Major gearbox failure

[Hunsta]

OK riding home today from work I was two thirds up a hill (of course ) and there was a bit a a clunk and then a loud grinding noise came from the gearbox and I lost all drive. Stuck it in neutral and no noise, but when I put her in gear she just sits there making a grinding noise like she`s stripped a gear or something.
 Im not all that cluey when it comes to gearboxes, but looking in the workshop manual, could it be that the imput or output shafts have stripped? :-?
 Tried to contacted my BMW mechanic, but he unavailable til monday, so I thought I`d ask the other experts in here.
I know its in the gearbox as when I got her home in the ute, I put her up on a block and spun the rear when in neutral and didnt get any noise. Put her in gear and there was a grind noise definately coming from the gearbox.
 Any advice would be great. was planning a big ride early next year and need to get it sorted, and this time of year is hell to get anything done as Im not confident in doing the fix myself.
 Cheers
Craig

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

A gearbox rebuild is definitely specialty work.  A LOT of airhead owners do their own and succeed, though.

I will send mine out when the time comes.  The rule of thumb these days is to have a spare box sitting on the shelf to avoid downtime.  And if you are off on tour somewhere, it can always be over-nighted to you, if need be.

I recommend doing as complete a rebuild as your wallet can handle.  Replacing the bearings, is what I'm referring to.

~$500?

[dav]

bugger mate thats not good at all, as you said bad time of year for a major fix, hope you get it sorted out before your big rally run.

[plc]

G'day Hunsta,

If you are interested in trying to do the box yourself then this page may help:

http://jhau.maliwi.de/mot/gearbox.htm

I am pondering an overhaul but I don't think mine is anywhere near as bad as yours.

I know Motohansa in Sydney do recon gearboxes, but I suppose someone up there could provide them too.

All the best,
Paul

[Hunsta]

Thanks guys. Took this a couple of hours ago. Cant do the youtube embedding thing for some reason so heres the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyvXXv3HATI
 maybe someone can do a quick diagnosis.
 Cheers
Craig

[Lucky_Lou]

Having seen the video i think it could be the input splines that have gone.Strip the box off to check it. If you dont want to strip the box yourself then best bet may be a reconditioned box from Motorworks 345 ukpounds fit it yourself easy job!!! with 12 months guarantee Motobins may have them too.
Lou

[Bob_Roller]

I'd drain the oil out of the transmission, and see what it looks like, if it doesn't have anything more than the usual amount of metal fuzz around the magnetic drain plug, it most likely is the input splines have stripped, as Lucky Lou has mentioned .

One of our members, nhmaf had this happen a few years ago, I'm sure he'll post his pictures shortly .

The cost of the shaft alone, is around $300US, plus a gearbox rebuild .

The two pressure plates, clutch disc, and diaphragm spring are around $400US .

Can't over emphasize the importance of doing a transmission input shaft spline lube on a newly acquired R65, it's one of those maintenance items that gets overlooked quite often .

[MrRiden]

When you begin to remove the gear box, as you will need to, a peek at the input shaft should give you some sense right away if it is the splines.  

[plc]

Has anyone fitted either a Motorworks or Motobins reconditioned box? Looking at the price and shipping it is almost the same as buying one here in Australia.

Paul

[Hunsta]

thanks for the imput(no pun intended). I`ll let you know whats gone wrong when I can get a chance to have a go at it.
 Cheers
Craig

[dav]

The BM Shop in Brisbane (07 3356 6128) are wrecking a R65, saw it in "just bikes" mag (page 26), December copy..

[Justin B.]

The transmision out of any compatabile year Airhead will fit - it doesn't need to be from an R65.  When I rebuilt the transmission in the Dawg I used Jörg's page and everything went very smooth.  I had put a complete rebuild tutorial in the Wiki, along with how to make some of the tools, but I have no idea what happened to it.  I guess that's one of the hazards of leaving editing/modification open to users...

[proctorls]

Craig,
Good idea, that video.  I was waiting for the other four gears, though.  The frequency of the noise might have been a clue - i.e. if it was the same noise but the frequency changed with the gear ratios, one might assume it had to be the input shaft, rather than mucked-up gears.  I agree with RobRoller - the next diagnostic step is to drain the tranny.  Good luck.

Steve  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Having just watched the video for the first time, my instincts go with stripped input splines, as well.  Mostly from the frequency and pitch.

[nhmaf]

That scenario is basically similar to mine - when the clutch disk splines went and took off half the transmission input shaft splines as they ground down.  Do NOT run the bike any more until after you've checked the transmission oil, and if clear, pulled the transmission.  

On the "plus" side, I've got an article in our wiki that walks you through the whole process.   It has plenty of photos so you can peruse it first to see what you should be on the lookout for.   Good luck!!