What Have I Got?
850 miles on the speedo now and I admit to myself that there is a vibration that comes and goes on the road. Also feel some sort of “hammering” when just sitting astride the bike with it idling at a low pace. I posted a query on a few other blogs and somebody suggested that the front drive sprocket on the tranny is known to work loose on this model bike and it could be causing the vibration. Sounds reasonable to me. That is just the kind of vibration it felt like – gear wobbling on its shaft. Into the garage to pull the inner and outer primary so I can have a look.
The fun begins
Get the bike on a bike jack so I can lift her a bit off the floor for a better working angle. Outer primary comes off easy enough. Gasket still good too. Locate my trusty pressure plate washer. Lock down the pressure plate springs and remove the pressure plate, 5 fiber and 4 steel plates of the clutch assembly. Clutch hub nut (left handed threads) comes off just fine. Now for the compensating sprocket. Wow – what a surprise. I have had many compensating sprockets off of Harleys in the past. Some of them pretty damned tight too. Nothing even compares to this one.
Wedge a gear jam between the bottom of the front primary sprocket and the top of the clutch basket sprocket to lock them gainst each other. Get out the inch and a half socket and breaker bar. Give it ALL I have and cannot budge the nut. No problem I says. Need a cheater pipe. After acquiring a 3 foot piece of galvanized pipe we are back at it. One guys holding the bike steady on the jack and two of us pulling on the cheater. Nothing breaks loose. Wow. This SOB is TIGHT.
Take a break and then give another try. Just me this time. I put almost all I have into the counter-clockwise (right hand thread) bolt head. Nothing. A little more. Nothing. Screw this! All I have got. SNAP. Half inch drive breaker bar twists off at the socket head. Gear jamming tool is completely jammed between the sprockets. Not coming out unless the compensator comes loose or I get a torch on it and cut it out! The 2 hour project just got a lot more complicated.
We have decided that whomever put the bike together last must have filled the compensator bolt with red locktite and then put the damned thing back together. A normal application of locktite would never have been able to withstand the torque I was applying to this thing. So, I guess I am going to get a torch and heat the damned thing up to where the locktite melts and give it another try (after replacing my twisted off breaker bar of course.) For today – done.