WOW!, is this ever going to be nice having that starter gear fixed.
A lot easier using my 60 year old thumb instead of my 60 year old leg to fire her up.
Also happy I tackled this now as I found that demoed needle bearing and was able to replace it before any serious damage was done.
No parts left over in the parts trays so that’s a good sign.
Some comments for someone who may stumble on this post in the future and hasn't done this starter gear fix before:
As Maxpete recently mentioned, this really isn't a difficult job.
gggGary's idea of tipping the bike over avoids draining the oil, saves parts falling off, and puts it at a great height and angle to work from when sitting on a roller seat.
5twins paint stripper tip does a great job of quickly removing the old gasket material. Saves a lot of scraping and potential gouging of the surfaces.
The clutch assembly has to come off to get to the starter gear. Make careful note of the order things come apart in. Take lots of pics. Good chance to check the status of clutch parts, plates condition and thickness.
There are lots of different thickness and sized washers in this clutch assembly. Have a manual and parts diagrams handy.
Note this picture from the Factory Manual 78E supplement.
You will find a 1mm washer on the inboard side of the needle bearing (e in this picture) that is not shown in many of the other manuals or parts diagrams.
Also when you remove the clutch boss (h) you may be looking at the needle bearing (f) and not see the washer (g). It's probably (hopefully) stuck to the back of the boss.
MY FINDINGS DOING THIS JOB
Our Maxpete spent some time with the XS650Direct/MikeXS folks showing them how these starter gear/clip assemblies should be. Some were still being shipped out without the proper tension on the clip.
As a result they have switched suppliers.
Thanks Pete!
I did some comparative measuring on the first starter gear and clip I had ordered some time ago from XSD, the replacement they willingly sent, and the original I removed. Here are the results.
The rubber on both sides of the original gear was really in pretty good shape, I think it may have been replaced, someone had been in here before, but the compression spring was pooched.
I'm sure I could have pinched the clip on this one and reused it but the compression spring was wrecked so I installed the 2nd replacement gear, clip and spring.
On to the clutch reassembly
When I reassembled the clutch I had planned to install new XSPerformance Allen screws and spacers but hit a snag there.
The original stock clutch springs would not fit over the aluminum spacers.
Here's what I found:
I could press them on in a vice but then the clutch springs would obviously not spin on the spacers.
I don't know if that would matter, but didn't like the idea.
They would have to be chucked up in the metal lathe I don't have to turn them down or even chuck them into a drill press and file/sand them down. Wasn't going to bother doing all that. I just reinstalled the original shoulder bolts and will see if these new XS Performance ones will fit inside the new clutch springs I ordered when they arrive.
That will go on a future job list or maybe do it this winter when the engines on the bench.
I won't bother posting a bunch of pics here that I took of this process as many others have done a great job of it elsewhere on the forum.
I will upload them to albums though.
Most notably Maxpete and DanielBlack have recently completed this job and posted some excellent info. Thanks guys.
Maxpete's link:
http://www.xs650.com/threads/build-thread-special-to-cafe-bike.48165/page-13#post-516084
Daniel Black's link:
http://www.xs650.com/threads/stella-1977d-survivor-back-on-the-road.47329/page-37#post-526352
I'm a visual learner and if a picture’s worth a 1000 words a video’s worth a 1000 more. There are some great videos in the Tech section about these jobs as well.
Once again guys, thanks for all your help and advice!
Now I'm going to go and push my button……...again.