]

Many thanx to Brent for the technical assistance and muscle to bring the job this far.

[bikerphil]

Marty, you'll find you'll need to remove the oil pump to get the countershaft out. When putting the pump back in, use a new O-ring. Size is 19X24X2.5, available at Advance auto in their metric O-ring drawer. Have fun with the rebuild.

[jetmechmarty]

The oil pump is out and shaft full of wheels on the table. Unfortunately, it's time for me to go back to work. It will be the end of the month when I'm putting this back together.

Thanx for the Advance O ring tip, Phil. I have Advance here in town.

[James England]

I'll follow the instructions posted by Tod on the washer move.

I tried the washer move on a spare engine which I was working on for practice. Removing the countershaft was tight, just as you mention. However, having succeeded in removing it and doing the washer switch, I found it completely impossible to get the countershaft back in. I switched it back and in went the countershaft. I switched it back to the new position and the countershaft would not go back in. I tried for hours and ended up posting on the forum to ask what I was doing wrong. I didn't get to the bottom of it.

I was working on the spare engine as a confidence building exercise so that, when it comes to doing my bike engine, I wouldn't be too overwhelmed.

So, when you do switch the washer, I'd be interested to know if, and how, you get that countershaft back in.

I must confess, at first I thought the 'upside down 1100' method looked drastic and decided I'd never do that on my bike and opt to remove the engine. Having removed two engines recently, both by turning on the right side and lifting the frame off the engine, I've changed my view. There's a hell of a lot of work involved in getting the bike to the point of laying it on its side and removing the frame and potential for damaging things is quite high unless everythihg is stripped off. So, I'm going to re-read that upside down walkthrough again when the time comes.

[jetmechmarty]

Getting the bike upside down is no small challenge. There were three of us. It's not that big a deal getting it upside down, but the potential for damage. I had to remove turn signals while in the process. While Brent and I did the flipping, my daughter was scampering around with mats and jack stands. There is potential to get hurt or break something.

[James England]

Did you use a hoist or block and tackle or something? Or did you do it by hand??

[jetmechmarty]

All done by muscle. The hard part is not breaking stuff. TC's recommendation to use unwanted handlebars is a good idea. Protecting mine made for more lifting.

[James England]

All done by muscle. The hard part is not breaking stuff. TC's recommendation to use unwanted handlebars is a good idea. Protecting mine made for more lifting.

Impressive. I have an old set of bars in my scrap heap but I'll fish them out now and keep them for the future. I'll pay out for life membership at the local gym for me and two friends. By the time my second gear needs doing, we should have pumped enough iron... I hope

[jetmechmarty]

Washer move

I wonder if it isn't a good idea to perform the washer move BEFORE the 2nd gear starts slipping. That way, the gear replacement or dog/slot grinding can be avoided.

It is tough to not follow the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." rule. Especially on a job this big. BUT...sooner or later, these bikes all suffer the same fate. It's just a matter of when.

[bikerphil]

If you do the washer swap, for sure you should never have problems with 2nd gear again. It is a little tighter putting the countershaft in with the washer swap, a little coax from a rubber mallet may be needed. 2nd gear is the most demanding IMHO, and anything to strengthen it's meshing is a plus.