Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Oh well, 65,000 miles, my bike is dead......

After my 2005 America got to where it would'nt start, I removed the side cover, removed the starter gear train, and found that the starter gear spindle housing is cracked about an 8th of an inch....Im frikkin devastated...It will need a miracle worker with a welder, OR an entire lower engine half. Anyone with any ideas, or have experienced this please chime in, cause I'm at a loss for ideas.....

better to find a crack and get it welded instead of finding a completely broken spindle I would think...

Mark, I included a fix Maxkirby used to fix his case a few years ago. Here is the LINK. The 4rd last post has a link to some photos. He found that the idler shaft was hollow, so he fitted a pin inside the idler shaft then drilled out the engine case and outer cover to accept the pin. Worked for him. Details in the post.

Can't hurt to try.

Here are the photos





One other thing. If you did replace the engine case, you would need the top and bottom portions since they are a matched machined set to accommodate the main crank bearings.

Bummer

you could have a ring made that fits over the boss. the ring would have to have a thick wall of probably 3/8" and make the ring as long as you can. the bore needs to be an interference fit on the boss. If you measure the diameter with a micrometer you can file it round enough so that when the ring is tapped on it will keep the boss together. You could also use JB weld to strengthen the casing by putting it around the ring and over some of the webs nearby. I'm a machinist and could make the piece for you. Another way to keep the ring from trying to move is putting a couple of bolts from the OD to the case and when the bolt is snug tighten it with a locknut. Basically it's what we call a 'spider'. It's an easy fix. e mail me at blymeylymey@gmail.com
Des.

Thanks a lot for the encouragement...I'll definitely have it repaired....mcvcinusa, Im working 3rd shift right now, and have to pull the engine in my truck this weekend for a stupid rear seal leak (gotta pull the oil pan, #4 bearing cap, and oil pump)....I will definitely be in touch next week....

Oh man you can weld that up in short minute and be good to go. If I let a little crack stop me I would just have to lay down and die.

Well i've stopped by a crack once or twice in my life and lay'd down but it didn't kill me.

b717doc - This also happened to my 2005 Speedmaster. Local bike welder fixed it up better than new. Added a little extra beef around the idler gear shaft boss. I discovered later though that to make sure the boss was perfectly aligned he had drilled and tapped a hole into the crankcase to hold the shaft in place while he rebuilt the boss. When drilling the hole he got just a smidgeon too deep and actually drilled a very small hole through to the other side just above the starter motor. This caused me no end of confusion for several days trying to find the source of the oil on the floor. When I did discover it I was able to take advantage of the drilled tapped hole to run a bolt (can't remember the size) through the shaft and screwed into the tapped hole. I put a little hi-temp silicon on the bold first, cut the head off the bolt. No oil leaks since.
I had to replace the clutch cover. All total the repair was about $250. Once I had the clutch cover back on I removed the oil sump and did an oil flush just to get any tiny bits out. This was in May 2011 and the bike has run perfectly, no starting issues and no oil drips. Good luck!

got this in an email from TTP today... http://www.triumphtwinpower.com/ttp-safe-start.php

Nice fix, a bit expensive though but better than new cases. Similar to what i suggested before except they used jb weld to take up the clearance between the boss and the reinforcing ring.