I have a 2000 Deuce with @ 15,000 miles on it. I ride easy ( no burn-outs or anything like that). My bike developed a bad trans oil leak by the trans sprocket. I thought it was the output shaft seal until I tore it down and found that the sprocket was loose. Upon removale of the sprocket I found that both the splines on the sprocket and the output shaft were damaged. The sprocket having only @ 30% of the teeth left. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.
Drive Sprocket Spline Gone
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The locking plate has been known to fail, not as often as with the old style, but now and then.
The only thing that's a bit unusual is that it mostly is a progressive failure, ie the nut gets loose, the sprocket starts to wear, there is some noise and vibration and then eventually the shaft starts to get damaged.
Can't speculate as to why the failure seems sudden to you.
In any event hopefully you have an extended warranty, as it isn't a inexpensive repair.
The only thing that's a bit unusual is that it mostly is a progressive failure, ie the nut gets loose, the sprocket starts to wear, there is some noise and vibration and then eventually the shaft starts to get damaged.
Can't speculate as to why the failure seems sudden to you.
In any event hopefully you have an extended warranty, as it isn't a inexpensive repair.
Still have a hard time believing that the nut failed in some way. I think that either it wasn't tightened properly at the factory or the sprocket material was soft and couldn't hold up to the stresses generated on it. As the sprocket wore this is where the looseness came from. Anyway no extended warrenty so I'll be pulling the trans down to change the main shaft as well. The wear on it isn't excessive but I feel if I don't change it it will only cause the new sprocket to fail prematurely. The only thing I noticed as far as abnormal while riding was there seemed to be a lot of slop in the drive train when I would let off and then get back on the throttle. I checked the primary chain tension and the drive belt tension which were OK. The only other indicator was the oil leak kept getting worse to the point where it was making a real mess out of the bike. (I did keep topping the trans before I would ride).
Sybil wallowed out her drive pulley at 94,000 miles. funniest thing about it was it happened in the parking lot of a dealer.
I think the nut worked loose, at the time it failed I was unable to make a positive determination of the cause.
Your cause could be any of the reasons stated above. I dont understand the trans leak query, you say you had to fill it regularly????? I think there is a seal on the input shaft and there is a big seal on the mainshaft, other than that ,what was leaking and why did that make the pulley fail?
I think the nut worked loose, at the time it failed I was unable to make a positive determination of the cause.
Your cause could be any of the reasons stated above. I dont understand the trans leak query, you say you had to fill it regularly????? I think there is a seal on the input shaft and there is a big seal on the mainshaft, other than that ,what was leaking and why did that make the pulley fail?
Theres a spacer between the sprocket and the main bearing. When the sprocket loosened it allowed the main seal to hold the spacer in place. This caused the face of the spacer on the bearing side to wear. There is a o-ring between the spacer and the bearing. As the spacer wore it stopped sealing on the o-ring allowing the trans oil to leak out. Unfortunately when I disassembled the trans I found " metal mud" in the bottom of the trans case. Obviously the metal from the spacer. Looks like I'll be changing all of the bearings just to be safe. The oil leak was an indication of a problem NOT the cause.
Mine failed at 13k (01 RC). I was the last one to torque it down (by the book I might add) 3000 miles before the failure. When I pulled it tight according to the manual it didn't "feel" as tight as I would expect, but then, I've had that happen before on other stuff with no ill effect. Apparently my experience was right and the book was wrong that timeBrett said:
My best guess based on the torque-to-yield spec on a new retaining nut versus a simple torque on a re-used one, is that you really shouldn't re-use that nut in the first place. Torque-to-yield assumes some "stretch" in the fastener when making final adjustments. I figure the nut is weakened after being used once and you're rolling the dice on re-using it. If the threads give out, that locking bracket doesn't do you any good. Sooner or later, regular engine vibration will pound on those threads and the assembly will start wobbling, first wiping out the oil seal, then breaking hard parts the longer it stays that way.
I was fortunate not to have damaged the output shaft or bearings. New sprocket, seal, and retaining nut and everything's good. The symptoms were the trans oil leak followed soon with a mild vibration as speed increased.
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