Loose Mainshaft Nut

Riding backroads, the last mile before home, I make the right at the stop sign, let out the clutch and, zip, nothing. Engine’s running, no power to the wheel. Another gear, same thing, no power to the wheel. I’m at the bottom of the hill, and she ain’t moving. Neighbor comes by in his truck, and we fasten a strap around the top of my fork, attached to his bumper, and he tows me to the bottom of my driveway, where, with much effort, we push the dead 650 lb. machine up the hill to the garage.

What could cause such a vulnerability? I’d had the tranny rebuilt only 23,000 miles ago. So I drained the tranny. There were no metal chips on the drain plug magnet: a good sign. So I dug into the primary, and the clutch, considering the high mileage of 148,000, looked good. When I took off the inner primary, the problem was readily apparent: a loose mainshaft sprocket nut. Aluminum shavings littered the recess of the sprocket from where the spinning nut gouged the area around the mainshaft seal on the back of the inner primary. The steel splines in the sprocket were toast, but the splines on the mainshaft are good, as are the threads. The sprocket nut came loose despite a heavy retention plate; both parts showed damage.

I bought a new sprocket, nut, and retention plate, related gaskets, o-rings, and seals, and began the tedious process of putting her back together, in a cold garage. My feet are thawing out, and most of the grease from under my fingernails has washed off. She fired up yesterday, sounded good. Now I just need warmer day, so I can take her out and check for leaks.

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