97 sprint executive last of T300.Sprag clutch shagged?total BS!

[bueller]

My bike has developed this problem at 50000ks ?Surely as it is the last of the line (98 in oz)it was factory fitted with the UPGRADED clutch.I am very annoyed that an this otherwise perfect and over serviced bike requires an expensive total tear down.my 96 S3 ran 150,000 without this problem.I cannot afford the $2000 they want for doing this?

Can I get to it with the motor out and by removing the bottom half of the crankcase without touching the top end?

Thanks for any help

[Roden]

Hi bueller, thats bad luck mate. I'm a bit nervous, I have a '98 with 73,000 on the clock. You are right, this isn't supposed to happen.

Anyway, I just had a look in my Haynes and it says on page 2.36, section 23:

"If the crankcase halves are being separated just to examine the transmission components,crankshaft,oil pump or alternator/starter clutch drive, there is no need to remove the cylinder head"

So, not all bad news. Once the crankcase is split, the transmission shafts have to be lifted out, which looks really straight forward, then you can access the starter clutch.

$2,000 sounds steep. I reckon a good, well equipped mechanic could accomplish this in 8-12 hours.

Are you able to have a shot at this yourself? I think the hardest part would be dropping the motor out. If I was in Brisvegas I'd come and give ya a hand!

Cheers,

Roden

[bueller]

Thanks Roden
I am actually in Melbourne now.Dropping the motor out is no trouble,it,s fear of bottom ends and gearboxes!May be it,s time to get past that and have a go.But I guess it would still save a
lot on labour if I dropped the motor out for the workshop.
My main beef is the **** design that triumph never owned up to,one guy on this sight did his sprag at 27000mls and again at 41000mls which makes the T300s a long way from bullet proof.

[Roden]

I agree, its a real weakness with these bikes. One thing that always comes up is to keep the battery in tip top condition. A low battery will shag the starter clutch in quick time.

The transmission shafts don't look like a big deal (easy for me to say) simply lift the main and lay shafts out and recover the locating dowels.
Then the starter clutch and its drive can be accessed. There is no actual disassembly of gears required (unless you want to). If you have a place to work on it, tools and a book I think its entirely doable.

Alternatively as you said, the bulk of the labour is in the removal of the mill, so drop it out and give it to the tech, it would only be a few hours labour + parts. You could even remove clutch, alternator etc to lessen the cost even further.

Good luck, let us know what you decide,

Cheers,

Roden

[KitNYC]

If there's anything I've learned from all the problems I've had with bikes over the years, it's this: it's always easier & faster to drop the motor & fix it yourself than it is to wait for the ***ing, *****ing *******s at the shop to get around to doing a half-***ed job on it.

Ahem.

Sorry.

That's my advice, but you may want to take it with a grain of salt. Did I mention I haven't had a running bike for a month?

[seumas]

Kit, I agree absolutely. After my last couple experiences with the local dealer, I've sworn I'll never use a shop again even if I have to spend more for new tools than they would have charged me.

If we lived closer I'd offer to let you use FrankenSprint for a while, but it might be a bit of a commute for ya.

[otagohighlander]

if you use the shop to fix the problem who were you thinking of using as we are pretty limited to good triumph machanics in melbourne.

[KitNYC]

Thanks, Seumas. The big hold-up keeping me off my bike right now is the shop had to buy a flywheel puller. It definitely occurred to me that I can be held up by not having the proper tools all by myself; I don't need a shop for that!

Cheers,
-Kit

[seumas]

Of course Kit, the way your luck's been lately you'd probably get the thing halfway home and there'd be some inconceivable catastrophic failure.

[Roden]

So bueller, what have you decided to do?

Kit and seumas are right, (unless you can find a really really good independent mechanic) steer clear of the stealer and do it yourself.

$2,000 is way too much for that job, was that a Triumph dealer quote?