961 gearbox

Norton588 · Jun 13, 2021

Well so far I have discovered that
it was a Sportster 5 speed box
it is nothing like a Sportster box
it was a Baker Sportster box but a Sportster box won't fit
it is a box made in Taiwan that looks remarkably like a HD box but is totally different

MAK · Jun 16, 2021

MAK said:
Did Thor motorcycles design an intermediate gear that did away with the backlash spring arrangement and use a sort of Cush drive arrangement.
I remember him mentioning it when I managed to get through.
Not sure if they offer a conversation at a price.
Could someone local check it out.
What is involved and how much?

cliffa · Jun 25, 2021

On the FB 961 page , there is a guy Greg Allen (maybe he's on here as well ?) who's clutch rivets have let go on his early bike with direct gear lever. He has posted a pic of his primary internals. No sign of any Baker markings. In fact as far as I can see externally it's the same as later bikes, so presumably Norton just changed the selector drum for the later setup ?

kinghottinger · Sep 14, 2021

Very informative thread. I'm especially interested as I have an early build gearbox which needs work. On mine, the mainshaft has play in the endplate bearing.

cliffa · Sep 14, 2021

Welcome kinghottinger !!

Do you mean the one behind the clutch? I have an early (2011) bike as well and currently have the primary off to take a look and try to find the cause of the clatter when it's warm. On first inspection it all looks fine i.e. ring gear & clutch basket tight and no bits lying in the bottom. What are the symptoms of that bearing failure ?

Cheers,

cliffa.

kinghottinger · Sep 14, 2021

cliffa said:
Welcome kinghottinger !!
Do you mean the one behind the clutch? I have an early (2011) bike as well and currently have the primary off to take a look and try to find the cause of the clatter when it's warm. On first inspection it all looks fine i.e. ring gear & clutch basket tight and no bits lying in the bottom. What are the symptoms of that bearing failure ?

Hello Cliffa - Yes. My mainshaft has visible play, with clutch off and being wiggled by hand. Symptoms were noisy clutch then could not engage gear (at the MOT).

cliffa · Sep 14, 2021

kinghottinger said:
Hello Cliffa - Yes. My mainshaft has visible play, with clutch off and being wiggled by hand. Symptoms were noisy clutch then could not engage gear (at the MOT).

If you have the clutch off you may want to have a look at these threads..

Another clutch basket failure.

Well, Richard-7 warned us all about the possibility of failure in the rivets holding the clutch basket to the drive gear, and I've just had it happen to me. The loud noises in the primary of my 2014 961 Sport seemed like they were getting louder, so I finally pulled the primary to take a look...

www.accessnorton.com

Starter Ring Gear -- ISSUE

I'm not sure if this is a known problem or not but it is a potential problem that should be noted. The RING GEAR (the gear that the starter is driving/spinning) can come loose as it is held on with five shoulder bolts and threebond. The problem, in my opinion from an engineering view is, the...

www.accessnorton.com

The 4 rivets holding the clutch basket on have been known to fail and also the screws which hold the starter ring gear.

If you use FaceBook, join Stu Bodycote's group then scroll down and you will see a basket which has an alarming amount of play caused by rivet failure.

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kinghottinger · Sep 14, 2021

Thanks. Some good info in the clutch thread you link.
PS: If anyone knows someone in the UK that could rebuild mine, PM me.

Stu Bodycote · Sep 14, 2021

cliffa said:
If you have the clutch off you may want to have a look at these threads..

Another clutch basket failure.

Well, Richard-7 warned us all about the possibility of failure in the rivets holding the clutch basket to the drive gear, and I've just had it happen to me. The loud noises in the primary of my 2014 961 Sport seemed like they were getting louder, so I finally pulled the primary to take a look...

www.accessnorton.com

Starter Ring Gear -- ISSUE

I'm not sure if this is a known problem or not but it is a potential problem that should be noted. The RING GEAR (the gear that the starter is driving/spinning) can come loose as it is held on with five shoulder bolts and threebond. The problem, in my opinion from an engineering view is, the...

www.accessnorton.com

The 4 rivets holding the clutch basket on have been known to fail and also the screws which hold the starter ring gear.

If you use FaceBook, join Stu Bodycote's group then scroll down and you will see a basket which has an alarming amount of play caused by rivet failure.

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

Oooh not my group mate....I just loiter around there alot haha. The groups owner is Michael Cooper.

cliffa · Sep 14, 2021

Stu Bodycote said:
Oooh not my group mate....I just loiter around there alot haha. The groups owner is Michael Cooper.

Oh, apologies Stu.

Stu Bodycote · Sep 14, 2021

cliffa said:
Oh, apologies Stu.

No apologies needed.... you'd easily think it was my show, given I'm bloody everywhere on there haha

cliffa · Sep 14, 2021

Stu Bodycote said:
No apologies needed.... you'd easily think it was my show, given I'm bloody everywhere on there haha

A lot of 961 owners are glad you are !!

Stu Bodycote · Sep 14, 2021

cliffa said:
A lot of 961 owners are glad you are !!

Cheers chap, appreciated

TonyA · Sep 15, 2021

kinghottinger said:
Hello Cliffa - Yes. My mainshaft has visible play, with clutch off and being wiggled by hand. Symptoms were noisy clutch then could not engage gear (at the MOT).

Can you explain the play/wiggle ? Radial (up and down) or Axial (left and right) ? Is it possible that your gear selector shaft is not centered on its mounting ? What that means is you won't get full throw in one direction , up or down. Richard-7 posted a manual describing the alignment which involves centering the mechanism before tightening down.

kinghottinger · Sep 15, 2021

Thanks for the input. As I remember, it was up down - not visible so much as audible/feelable clunking play. I'll go look for this gear selector alignment manual. (I believe I should register with the shop in the US that kindly hosts them).
If the solution is something other than replacing the main shaft and end plate, that would be good.

TonyA · Sep 15, 2021

kinghottinger said:
Thanks for the input. As I remember, it was up down - not visible so much as audible/feelable clunking play. I'll go look for this gear selector alignment manual. (I believe I should register with the shop in the US that kindly hosts them).
If the solution is something other than replacing the main shaft and end plate, that would be good.

You can search this site that picture has been posted. use my name to help find it.

cliffa · Sep 16, 2021

I think kinghottinger is referring to the gearbox mainshaft not the selector shaft Tony. Although the latter may be the reason for the poor selection, I don't think you should be feeling any play in that mainshaft bearing.

kinghottinger · Sep 16, 2021

Yes it's the mainshaft. The selector manual suggests not related. Thanks anyway

cliffa · Sep 16, 2021

kinghottinger said:
Yes it's the mainshaft. The selector manual suggests not related. Thanks anyway

Are you intending fixing it yourself?

If Not, Mr. Motorvated (A.K.A. Stu Bodycote on here) is an ex Norton technician who is highly regarded.

cliffa · Sep 23, 2021

kinghottinger, I currently have my primary apart and can feel up / down & side to side play in the clutch basket, however no play in the mainshaft at all. I'm struggling to get the intermediate gear off at the moment ( puller is beginning to bend) but once it's off I'll be able to remove the basket and get a clearer picture of where the play is. I suspect it's the two C3 6205 ball bearing inside the basket itself. I'm wondering if roller bearings would be better in this application. Any thoughts folks?

961 gearbox

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