| Author | Message | ||
     Buellrobot |
I found a small retaining ring on my drain plug – it's roughly 5/32nd's. The one on the clutch pack adjusting screw is where it should be, so I'm not sure what else it could be.  I did notice my shift shaft has a bit of play in it (though I've never taken primary off, so I'm not sure if that's normal). Here's a video of the movement: https://vid.me/l9uv | ||
| Hughlysses |
I forget exactly where it goes, but there is a snap ring like that on the shifter shaft. I had the same thing happen on my S3. I was attempting to tap the shifter linkage into place on the shaft when replacing it on this bike that had minor crash damage. It turned out the splines on this shaft were damaged and the linkage wouldn't go all the way on. Well, I kept hitting until I drove it into place. Unbeknownst to me, that snap ring popped off the shifter shaft inside the primary case. The next time I changed the primary oil, I found the snap ring on the drain plug just like you. Pull the primary cover and it's fairly easy to reinstall. | ||
| S1owner |
it may just be me but that looks like a lot of metal besides the snap ring? | ||
| Livers |
It looks like the clip from behind the shifter pawl. And yeah, that is a lot of debris IMO. | ||
| Buellistic |
The PRIMARY/CLUTCH COVER needs to be removed !!! | ||
| Mighty_mouse |
I agree with Livers. Found mine in the magneto when I went to do my crank shaft seal. How it worked it's way in there and didn't do any damage is beyond me. I took a small file to the groove in the shifter pawl to make sure it didn't work it's way out again. | ||
| Buellrobot |
Hmmm unfortunately it doesn't seem to be any of the obvious candidates (see below: back of shift shaft or the one on the clutch adjusting screw). I bought the bike with 9k on it and don't know if the PO opened the primary case. I have only ever changed the primary oil and had not seen the retaining ring in any past primary changes. This is my first time opening the primary. In other words, it seems unlikely that the retaining ring was an extra one left from previous clutch work. I was hoping to take just the clutch out to replace the spring/grenade plate, but it seems like I should probably remove the entire transmission assembly. Any more ideas about where a small ~5/32nds retaining ring could have come from? You can see it on the adjusting screw:  And on the back of the shift shaft:  There's a bit of wear on detent plate, but as far as I know it looks good:  And there's a zoomed out pic:  | ||
| Buellrobot |
<edited... see below> (Message edited by buellrobot on October 11, 2015) | ||
| Livers |
Your 2nd photo - just to the left of the spring. I see no clip on the shaft that holds the shifter pawl - the jagged flat thing. | ||
| Buellrobot |
Livers, you nailed it – nice one! And I see that you had guessed this initially – I had thought you meant the one at the back of the shift shaft. I just got back from HD stealership; nice fellows at counter looked through parts list on shifter and clutch and we narrowed it down to retaining ring that's behind the shifter pawl (pn: 11185). Thanks for the detective-work help, everyone. Now I'm still not sure if I want to pull the tranny out. I am this far already, so kind of figuring it might not be a bad idea... but also always worried about effing something up that's working OK. Here it is with a fresh ring installed (tho I flipped the spring around, after I took pic, to match original position):  It's part #13 on the diagram (pn: 11185):  (Message edited by buellrobot on October 11, 2015) | ||
| Buellrobot |
The transmission was very easy to pull out and in my uninformed opinion, it looks in decent shape. The bike has 24k miles. The dogs seem to be OK (some wear, but not a lot) and no obvious gouges in the forks or gears. I'd love a few extra opinions, if anyone sees anything that seems off. Here's a zoomed out shot:  This one has some wear:  Here's a few more shots:    | ||
| Reepicheep |
It doesn't take much wear before those dogs will cause the transmission to jump. Basically, you will shift into second gear, it will engage fine, and the first time you whack the throttle open it will feel like the belt jumped a tooth and re-engaged. It can be any gear, but is usually the second gear pair. It can be quite a whallop. Never lost traction because of it, even leaned over accelerating out of a corner, but seems like it should have. A tire worn down to the cords can feel the same way. So if you wanted to replace that gear pair, it wouldn't be a waste of time and money. When I did it, I think I was able to get the necessary parts for under $200. And taking apart that part of the transmission was non trivial, and had a lot of puzzling out, and required a lot of care in the order of how it came apart and went together. But I did it in my garage in an afternoon. Then again, as you found, getting that transmission out isn't bad at all, so if its not broken, maybe button it back up until it is. Either way. While you have it out, give a good look inside the 5th gear drive assembly, which is still in your case with the front belt sprocket still attached to it. They get poor circulation, and the needle bearings in there can rust and fall apart. | ||
| Buellrobot |
Reepi, I know exactly what you're talking about with the "belt jump" feeling. It happens when I aggressively shift from first into second. Are the transmission components identical to the same era sportster? If not, does anyone know of a good source for buell transmission gears/parts? | ||
| Reepicheep |
I just looked them up in the factory parts manual. Rebuilding the transmission was actually the point that I broke down and bought it. If you order the part from an old manual from the dealer, the dealer will tell you if there is an update to it. I think many (all?) of the tuber parts were the stock sportster parts. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Starting year 2000, they have a taller second gear ratio than the normal sportsters. I'd hold out for a proper Buell-branded one. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I'd go the other way, a lower second gear on an M2 sounds like a LOT of fun.  |
