Front Sprocket - Free Play on Drive Shaft?

[pete]

So I need to decide if the drive shaft in the gearbox needs replacing while the engine's apart. This is the one the front sprocket mounts onto.

When I got the bike, the nut on the sprocket was loose and only held on by the washer bent over, so it was wearing out very badly

When I spoke to a mechanic at the time, he said just replace the sprocket as they usually wear evenly or the sprocket wears faster, so that's what I did and it seemed ok at the time.

Now that it's apart, I'm looking at replacing the drive shaft, but at $225 it ain't cheap.

So, to help me make a decision, does anyone know how much if any free play there should be with the sprocket on the drive shaft?

When I slide the sprocket on the splines, I get a very small amount of "rocking" movement, but I'm not sure whether this is bad or normal.

Anyone have any ideas here?

[TheCafeKid]

There should be very little if anyfree play. If the splines on the countershaft are worn, or rounded a bit, you may be able to clean the
up with a file. That said, I have found that some cheaper sprockets will have a lttle free play in them. It's not great for the CS spline, but maybe just keep an eye on it, and make sure your nut is tight the washer is new and folded and use some loctite.

[Nessism]

It's normal for there to be a small amount of slop in the spline but as Josh says, not a whole lot. To replace that driveshaft I think you have to press the gears apart which is not a trivial matter. Hopefully it's okay.

[pete]

To be honest I just can't see much that looks wrong with either the splines or the sprocket, but I do know the sprocket was something like $30 when I got it and it's not OEM, so perhaps that's my issue?

I'm definitely leaning towards saving the $225 and maybe just look for a better quality front sprocket when I put it back together. If I pay $50 for a front sprocket that fits better, I'm still $175 better off.

And if I have to start pressing gears apart and whatnot, I really don't want to go down that path if I can avoid it.

The slop that I can feel is only minimal, and when it moves, you can't really see air between the teeth and splines either, so maybe I'm just thinking it's worse than it is because I know how it was when I got it.

Thanks for the tips guys.

[Nessism]

To be honest I just can't see much that looks wrong with either the splines or the sprocket, but I do know the sprocket was something like $30 when I got it and it's not OEM, so perhaps that's my issue?

I'm definitely leaning towards saving the $225 and maybe just look for a better quality front sprocket when I put it back together. If I pay $50 for a front sprocket that fits better, I'm still $175 better off.

And if I have to start pressing gears apart and whatnot, I really don't want to go down that path if I can avoid it.

The slop that I can feel is only minimal, and when it moves, you can't really see air between the teeth and splines either, so maybe I'm just thinking it's worse than it is because I know how it was when I got it.

Thanks for the tips guys.

I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure the sprocket nut is tight and the locking tab is in place.

Regarding those sprocket prices, wow! Front sprockets are available here for about $15. JT is a good brand but not sure if they distribute in your part of the world.

Good luck

[pete]

I don't get it either Ed, every time I look at prices here compared with the US it's just ridiculous.

That $30 price I gave you was when i first got the bike too, so that was back in 1997/98 from memory.

I'm not sure if it's that we don't have the same number of people buying goods that keeps the price up or if it's just this stupid idea we seem to have of selling less at a much higher profit rather than selling more at a lower profit, but either way it's very frustrating.

If I was prone to rantings I'd blame the previous liberal government that was in power too long... but now I'm just asking for trouble making a political statement