Utopiapga
Active Member
OK so I noticed there has been a lot of downer threads on the forum lately. Sorry everyone is having such a tough time this year with break downs and such. Just thought I would tell a good story for a change to show everyone there is a light at the end of the tunnel if you just stay focused and ask a lot of questions.
OK so some of you here know I have had an issue with the clutch slipping after I snapped a clutch cable. No matter how I adjusted it there was still slippage when I rolled into the throttle. So hence the tear down began. After talking to someone here on the forum I decided to rebuild the tranny and see if that would fix the problem. I scheduled it for about 3 weeks out and in the mean time went crazy not knowing for sure whether this was the cause and going to be the fix. Also was not going to be cheap to do! So the day before I was to make my trip to get this fixed some of the main parts did not come in so that was scratched and was told that they could no longer get the parts so needed to find a new source.
So now I was in a scramble to find a supplier for these parts and get the Dog back on the road which had been down for almost a month now during prime time riding season here in NC. So I called around and got some other opinions and after doing some soul searching I decided just to call Baker Transmissions direct and tell them my issue and see what they have to say. Well, after Talking to Matt and then Mark at Baker boy did I feel a lot more confident in what I thought it might be wrong with the bike. After there suggestions and my own piece of mind I got the ole Calipers out and starter closely checking out wear issues and specs on parts. After Talking to Mark at Baker he said that yes they are having issues with the Tranny Main Bearings but with bikes that had way more miles then mine and also bikes that have been road a lot harder for those miles. Mark said he started having guys send in there full clutch assembly to see what was causing this and if there was any other unusual wear going on besides the main bearings. What he found was that the Pressure Plates where showing ALOT of wear when the plates themselves where holding up pretty good in comparison. Also they where having issues with the Main Hub Nut coming loose and causing the slippage as well. So what they did was start anodizing and heat treating the Pressure Plate and Hub Nut. So per Mark's advice I started with the changing out the Pressure Plate and Nut and if that did not fix it we would move on to the Clutch Pack. Worse case I have the new and improved Pressure Plate and Nut for right around $60.
So while I was waiting the 48 hours it only took to get the parts I started to check my Pressure Plate and Clutch Pack per specs to see if I could see any wear. Took each and every plate laid it out on a mirror AGAIN to check for and worping and then measured each one and all where way above the wear limit of 0.85 most where at 0.95. Then I checked the Pressure Plate and just looking at it could tell there was some wear. There was definitely some lipping going on on the ID so could not wait to get the new one to compare. After getting the new one I quickly opened it so I could compare some measurements and sure enough the Plate was showing some severe wear and there was 0.12 worth of wear on the old Plate. So now I am excited to see if in fact this is the reason I am getting this slippage when rolling into the throttle. So I carefully start putting everything back together checking specs and using all proper torques per specs and got it all together. Then before I put the outer primary cover I adjusted the clutch the way Mark at Baker told me to do. I took all slack off of clutch cable to get maximum movement from ball and ramp assy. He then said to loosen adjustment nut and then run rod all the way in TIGHT! Then back it out slowly until it loosens then do the finger tight and when you just feel some resistance back off 1/2 turn and lock it down! Then adjust the clutch lever back out and go for a ride!
Bike went into gear easily and pulled away great and at about half way on the lever. Took it thru the gears slowly at first and felt pretty good. Then hit the country road and rolled into it in 3rd gear and away she went!
Man all I can say is what a feeling first of all getting it done myself but also the difference in how good it pulls now compared to before!:2thumbs: Obviously it had been slipping just enough before that we kept adjusting it out and it was about out of adjustment when the Clutch Cable went so might have been a blessing in disguise. It feels like a totally new bike and after putting over 500 miles on her this weekend she is still running strong!
Big Props go out to Baker Transmission even after all the accusations of POS bearing use in there Tranny, they stayed profession and helped me get to the bottom of the real problem and get it fixed. I even called them back and thanked them for quiding me in the right direction and not just trying to through a bunch of parts at me!
Also thanks to everyone else who gave there advice and answered my calls when I was still trying to figure out what the hell to do!!!
So that's my feel good story and hope I have many good riding miles ahead of me!:2thumbs:
OK so some of you here know I have had an issue with the clutch slipping after I snapped a clutch cable. No matter how I adjusted it there was still slippage when I rolled into the throttle. So hence the tear down began. After talking to someone here on the forum I decided to rebuild the tranny and see if that would fix the problem. I scheduled it for about 3 weeks out and in the mean time went crazy not knowing for sure whether this was the cause and going to be the fix. Also was not going to be cheap to do! So the day before I was to make my trip to get this fixed some of the main parts did not come in so that was scratched and was told that they could no longer get the parts so needed to find a new source.
So now I was in a scramble to find a supplier for these parts and get the Dog back on the road which had been down for almost a month now during prime time riding season here in NC. So I called around and got some other opinions and after doing some soul searching I decided just to call Baker Transmissions direct and tell them my issue and see what they have to say. Well, after Talking to Matt and then Mark at Baker boy did I feel a lot more confident in what I thought it might be wrong with the bike. After there suggestions and my own piece of mind I got the ole Calipers out and starter closely checking out wear issues and specs on parts. After Talking to Mark at Baker he said that yes they are having issues with the Tranny Main Bearings but with bikes that had way more miles then mine and also bikes that have been road a lot harder for those miles. Mark said he started having guys send in there full clutch assembly to see what was causing this and if there was any other unusual wear going on besides the main bearings. What he found was that the Pressure Plates where showing ALOT of wear when the plates themselves where holding up pretty good in comparison. Also they where having issues with the Main Hub Nut coming loose and causing the slippage as well. So what they did was start anodizing and heat treating the Pressure Plate and Hub Nut. So per Mark's advice I started with the changing out the Pressure Plate and Nut and if that did not fix it we would move on to the Clutch Pack. Worse case I have the new and improved Pressure Plate and Nut for right around $60.
So while I was waiting the 48 hours it only took to get the parts I started to check my Pressure Plate and Clutch Pack per specs to see if I could see any wear. Took each and every plate laid it out on a mirror AGAIN to check for and worping and then measured each one and all where way above the wear limit of 0.85 most where at 0.95. Then I checked the Pressure Plate and just looking at it could tell there was some wear. There was definitely some lipping going on on the ID so could not wait to get the new one to compare. After getting the new one I quickly opened it so I could compare some measurements and sure enough the Plate was showing some severe wear and there was 0.12 worth of wear on the old Plate. So now I am excited to see if in fact this is the reason I am getting this slippage when rolling into the throttle. So I carefully start putting everything back together checking specs and using all proper torques per specs and got it all together. Then before I put the outer primary cover I adjusted the clutch the way Mark at Baker told me to do. I took all slack off of clutch cable to get maximum movement from ball and ramp assy. He then said to loosen adjustment nut and then run rod all the way in TIGHT! Then back it out slowly until it loosens then do the finger tight and when you just feel some resistance back off 1/2 turn and lock it down! Then adjust the clutch lever back out and go for a ride!
Bike went into gear easily and pulled away great and at about half way on the lever. Took it thru the gears slowly at first and felt pretty good. Then hit the country road and rolled into it in 3rd gear and away she went!
Man all I can say is what a feeling first of all getting it done myself but also the difference in how good it pulls now compared to before!:2thumbs: Obviously it had been slipping just enough before that we kept adjusting it out and it was about out of adjustment when the Clutch Cable went so might have been a blessing in disguise. It feels like a totally new bike and after putting over 500 miles on her this weekend she is still running strong!Big Props go out to Baker Transmission even after all the accusations of POS bearing use in there Tranny, they stayed profession and helped me get to the bottom of the real problem and get it fixed. I even called them back and thanked them for quiding me in the right direction and not just trying to through a bunch of parts at me!
Also thanks to everyone else who gave there advice and answered my calls when I was still trying to figure out what the hell to do!!!
So that's my feel good story and hope I have many good riding miles ahead of me!:2thumbs:
