IT'S ALIVE!!!

[Ari Rankum]

Excellent, excellent, excellent!!

I may be able to provide the "what if" story for you at NAFO, especially if I leave by bike and arrive by plane. *MY* second gear issue has been met with a lot less intestinal fortitude. After failing to get the dealer to even agree there's an issue, and after "firing" them as my dealer after another couple issues, my second gear has degraded to the point of almost being worthless. I've neither found another dealer, nor ponied up (heh) and ordered the parts myself. Nonetheless, this is the bike that will be leaving Baltimore en route to NAFO.

I was very interested in your observations about the design changes to the dogs, by the way. The fact that they did this and that there is documentation of at least one AE developing this same problem suggests to me that there is a design issue.

Once again, really excellent job on the re-build. Well done.

 

[johnny80s]

Way to go.

 

[browndog]

I salute you as i read this!

 

[sonicspeed]

congrats and great job ponyfool :clapping:

i'll let you buy me a beer at NAFO for a job well done

errrr i mean i'll buy you a beer

 

[RenoJohn]

Awesome wrenching there dude!! Fun that you shared the experience. No cuss words either. I can hardly pick up a wrench without using those.

Nice job, thanks for sharing the adventure.

 

[radman]

Trannies aren't that bad, it's getting to them that's usually the tough part. Well done, and good to hear it's a successful repair!

 

[double_entendre]

Absolutely fookin' awesome! I redid the top end on a VF500F once, but that's a slam dunk compared to the bottom end of any bike. You da man!

Rancho

 

[Low Level FJR Pilot]

Great job and thanks for keeping us all posted. Good luck!

 

[eeksnake]

Congrats on a job well done ponyfool! I'm sure it's a great relief.

 

[dgfella]

ponyfool,

Awesome job on the tranny. Let me say that you've got some big brass ones taking on something like this. I'm good with a wrench and have professional mechanic friends, but I doubt I'd have the courage to pull the engine out and apart.

Here's to you. Happy motoring.

dgfella

 

[dbx]

First of all, excellent job! There's a helluva lot of satisfaction in knowing you did it yourself versus letting someone else do it and just trusting that they did it well.

I'm with the folks who said even the most intimidating jobs become much less intimidating when you break them down into smaller pieces. In a previous life, I had an '82 Suzuki GS1100E that needed a new crank. The local dealer said he couldn't get to it until the slower winter season, about 7 months away. I got pissed and decided to do it myself, and I did! Before that, about all I had done was pull the wheels for tire changes, and other minor tasks, so pulling the engine and splitting the cases seemed like a big deal. Now I figure I can do just about any kind of repair. It's just a matter of having the right tools, enough time, and gaining the required knowledge.

Again, kudos.

dbx

 

[motorcycle-ed]

Hey Ponyfool, you had a piece when you first got the parts in regarding the part number differences between the parts list and the gear you got from the dealer. The part numbers were the same except for the prefix and the the gear itself was the same except for the number of engagement dogs. Is that gear with more dogs the one you used in the fix?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Ed

 

[Checkswrecks]

Just got back from a weeklong trip to find this thread.

I'll add my congratulations! This is a job few would even venture to try.

 

[FJRMGM]

good on you for "BOLDLY GOING WHERE FEW MEN HAVE GONE BEFORE" by tearing into a motorcycle transmission and fixing the problem.

Now you understand why the shop labor hour/costs are so much and why lots of shops refer this kind of work to a specialist.

Looking forward to seeing you at NAFO in a couple of weeks.

 

[Dudewado]

Like the others have said; I am impressed!

I am a Electrician/Millwright and work on a lot of complicated machinery, but I wouldn't want to tackle this job.

Congratulations!

How many special Yamaha tools did you have to buy?