Primary - Gears? ChainClutch?

[user_deleted]

frankiefilty: see link below. pics of what you'll be dealing with. pics are highly detailed. you can try what jimi said but curious before bike makes trip to dealer: do you have approx. 1/2 inch of COLD freeplay in center of top chain row? and can you feel any kind of sloppiness or freeplay in rear hub assembly if you firmly grasp it and try to wiggle it? if so, the hub nut is loose which can happen.


http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buel...42/496214.html

[raz65man]

I have experienced the exact noises/symptoms and this is what I found. With the primary cover off grab the outside diameter of the clutch basket and try to move it up/down & side to side. If there is any movement the roller bearing that is between the hubs of the inner & outer baskets is starting to go bad. I too had no debris in the oil or on the magnet. I think mine was due to water contamination coming in through the adjustment boot on the clutch cable. I agree with the above comments to not ride it until you have it figured out because failure is going to create a lot more damage.
A heads up......I ordered the inner/outer thrust washers, bearing race, and bearing 5 weeks ago. Washers and race came within a week but the bearing is on national backorder.(Hopefully today?) I'm not positive this is the problem you have, but by your description I would almost bet on it.
Good luck,
Raz

[frankiefilth]

Thank you all for taking the time to share your knowledge with me, really appreciate it! I had a moment of weakness last night, but I decided today that I'm not going to give up to the dealership just yet.. I plan to make my own sprocket locking tool in the next few days and I realized that I don't need the spring compressor to remove the clutch assembly as a whole unit. At the very least, I want to get behind the sprocket and the clutch for further inspection.

1/2 inch of COLD freeplay in center of top chain row?

Looks like it. I didn't actually take a measurement but I'd say it's at least that.

sloppiness or freeplay in rear hub assembly

The clutch shell seemed to wiggle a tiny bit around the clutch hub, but not much.

Thanks for dropping that link Lunatic, great info and pics there!

@Raz thanks for jumping in on this man.. I'm pretty sure I ended up with a bad moisture issue as well, possibly what got me to this point.. In a way I feel better that I'm not the only one to have encountered such a disappointing scenario.. Sorry.

So should there be absolutely zero tolerance for play between the shell and the hub?

[EricZ]

You can use a door hinge for the primary locking tool and you only need to remove the clutch hub nut to get the clutch assembly off. Once the nut is off, you can pull the hub out of the basket and then maneuver the clutch shell around while you pull the primary chain off the front sprocket. It's pretty easy!

[jimijeans]

Yep, no freeplay, especially in the Clutch Basket area. All NEW Bearings for that area. YOUR a Buelller now, Just hang in there, and stay away if at all possible from the dealer. I realize sometimes you can't. the Buellers/ Riders here are people that want to help, as long as you have patience we will do as much as possible to get you riding safely The.3/8 adjustment I mentioned because possibly on the chain will work with a Standard Primary Chain in worn shape
however, the 1/2 inch Cold setting might be too much at this time that is part of the ( testing) I mentioned earlier. as long as the chain hasn't been streached before you bought the bike and the prior owner had to have it adjusted by someone Might have been done right OR not., then rode it for a while, sold to another and now ,caught up to you and is it is slaping around with worn out OR that becomes more/,wthen it gets Hot, once it gets hot it can become out by as much as 7/8. After that the Bearings will be worn enough that it will pull the Clutch Basket forward causing misalignment and chain slap and eventually if not fixed properly need new gears.
I don't feel hoping that it has gone that far due to your first posting.
Clutch.Basket will need to be rebuilt (re manned) with at least all new bearings and inspection. We are not there to see that or hear it run making the noise so most of us have to assume and try to lead in the right direction., The Primary or Transmission Cover Acts like an Echo chamber, anything out of adjustment or worn and it will sound like it is coming apart .Good for you for parking it quickly.
While you are at it/ if it is still apart look inside the Primary Cover for scratches as if it (had) possibly been rubbing. Check the Wear to your primary Tensioner where it was riding across the top of it, also and the O'ring under the Tensioner shaft should be replaced with a factory one..
check the threads on the tensioner and the lock nut.
if you are going to re-man the outer area you now have exposed/ Clutch basket bearings and the internals do it all while it is down. Especially if the Transmission (shifted good) when you had it together no grinding and such, going into the gears.. Putting it back together was my way of making sure the Gears & Shifter Drum inside the Engine case were not at fault.. Also really check the Rear Clutch Baskets Thrust Washer up against the Case Bearing behind the Basket they get pitted from the heat and not good enough fluid in the Tranny being used 20/50 OR 20/60- Amsoil is a good choice for your bike Engine and Transmission... *Jimi

[frankiefilth]

@EricZ thanks for the tip! I just went to the hardware store and ended up picking up a piece of steel that I'll cut to length (1-1/8" wide, 3/16" thick) that should probably work okay, right?

YOUR a Buelller now, Just hang in there, and stay away if at all possible from the dealer.

Thanks for the inspiration Jimi! I'm trying..

So, regarding the chain.. I measured the play in the center.. 3/4" on the top row and 1" on the bottom row, is that unusually excessive? Seemed logical to me that it would have a fair amount of play with zero tension on it..?? There aren't any marks around the inside of the primary cover itself, but a little bit on the tensioner.. Again, I would think some scuffing there [to some extent] would be expected. Here's the best pic I could capture..

I have to wait until I can get the proper sockets to pull the gears and clutch, nothing @ the local hardware store.. Maybe tomorrow morning when the auto store is open. Also, it looks like I don't have much time this wknd to wrench, which really sucks! But I'll do my best to get it done as soon as possible and be that much closer to getting this resolved!

[jimijeans]

Hey, Don't remember that been too long a day. Since you have just enough or some tools to pull Transmission down where it is at . Time is money in the business , If you have time., is putting it back together for some reason out of the question.?
Testing several areas is your best bet for keeping costs down. This way till you make a list and buy some tools you can possibly avoid maybe a lot of money being spent. Especially if you were to adjust the chain several times find the right adjustment & that was all it was.
I have had to put together many vehicles to diagnous a problem from a previous work being done and most times it was simple and here and there sometimes not. Techs have to be sure . That is the best I can come up with for helping you out. The previous postings should get you in the right direction. Take your time , and enjoy Learning your Ride, might just keep you hopefully out of the dealer. *Jimi

[jimijeans]

BTW, don't rush yourself if possible. The Chain can't be measured on the Bike gears. Make sure to put a small bevel on the Flat metal ON each end so it fits snugly inbetween the Sprocket Gears. The Flat piece of metal needs to be as Wide as the Sprocket is for the best working of the tool.
Look up Jims on the internet or Kent Moore Tools for Harley Davidson. Google that etc. OR Google Buell Transmission tools or something,. to get an Idea of the slight angle to make your tool of locking the gears to break the nut so as not to damage the Transmission. That way the Gear Teeth won't get damaged from a slip or something. Take your time . *Jimi

[frankiefilth]

So I finally had time yesterday to fab the locking link and attempt to pull the clutch and drive gears.. No go.
I tried and tried to break the sprocket nut free but all I managed to do was trash my torque wrench. The nut didn't budge and my wrench is shot.. So, now making plans to truck it to the dealer for service.
@Jimi I didn't want to spend more time (and possibly more money) to do any sort of testing. I felt I would just end up in the same spot regardless, still scratching my head and needing the service shop to figure it out. May be ignorance or whatever, I just have a very strong feeling that there's more to it than adjustments and such. I'm quite sure that there will be [at the very least] a couple small parts to replace. But I appreciate your thoughts and attempt to help me out!
Hopefully I'll be able to get it to the dealer this weekend. I just hope they don't charge me an arm and a leg to fix it! I'll post the results after it's all said and done.
Thank you all for your input!

[Jmal18]

Hey man, props to you for knowing when to call it a day. We've all gone "too far" and sheared/stripped bolts, over tightened, f'ed something up.