Gearbox. Used. What cost in Oz?

[SteveD]

I have a line on a couple of transmissions, post 1981, untested and on the shelf.

Externally look fine, splines fine, kick starter, magnet has the expected sludge.

No history of rebuild at all.

The seller has always been accurate in his descriptions previously.

What is the going price here, d'ya know?

Cheers

[Roy Gavin]

Last box on Ebay made almost $ 500- and it was in bits, for inspection and rebuild.

You can land a fully reconditioned box from Motorworks for around $900/ $1000- , so around half that would make sense.

I would be interested in the kickstart box at that figure , my GS box is being held as evidence in a court case against the thief who swapped out my internals for junk during a rebuild and it is dragging out forever.

[Airbear]

I paid $900 for a 'reconditioned' box a couple of months ago. I'm not at all sure I got good value - it makes an interesting noise that I am hoping is just the thrust bearing. I bought it in a bit of a rush.

[Roy Gavin]

Imported or Oz ? we might be victims of the same crook. I have a spare box which I imported from the US ,$US250- plus around $75- postage but it isnt a kickstart model and I would like to keep the bike origonal if possible.

[SteveD]

So one in bits @$500, one locally "reconditioned" but noisy at $900, a recon import from the UK at $1000.

They don't come up much do they!

[Airbear]

G'day Roy. It came from an unknown (to me) rebuilder in Melbourne. The bloke I bought it off said I should contact if I have any issues, and I believe he will look after me if that is the case. I plan to check the thrust race and switch to synthetic oil before I do much else. It is a lot better than the old gearbox but has some slightly worrying minor issues - 'teething troubles' would perhaps be the best way to pun it.

[Roy Gavin]

My dispute is with Lee Mceake in Adelaide- I put a box in because on a lumpy rear bearing, box was running M1 synth, front bearing was good. Splines had been lubed 10,000 km before with Honda Lube.

Phone call from Lee, $2,300- to rebuild my box, all bearings shot incl front and angle cut gears U.S. too.

When I went to the workshop he diplayed a tray of junk which had been there when I dropped my box off, a box which had been running on rusty sludge, all bearings incl front shot , angle cut gears the same and no sign of lube on the splines.

Still traces of the clean green M1 Synth in the casing and on the speedo drive, my clutch still has clean lube on the splines.

I supplied secondhand gears and the new bearings and instructed him to bolt it back together, but I had an engineer inspect it , and he confirmed my opinion, that the gears , shafts etc, had never been run in synth .

But getting my day in court is provind slow and costly.

[Airbear]

A horror story, Roy. I hope you get some justice in a timely and cost-effective manner.

I would be wary of posting the name of the person or company with whom you are having the dispute. There may be legal repercussions for the forum, and maybe for your case.

[Roy Gavin]

Truth is always a good defence, and I have not stated an opinion, I have just stated verifiable facts.

I have not expressed doubts about his workmanship , although I do think the rear flange nut works better with 160 ft lbs than the five or six foot pounds that he gave it.

Nor have I expressed doubts about his integrety, mixing up the internals may have been be a honest mistake. But the simple facts are that I have someone elses junk in my box and if wants to challenge that fact he is perfectly entitled to do so

He also replaced the UJs in my drive shaft , no circlips just a few spots of arc welding on the bearing cap - it might work but the engineer I spoke to didnt think so , advising against using it.

So I am almost $2,000- out of pocket and have two unusable pieces of junk.

I have replaced the drive shaft with the rebuilable one from Motorworks, and have a second hand non kick start box, another $1,200- .

And I have been without the bike for over a year.

All simple facts, which will stand up to any examination.

[gspd]

I've had many customers show concerns for a sound that is normal for their vehicle.
It is normal for a airhead transmission to sound different in neutral with the clutch in or out.
It is normal to have different degrees of whir/whine/hum in certain gear/load/speed situations.
If you bench test even a brand new transmission, each gear will have a different sound but should turn smoothly.
(I use an old clutch disc with a knob mounted near its outer edge to spin them on the bench)

To evaluate a specific noise in a specific transmission you need to consult someone experienced in that marque.
If the transmission is functioning perfectly, and the oil and magnet are 'normal' at regular changes, only experience can determine which subtle sounds are normal and which will need attention.