Apply a thin bead of silicone sealant to the lower
crankcase mating faces (at the factory, Three
Bond 1207B
is used).

Thank you very much for the info. I have been looking everywhere and killing myself trying to find something.

I really wish I had extra money that I could get the gears and everything checked out, but my wife is already on me for spending that much on the gasket kit for a bike that may not even have all the parts.
 
I feel for the limited budget, I really do.

You owe it to yourself -- and your wife -- for peace of mind if nothing else, to manually cycle through the gears up and down before putting everything back together only find it's not working right.
 
Are we missing a few steps ?

In your original post, you mentioned "locked in third gear". Most folks having the engine open like that would send the gears to Robinson's for full check-up, once determined good undercut, and purchase a billet fourth gear. Also benefiting from the experience of masters past and present, paying extra close attention to the circlips and their directionality - pretty sure I've read about having the channels enlarged ever so slightly and installing slightly larger circlips.

Joe, do you know how much we are talking about sending them in, getting them checked and undercut, AND the billet fourth?
Sounds pretty costly, although, I do understand while having it apart this far, would be a smart way of doing things.
Another thing I need to think about as well are all of the “specialty tools” needed to put this beast back together.
 
Calling @albertaduke @Claviger @Rocket Scientist - might y'all share the particulars of this activity ? (parts sent to Robinsons, undercut gears, billet fourth, and "circlip treatment/assurance")

Robinson's 4th gear output billet - $259.00

Ballpark from the Hyabusa price list for undercut: $375.00

A number of the reported transmission problems over the past decade or more (not that many, really) seem to be attributed to asymmetric circlips installed incorrectly either at the factory or later work. I can't find it now, but one or more folks here did something with circlip channels and installed beefier circlips, IIRC.
 
Last edited:
The case was split because it was locked in 3rd gear, and the shop took it apart, stated that it was going to be over $6000.00 to fix with all new parts.

I would imagine the shop provided a list of the parts needed to repair the "locked tranny" problem. If so, use that as a guide. Check the parts they stated needed to be replaced/repaired.

Consider the shop's reputation for quality work??? Do you trust them? There have been a number of horror stories on this forum, of shops learning how to fix a Rocket at the owners expense. Pulling the complete tranny apart (lots of labour charges) then guessing at what parts are needed when a simple detent spring was all that was required.

Find out the details of the quote to repair.
 
I would imagine the shop provided a list of the parts needed to repair the "locked tranny" problem. If so, use that as a guide. Check the parts they stated needed to be replaced/repaired.

Consider the shop's reputation for quality work??? Do you trust them? There have been a number of horror stories on this forum, of shops learning how to fix a Rocket at the owners expense. Pulling the complete tranny apart (lots of labour charges) then guessing at what parts are needed when a simple detent spring was all that was required.

Find out the details of the quote to repair.

As I went through the list, looking them up by part numbers, the entire inside of the transmission was said to be bent. So in short, everything was taken out and laying in various boxes. As I pieced them back together after checking to see how "bent" they were, all seemed to be fine and spun beautifully.
It really has perfectly matched gears with no play at all. I have shifted through all gears while rotating the shaft and it shifts very well.
So with that, I don't really trust that the dealer is trustworthy at all.
 
Remember the original symptom was "locked in 3rd gear". If there doesn't appear to be any damage to the gear sets, check the shift change mechanism closely (gear position shaft, pin and actuator). Also, check to see that any of the circlips that hold the gears in position haven't popped out of their grooves causing a gear to move further than normal. Detent spring is OK? Bent fork/forks.....etc etc.

Since there was no complaint of the tranny jumping out of a particular gear, you probably don't have an issue with the dogs being rounded. That wouldn't normally give you a jammed up tranny though.
 
Ok, here we go....

As long as all dogs are healthy looking, shafts assembled right, and bearings in the right direction it'll last somewhere between 6,000 and 200,000 miles without the Robinson work...who knows. It should be fine for a long time, but some of us have had failures very early in ownership.

Don't try to reuse the staked nuts, specifically, the clutch nut and the trans shaft nut. They need to be replaced. No special tools are required for assembly if you are creative a bit. Never, ever, for any reason, PRY on the Rocket 3 cases, they will break/crack faster than Donald Trump's lies.

First download the manual and read through the transmission section a few times, inspect everything by the manual, not just does it look ok, measure the bits.

Check, and recheck, the transmission input and output shafts for all the correct parts, their orientation, and specifically check the circlips so the sharp side is facing away from the gear it rides next to.

Now assemble by the manual into the cases. Ensure the gear selector bolt that connects to the gear selector lever (the stub that connects to the part your foot controls) has copious amounts of RED Loctite.

Read the case half assembly instructions a couple of times, locate that correct length bolts in the correct length holes before applying the anaerobic sealant, 1207B and only 1207B (DO NOT be cheap and try to use RTV).

Put the halves together, you have about a 30 minute working time on 1207B, thin line, 1/2 the width of a tic-tac is all that's required. 30 minutes is plenty, but enough that you can't dilly-dally around.

Once halves are together, let dry for a 1/2 day, then go fiddle with the shafts. Does it spin freely in neutral, does it shift up and down smoothly?

If all seems well, rebuild it. When doing the cam timing, set it, rotate the engine a few times, tensioner, then turn some more and double check alignment marks, it's easy to be off by 1 tooth when foregoing use of the special cam jig tool.

Triumph dealers aren't exactly known for their quality of workmanship, especially smaller ones that are remotely located.
 
Ok, here we go....

As long as all dogs are healthy looking, shafts assembled right, and bearings in the right direction it'll last somewhere between 6,000 and 200,000 miles without the Robinson work...who knows. It should be fine for a long time, but some of us have had failures very early in ownership.

Don't try to reuse the staked nuts, specifically, the clutch nut and the trans shaft nut. They need to be replaced. No special tools are required for assembly if you are creative a bit. Never, ever, for any reason, PRY on the Rocket 3 cases, they will break/crack faster than Donald Trump's lies.

First download the manual and read through the transmission section a few times, inspect everything by the manual, not just does it look ok, measure the bits.

Check, and recheck, the transmission input and output shafts for all the correct parts, their orientation, and specifically check the circlips so the sharp side is facing away from the gear it rides next to.

Now assemble by the manual into the cases. Ensure the gear selector bolt that connects to the gear selector lever (the stub that connects to the part your foot controls) has copious amounts of RED Loctite.

Read the case half assembly instructions a couple of times, locate that correct length bolts in the correct length holes before applying the anaerobic sealant, 1207B and only 1207B (DO NOT be cheap and try to use RTV).

Put the halves together, you have about a 30 minute working time on 1207B, thin line, 1/2 the width of a tic-tac is all that's required. 30 minutes is plenty, but enough that you can't dilly-dally around.

Once halves are together, let dry for a 1/2 day, then go fiddle with the shafts. Does it spin freely in neutral, does it shift up and down smoothly?

If all seems well, rebuild it. When doing the cam timing, set it, rotate the engine a few times, tensioner, then turn some more and double check alignment marks, it's easy to be off by 1 tooth when foregoing use of the special cam jig tool.

Triumph dealers aren't exactly known for their quality of workmanship, especially smaller ones that are remotely located.

Thank you very much.
Exactly what I was needing, and glad I dont need 6000.00 plus for tools.
The timing wasn't even messed with, which I think is good.
 
Back
Top