Rear wheel spins like crazy on centerstand

Pete_B said:

The layshaft bearing is perhaps something to investigate. I have owned the bike only three years. It was purchased from the original owner. I'll have to dig through the maintenance logs to find the answer

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I think it is definitely something you need to investigate. Mine went at about 12K miles which seems very common. Symptoms are the kickstarter moving downwards when bike is in gear and then bobbing up and down. Moves downwards as you accelerate. Failure of this bearing can cause major damage and very dangerous. I got lucky as mine went out a few miles from home at low speed. No rear wheel lockup and I was able to limp home. I had the dreaded Portuguese layshaft bearing. I was also lucky because I had minimal damage to gearbox components. Lots has been written about this here and elsewhere. My bike VIN is 318XXX so if you have a bike with a VIN near this, expect to have this bearing. If you do, it's only a matter of time before it breaks up.

Ride your bike and enjoy it, there will be plenty of real problems to come,

splatt said:

Ride your bike and enjoy it, there will be plenty of real problems to come,

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Well said Splatt, well said!
Ride On(and enjoy it)
Dave

Thanks guys. I love this forum. I have a 200 mile trip planned for this Sunday. It'll be good exercise for the old Norton. (My engine number is 319476. Is that considered close to 318xxx ?)

I doubt you have any problem there. Both my bikes do it. One has only done 14,000 mils the other has a rebuilt g/box with the super-blend lay-shaft bearing,. It never kicked back on the gear lever under acceleration before the rebuild but it does now. Go Figure. The reason for the wheel turning is the output shaft of the gearbox surrounds the input shaft, so they tend to want to rotate together. It wont really matter what oil you use either.

Dereck

Pete_B said:

When the motor idles with the bike on the centerstand, the rear wheel spins quite fast.

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This is a function of idle speed as well as gearbox bushing resistance. How fast is your idle set? My bikes idle at about 800-900 rpm with slow to no rear wheel rotation. If you pick the idle up to 1200-1300 rpm there is a considerable increase in rear wheel rotation on the centerstand. A tighter primary chain will pull the gearbox input shaft tighter to the bushes in the high gear (mainshaft) resulting in more tendency to turn the rear wheel.