Commando Lay Shaft bearing

Tue Apr 13 08:15:41 EDT 2021

Thanks Mike,

The parts are rolling in the bearings bushes springs etc.  The tools and DVD’s  will be here soon and a with luck I will have a list member who has been there before guide me though the upgrade.  

Still I did have the old girl out last weekend and we had a great time in  the spring air..

Will update as events change !

Cheers All,
Eric

From: MICHAEL FORTE 
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2021 07:06 PM
To: ducdude ; ducdude via DVNR ; bsafr at aol.com 
Subject: Re: Commando Lay Shaft bearing

    Hi eric. I thought i would wait for the shift lever warning and now I have a cracked trans case on the shelf. M.F. 
  On 04/05/2021 3:58 PM ducdude via DVNR <dvnr at casano.com> wrote: 
  Thanks Brian, 
  Can you or anyone direct me to a supplier of the needed specialty tools I will need to service the gear box?.  Always room for more tools! 
  Thanks , 
  Eric 
  From: bsafr at aol.com 
  Sent: Monday, April 05, 2021 03:02 PM 
  To: ducdude at verizon.net 
  Cc: dvnr at casano.com 
  Subject: Re: Commando Lay Shaft bearing 
  Hey Eric, 
  Since David mentioned my ordeal, I will reply. I originally wasnt going to weigh in because I know others who are more experienced probably would and I am often teased that Im a "Level Three" mechanic. 
  I have a '74 Mk2a Interstate home model - Im the second owner (only had 15,000 mi.), so I know it hadnt had too much work done on it. My layshaft bearing failed  (catastrophically) while riding it around 20 - 25 mph through a turn. As David mentioned, I didnt even know about that issue, so I thought something was wrong with my kickstart return. Bike stopped suddenly in the turn, but I didnt drop it. Started up and tried to continue but realized something more severe was going on. Dan Sellers Recovery Service came and fetched me home. Did some research and decided to take a stab at it - uring the Old Britts article and also the one Russ references (Old Britts link is in that one). I also consulted the service manual. I did the job with the gearbox in-situ. 
  I debated using the ball bearing (Mick Hemmings does) and Steve Collins from Collins Cycle said it would be OK, but everyone else suggested the roller bearing upgrade. I bought both, but installed the roller bearing. I made my own bearing puller (using a gear puller jaw) and you also need a slotted tool (like a 55 drum cap remover) to remove the shaft lockring so you can get the inner case off (I made that out of a piece of matching diameter pipe and cut the two bayonets). It is also helpful to have a thin wall Whitworth socket to get the one lower left inner case nut off easily.  I did the heat and freeze stuff to remove the outer race of the disintegrated bearing and install the new bearing. I also replaced the outer bush and kickstart pawl - all the gears looked fine and I didnt remove the main shaft. 
  I did find a small crack between the main sleeve gear and lay bearing aperatures, which may now be weeping a tad. I bought a used outer gearbox case in came I ever have to fix that - but was convinced to go ahead as is - I did use some Loctite bearing retainer when I installed the roller bearing to try to mitigate the problem. No difficulty reassembling. And other than the weeping its fine - the gears are indexed fine (I didnt remove the camplate) and I consider it a successful repair. 
  Here is a pic of what I found when I opened mine, then a pic of the small crack in an inverted mirror, and a pic of the tools I used - real tools would be better Im sure!! 
  Good luck - Im sure youll have no trouble - I wouldnt do it unless I had to. 
  Brian 

  -----Original Message----- 
  From: Russ Hunt WQ3X <wq3x at epix.net> 
  To: ducdude <ducdude at verizon.net>; David Behnken <davidebehnken at gmail.com> 
  Cc: MYTY <mjtt110 at icloud.com>; DVNR Norton <dvnr at casano.com> 
  Sent: Mon, Apr 5, 2021 11:35 am 
  Subject: Re: Commando Lay Shaft bearing 

  I did mine with the gearbox in the bike following this article: 
  Layshaft Bearing Upgrade 

                      Layshaft Bearing Upgrade
                    David

                    Of and for Norton Motorcycles

  The article has you heat the case then use the layshaft itself to remove the bearing. It worked out for me, but sometimes the inner race will come off the layshaft and then you will need the puller. I used the fancy ball bearing recommended by Mick Hemmings and ended up replacing a bunch of other things in the gearbox too, like all the bushings and bearings and the mainshaft. 
  Good luck, 
  Russ in UBE 
  On Monday, April 5, 2021, 10:36:54 AM EDT, David Behnken <davidebehnken at gmail.com> wrote: 
  Morning Eric. 
  I believe Brian Safer's lay shaft bearing in his '74 Mark2a was starting to go last summer and he replaced it.  If I recall correctly, his kickstart lever started to show the telltale signs of upcoming bearing failure and Dan Sellers gave him a heads up that it needed attention sooner rather than later.  The good news is, as Frank said, it's relatively easy to get to and not like you need to take half the bike apart to make the repair.  If I remember correctly, people often replace the ratchet spring and/or gear change return spring and check the kick starter pawl when they're in there but I could be wrong. (?)  Maybe someone who knows for sure can chime in.  I have yet to tear into a gearbox myself so I have no first hand knowledge.    
  David B 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.dudley.nu/pipermail/dvnr/attachments/20210413/995bf5fd/attachment.htm>