A65 rebuild

[chaz]

I refitted a Bob Newby clutch to a customers bike which I was asked to strip, service and rebuild. Bob was very helpful  even upgrading to the latest spec belt, no oil leaks to worry about.
the owner, and a fellow soldier built the bike in Germany years before but it never went well and hardly got used due to work. 'the dry clutch was there would I buy one?
in short no.
advantages , no leaks, providing bushing from engine is good, quiet,  customisable casing, no need to adjust.
disadvantage, initial cost. I dont do the mileage to warrant the cost.

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi Nanoevol,

I have the early 4 spring which has the captive thrust washers.  I think this has the least wobble when assembled but needs specific plain plates and the basket is cast so prone to damage.  Mine was in excellent condition except for a broken tooth.  May not have been a problem but I manage to find genuine original basket and plain plates as the originals were not quite flat.  Although it seems to be heavier than the later 4 spring and 3 spring I think I have the best clutch.  As you say the SRM pressure plate would make it even better.  Had I been starting from scratch the cost of the separate components would have exceeded the cost of the SRM clutch and they only offer a 3 spring for the A65.  I am still getting my clutch set up properly and will decide after a few thousand miles of two up and camping gear riding to see how it goes.

Dave.

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi Chaz,

The BNR clutch and belt drive looks amazing and gets good reviews but there is no 'cush drive'.  For the advantages the extra cost over a new standard clutch may be worth it but how much is a replacement belt and how long do they last?
I have just fitted a new triplex chain to a high mileage A65.  It is the second one I have fitted so the third chain on this engine.  With well over 100,000 miles on two chains that works out quite cheap. 

Dave.

[chaz]

Dave, cant remember actual price but when I spoke to Bob about the set up he said the small amount of oil on the belt wasnt a problem as the belts were kevlar and would last miles , they wont fray or crack or stretch. The only thing on our bike was that it was an original unit . the newer units are a different width belts which were easier to get hold of 25mm too 30mm or similar , he asked for our old parts and machined them to suit and supplied a new belt. I think the belt was around £35 and the machining an hours labour.

the caveat here is , inside the case they are safe, with customisers they have the option to cut away the casing to show off the clutch as Harley and Ducati owners do. I had a Harley sportster with rear belt drive, everyone said, low maintainance , clean and didnt need adjusting. I rode 100 miles the day we bought it, went to pull away from lights and the belt snapped. either due to a flint chip from the road or peeling chrome on the rear sprocket, a fluke. I spoke to another on the Harley forum in America, he rode into the dealer to get his belt changed, pulled out of the shop and his belt snapped. So, as its inside the cover it should last

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi,

So about £35 for a belt and about £45 for a chain.  I know a chain can last at least 40,000 miles if not more, so what is the recommended replacement mileage for a belt?
No cush drive and a superior design of clutch vs a cush drive and a less good design of clutch.
A dilemma?

Dave.

[MITCHELL]

Hi, still having problems removing clutch housing, must be missing something as the u tube videos I've watched make it look as if it comes off easily with just a bit of wobbling, I've got a pully on mine and it won't budge, tried heating with a blow lamp, no joy, now I'm looking at it and wondering if that centre castles peice has to come of first but if that's the case how do you grab it? Is there a special tool? None of the  videos nor either of my manuals show or mention such. Eagerly waiting desperately needed help, cheers Dave.🍻🍻

[MGI]

Years ago, when experiencing initial mid life crisis I bought a 1200 HD Sportster, mainly because it looked more like the bikes I rode in the early 60's - I believe it was the first HD model to be so equipped, the parallel 800 Sportster still employed a chain at the time. As far as was humanly possible I absolutely thrashed that 1200, upgrading as I progressed i.e. it came with a single disc - lethal.. I fitted a second disc - not much improvement, I ended up with a Billet six pot system - result definitely. As I persuaded it to go faster so it was then necessary to make it stop faster, and so on but the one thing that never gave any problems was the final drive belt! I did about 40.000 miles on that bike (fastest tractor in the world) before selling it and buying a Ducati 888 SP5. It hardly depreciated, which is strange given that it was an anachronism when it was new. The other very strange phenomena was that the HD, insured  with Aviva (then Norwich Union) on a rider policy cost more to insure than the 888. The 888, in 1992. cost just over £15000 from Allan Jefferies at a time when a Fireguard cost in the region of £7000 & the HD was slightly less. The HD as standard was sub 100 MPH. the 888 was on the rev limiter at about 165 MPH, go figure!

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi Mitchell,

The middle bit that the plain plates slid on to should pull off and as you have said may need a bit of a wobble.  The main centre nut holds this on.  Once this has been removed you are left with the centre or sleeve that fits on the taper on the gea box main shaft.  This needs a puller that threads in to the sleeve and then when tightened pushes against the end of the shaft.  The fit on the taper can be very tight.

Dave.

[MITCHELL]

Hi,....... frustration Ahhhhhhh, tight your not kidding, this is what happened to the puller, going to have to put the thinking hat on.

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi Mitchell,

Do you have a picture showing more of the clutch centre as I cannot see exactly what you have there.  The puller looks like the one below and it threads in to the sleeve as shown.

Dave

[DAVE BRADY]

Hi Mitchell,

I have had another look at your previous pictures and you have removed everything except the sleeve that goes on the main shaft taper.
What manuals have you got?  The BSA workshop manual covers the clutch from about page B21.

Dave.

[MITCHELL]

Hi Dave, I have another puller coming today, I'll take some more photos this afternoon but the centre of my clutch looks nothing like your pictures, cheers Dave.

[Nanonevol]

Looks like he used (and broke) this kind of tool:

Easy to do. 
Get one like Dave Brady pictured.

[MITCHELL]

Afternoon, your both bang on, on closer inspection of your pictures Dave and cleaning the internal diameter I discovered a thread.so next question where can I buy the correct puller( as in your photo) I haven't seen anything like it in my searches. Although I gave the whole lump a clean down before I started I decided this afternoon to give it another going over so I don't miss stuff (hopefully) in future,so a spray can of degreaser has just been liberated. Cheers Dave.😀😀

[MITCHELL]

Forgot to add, these are the manuals I'm using.