Why did the Tacho Drive gear fail?

[Guest]

So oldpara kindly provided me a new tacho drive gear to replace the worn one and get the tach to operate properly. The old gear is oddly scalloped in the center. Is this normal wear or is there something not right inside the head that would cause it? I plan to replace gear on Saturday and want to do it right.

Here are the old and new gears:

[Steve]

That gear goes into the cylinder head cover. If the gasket is too thick (like Real Gasket), it will prevent proper meshing of the gears.

Other bikes that have the tach drive in the head, itself, have no problems using Real Gaskets.

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[chef1366]

Or the gears weren't meshed when the cylinder cover was put back on.

[FiremanBob]

Thanks. It is true that the cam covers were sealed with liquid gasket material, not the OEM gaskets.

So the correct fix is to remove the cam cover, install the gear to ensure it meshes properly, and then reinstall the cover with correct OEM gasket?

Or is there a shortcut? (I suspect I know the answer...)s

[Nessism]

Fixing the bike right will give you the opportunity to check the valve adjustment. I'm sure you are on top of this critical detail, but it never hurts to confirm so you don't have to worry about it for another 4000 miles.

[SqDancerLynn1]

ONLY USE AN OEM GASKET on the motors with the drive gear in the cam cover... Aftermarket may be a different thickness... Otherwise you may have clearance issues with the tac drive gear

[FiremanBob]

Thanks. That's what I figured - after all there had to be a mechanical reason that the original gear got damaged. Looking at the parts fiche, it appears that the cylinder head cover is actually one piece, requiring only one $21 gasket. Is that correct?

Is there enough clearance under the frame to remove it without having to pull the engine?

[Nessism]

Thanks. That's what I figured - after all there had to be a mechanical reason that the original gear got damaged. Looking at the parts fiche, it appears that the cylinder head cover is actually one piece, requiring only one $21 gasket. Is that correct?

Is there enough clearance under the frame to remove it without having to pull the engine?

Pull the engine to check valve adjustment?

[DanTheMan]

Pull the engine to check valve adjustment?

I hope not! Suzuki may have done some difficult things for maintenance, but I've never heard of one where the engine has to be pulled for valve adjustments.

[FiremanBob]

Great, thanks. On my first bike, a V65 Sabre, pulling the engine was not necessary for valve adjustments, but it took so much fiddling with the valve covers to get them out from under the upper frame rail that it seemed so.

Just ordered two gaskets from Boulevard Suzuki. The ordering process was quick and easy, and the price of about $16 per gasket is hard to beat. My local dealer (25-mile drive away) wanted $35 per gasket, nearly double the list price on Boulevard's parts fiche.

[Steve]

Or is there a shortcut? (I suspect I know the answer...)

.

[SqDancerLynn1]

If you remove the breather cover it will give you more clearance to get the cover off