Life expectancy of recon gearbox

MarkShelley

MarkShelley

Very similar to Paolo Maldini
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At 86K my 1997 1100 had a recon gearbox along with a clutch as it was apart anyway at considerable cost.
Yesterday evening when doing all three oil changes I had the chocolate brown gearbox oil which I discover indicates a failed bearing. I guess I need to get it sorted asap so there is a chance it can be rebuilt rather than replaced. The bike has now done 115K, so 29K miles on the recon box.
The miles were mostly motorway and the oil has been changed with the correct GL5 spec Silkolene at the correct intervals.
Surely the box should last longer than that?
 
Depends who reconditioned it in the first place & what sort of job they did

Doesn't it?
 
The work was done by Cambridge Motorcycles although they sourced the recon gearbox from a third party company. I don`t know who they were.
 
Well...I would use SED - Scrimmager at Spalding this time, if you want a proper job doing :)
 
MarkShelley said:
The work was done by Cambridge Motorcycles although they sourced the recon gearbox from a third party company. I don`t know who they were.
Click to expand...

Unless they've physically done the work themselves they haven't a clue what's been done.
 
I thought Motorworks boxes were just 'inspected and worn parts replaced' (ie as little as possible done to get past the warranty period) rather than reconditioned?...
If you're going to get your box done again, get someone who knows what they're doing (Steptoe / Scriminger to name two) to do a full rebuild.
 
Sorry I misse dthat it was a hard day in the office

Okay I wonder what the box you fitted was M93, M94, M97 ?

Bearings going is usually sparkles for the chrome coming off the balls or tracks and when the early selector forks (M93) started to wear you got light "bronze" coloured oil

Chocolate Brown ....... I dunno most of the oil that I drain is either Honey coloured and then the last bit is brown sludgey pooh

So ......

Is it making any noises?

Being hard to change gear?

Hard to get Neutral ?

If not I might be inclined to try a different viscosity and manufacturer but stay with the GL5 spec and change it in a 1000 miles

and see what you get then?

It may just be a side effect of the Silkolene brand......


http://www.largiader.com/tech/oiltrans/
 
It isn`t playing up at all. I have already googled it to death and it matches the description on your link perfectly. I am 99.99% certain I have a fubared bearing so I think it best I get it investigated as the damage will only get worse if left.
I have used the same Silkolene on all the boxers I have owned and I can`t think it could possibly be normal for any oil, let alone a quality product like Silkolene. Believe me, if you had seen the oil that came out you would know something bad had occurred!
 
MarkShelley said:
It isn`t playing up at all. I have already googled it to death and it matches the description on your link perfectly. I am 99.99% certain I have a fubared bearing so I think it best I get it investigated as the damage will only get worse if left.
I have used the same Silkolene on all the boxers I have owned and I can`t think it could possibly be normal for any oil, let alone a quality product like Silkolene. Believe me, if you had seen the oil that came out you would know something bad had occurred!
Click to expand...

As you say, if you've noticed a radical change in the drained oil then it's pretty certain you have a failed bearing and you should probably bite the bullet and get it rebuilt by a specialist. It's not desperately hard to split the bike to remove it - just a bit long winded and it looks a bit scary when it's done! I did mine earlier this year and had Steve Scriminger do a full rebuild with new bearings and seals throughout (I also changed the clutch while I was in there as it was close to the wear limit). The rebuild cost just over £300 (+shipping). I drove mine over to him along with a spare box of unknown condition that I bought cheap off eBay for spares years ago - he just used one selector fork from the spare. It was a surprisingly long drive to get to him - I had him courier everything back!
 
PM gary-postman.He has an '96 1100GS that has been/is to be broken.
Reckons the g/box has been rebuilt.
 
Colban said:
PM gary-postman.He has an '96 1100GS that has been/is to be broken.
Reckons the g/box has been rebuilt.
Click to expand...


If its the one he bought off me then it has... M94 box with SED rebuild 2009 43k and new clutch... Then it again it may not be...;)
 
+1 for SED. Rebuilt my M94 box with M97 internals and new bearings for less than 400 quid including carriage.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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