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Well, it seems I get to buy a new clutch. I really needed one, anyway. This one had over 80,000 miles on it.

I had a date with my sister for dinner at the VFW. I thought I would ride the bike to her house (across town) for a test run.

This was the first time the bike has really been ridden since the rebuild.

I was on the beltway going around the city for about 30 minutes. As soon as I began slowing on the exit ramp I knew I was in trouble.

There were all kinds of new noises I had never heard before. Frequency seemed to vary with rear tire speed. The gear box was VERY sluggish to shift. It seemed to like 3rd gear, best.

I only had about 3 miles to go from the interstate to her place, and I got within 1/2 mile of my sister's house when the rear tire locked up on me. Luckily I wasn't going real fast, but I left a skid mark probably 10-15 feet long. And then I had a hard time finding a combination of gearbox setting and clutch lever to be able to push it. I finally got the help of a motorist waiting behind me and we pushed it into a church parking lot. I found once we got it going, that I could push it fairly easily when I pulled in on the clutch. Honestly, I don't know if it is in neutral right now, or not.

It is behind one of their buildings where it can't be seen from the street, and I wrote them a note w/my phone # and shoved it between the front doors of the church. I have one nephew and his buddy helping me tomorrow, and I have the other nephew's pick-up truck and ramp.

From the way things were sounding, I wouldn't be surprised if some of my small clutch screws backed out.

I've been looking for an excuse to replace the clutch. I think I have it, now.

Your string of misfortune just peaked.
It'll be smooth sailing after this one.

BTW - Was there any oil in the transmission?

BTW - Was there any oil in the transmission?

Gosh, I hope so.

When I put the bike together last March, it was pretty much an annual service before I took it out to get it hot for the carb tune, so yeah, I think there is oil in the transmission. I'll let you know for sure, tomorrow.

Well, I was just out working in the garage, preparing to pull the transmission.

I reached under the tranny to feel for the drain plug - and all I felt was a hole!

Gulp.

I got down on my knees and looked, and sure enough, NO PLUG!

GSPD, you pegged it - no oil in the transmission.

I have no idea where the plug got lost, either last March or yesterday, but obviously someone failed to torque it correctly.

Do I see a pair of safety wire pliers in my future?

That sucks, Rob.

You have a spare transmission left over from your parts bike, don't you? Maybe it would be worth giving thought to swapping the flywheel and clutch from the later engine at the same time and doing an upgrade? You may or may not like the "feel" of the light flywheel, but the later clutch is a better design and is (99/100) lighter to operate than the earlier type. Your left hand might appreciate the lower resistance at the lever too. Personally, I prefer the revvy nature of the light flywheel and the lighter pull of the clutch lever, and I have that setup installed in my R90S.

The other advantage is that (provided you haven't sold your spares yet!) repairs won't cost you anything other than a few hours work.

Bummer Rob.
Sorry to hear of your bad luck.
When I stopped racing, I found it hard to NOT safety wire things. Anything with fluid behind it had to be done, caliper mounting bolts, discs etc. Not doing it on a road bike just made me worry.
Proper torque with a new crush washer is actually enough 99.9% of the time. But as an additional bit of insurance clean the drain plug and area with lacquer thinner, then put a blob of hi-temp silicone spanning the plug and casing. Peace of mind and easily removeable.
Good luck with it.

You are lucky you didn't dump it at speed. Would have thought the oil draining from the tranny in a hurry could have covered the back wheel.

I was ridding with a friend years ago on dirt when he lost his main drain plug (rock had chipped it and started it loosening) Oil everywhere. Luckily we could trace the oil in the dirt backwards several hundred yards and found the plug.

R65 Rob wrote: I have no idea where the plug got lost, either last March or yesterday, but obviously someone failed to torque it correctly.
Do I see a pair of safety wire pliers in my future?

Crush washers only work once.
The second time, they are simply 'flat' washers and have no locking effect.

If the plug fell out while riding you'd have oil all over your back tire.
Maybe you simply forgot to refill the oil the last time it was drained ?
If the clutch was working OK before the tranny seized, it's probably still OK.
Blue loctite the 6 clutch screws while you're in there.
As far as I know the transmissions are a straight swap.
Just in case, If you use the newer light ring gear/clutch instead of the old heavy flywheel, the starter gear might have to be changed.

gspd wrote:

R65 Rob wrote: If the clutch was working OK before the tranny seized, it's probably still OK.
Blue loctite the 6 clutch screws while you're in there.
As far as I know the transmissions are a straight swap.
Just in case, If you use the newer light ring gear/clutch instead of the old heavy flywheel, the starter gear might have to be changed.

IIRC, Rob's other transmission is an '81 while his bike is a '79, so the splines will probably be shorter on the later 'box. I think that the Type 248 got the light flywheel just before the 247, and that's why I suggested a flywheel & clutch swap. I also vaguely recall Rob referring to having the option of flywheels and 'boxes when discussing rebuilding the bike in an earlier thread.

The ring gear tooth count went up to 103 from memory and remained the same for all models (247 & 248) after '77.

I only have one transmission.

I never had a parts bike, but I have bought almost a 2nd bike in parts.
I bought a complete '81 engine that came with the clutch, but I decided to use my heavy flywheel and my (only) '79 transmission.

Then I bought a frame, which may have caused you to believe I had a whole bike at one point.

I will most likely sent the box out for repairs. I can't see me doing that kind of work. And I don't recommend trying to talk me into it.