Below, a few photos as I began winter maintenance and repair in 2015.
In addition to Bonnie's usual wintertime beauty treatments, the two major goals that winter were to fix:
Considering my penchant for out of the way places and that I don't have a cellphone, eliminating the pestiferous electrical gremlin that plagued Bonnie last summer was first on the list. Although I'd learned how to temporarily dispatch the gremlin (a gentle tug on the wiring harness where it looped out from between the frame and the gas tank on its way to the headlight shell and ignition switch), I could never pin down the exact location and cause of it.
I replaced the original wiring harness in 2006 with a cloth-covered reproduction from British Wiring and I was quite satisfied with the quality. However, due to various electrical system modifications I'd made none of the stock wiring harness configurations were a good fit.
After first moving the condensers, I'd eliminated them entirely by going to a Pazon CDI. I also acquired a Podtronics regulator to replace the zenner diode and selenium rectifier. All the older components functioned perfectly as far as I know, but nothing lasts forever and in the interest of reliability I decided it would be expedient to upgrade them.
Furthermore, I don't run the Bonnie with the oil pressure switch or turn signals and I have integrated the handlebar dip switch into the headlamp shell's Lucas 35710 lighting switch.
All things considered, a standard wiring harness didn't make too much sense, so I elected to fabricate my own.
Bonnie began sporadically popping out of gear several years before and the condition worsened progressively. Eventually it was occuring regularly at start up. It would dissappear after a bit of warm up at first, then it was happening any old time. It could only get worse so I wanted to track down the source and eliminate it.
Since the transmission was stripped and the outer gearbox cover was removed, it made sense at 65,000 miles to pull the gearbox apart and inspect everything.
So there was the added adventure/anxiety of its being my first time tearing apart a gearbox and putting it back together again.
The only major issue encountered (so far) was removal of the clutch center. I'd succeeded in removing the clutch center from the mainshaft twice previously using the special 662/3 extractor tool, but this time my first attempt only succeeded in stripping the outside threads of the extractor tool.
This was partially because I was using the tool incorrectly. I've learned subsequently the tool is an extractor, not a puller See next paragraph.
On advice of forum posters I threaded the new tool into the clutch center and tightened the extraction bolt against the end of the mainshaft enough to pre-load it before giving the bolt a good blow with a heavy brass hammer. Satisfying. And the correct use of the tool. But still no joy.
Finally, I set the old "Earthquake" air wrench to its weakest force, and gently hammered away on the extraction bolt for almost an hour. Ok, probably at least 15 seconds during which I got to wonder what I was irrevocably destroying until suddenly the clutch center popped off.
When it finally did come off the mainshaft, its key came out in two pieces, one from the shaft and the other from the hub. That explained the difficulty in removing the clutch center from the mainshaft, which, by the way needed replacing because the center had spun on the shaft.
So winter maintenance turned out to be more extensive than I'd imagined, with major transmission and gearbox work as well as a new, home-made, wiring harness.
Results were positive, but not completely sucessful. The new transmission worked great, and the home-made wiring harness not only banished the Lucas Gremlins, but has continued to function flawlessly for ten years as I write this at the end of 2024.
On the other hand, jumping out of gear continued as before, in spite of all the new parts. Not to be solved until June of 2016. There's a lesson there. What ultimately cured that problem was a new part, but not one just picked at random or based on a hypothetical, but one determined by careful analysis, logic, and observation. Well, that and it was the last rock I looked under.
(Click Photos to Enlarge)
Primary Chain Case Cover Removed
Homemade clutch locking tool and clutch hub extractor D662/3 in position.
Broken Clutch Hub Key. Found when removing clutch hub.
Entire transmission removed. Showing trap door to gearbox sprocket.
Drive Side. Outer gearbox cover removed.
Inner gearbox cover. Showing kickstart nut on end of mainshaft, and gear change quadrant to it's right. End of layshaft is seen just below the mainshaft.
"Bonnie, it's cold outside".. sit on your throne and gaze at the parts department while visions of gravel roads dance through your head.
