So, a little more than two weeks ago, on a Friday morning, I was ready to make my way to class the same way I have done for months. I step into my garage, open the bay door, throw a leg over my steel steed and pull out the kickstart lever. Usually it takes her a few kicks because of the hot weather (and the pilot screw is set a little rich, Note: lean drop the pilot screw when this is over). The day before, I went on a wild ride through town, popping the best wheelies I've ever done. I was bored and needed to expend my energy. It worked. I rode her into my garage with the engine running. That was the last time I rode. You see, that Friday morning, I tried to kickstart my engine and all I got was the gears skipping (they gear teeth were not engaging). I should have been panicked, but instead, I was excited. This was a mechanical mystery that I got to solve. In reality, this was a grave situation, my only mode of transportation had failed me and it could be expensive to repair. So, I removed my gear and raced upstairs to ask my mother to take me to class.

Later that day, when I returned home, I brought back with me, some tools in order to remove the clutch cover and get a good look at the issue. I suspected that the kickshaft ratcheting mechanism had wore out. If that was the case, then it would be an easy fix. After begrudgingly removing the right-side footpeg and rear brake lever, I unbolted the cover. Everything looks fine, for now. I remove the kickshaft and see that all if well with the ratchet mechanism. Hmm, what could it be, then? I noticed some chipping on the gear teeth, this led me to the kickstart idle gear (the freewheeling gear between the clutch basket and the kickshaft). It, too, had chipping on the teeth. Looks like these two gears weren't playing nice with each other! I grabbed the gear to rotate it and felt that there was way too much play. It was actually flopping around. To, either the I.D. of the gear ad wore out or the idle gear pin wore out. So, I called my local Suzuki dealer to see how much the parts would cost. After a few seconds, the Parts employee told be that the kickstart idle gear sits on the output shaft of the transmission. And in her own words "if that shaft is damaged, then you've got bigger problems." The reality of the situation is slowly creeping in and I feel a deep amount of dread. This could get expensive.

Next day, and I have the tools I need to remove the clutch assembly. The clutch was in my way of seeing the whole gear, so I had to be moved. After a minute or two, I have the clutch off and I saw something terrible: The end of the output shaft had cleanly broken off and the output shaft bearing had shattered. This set me off on this two-week excursion that I am just now finishing up on.

So, what was done? Well, I had to remove the engine, completely disassemble it, and replace the output shaft. I bought a used bottom-end core (assembly) on eBay, which is where I got the shaft. I replaced other transmission parts, including the bearing, on of the shift forks, the oil pump, and kickstart assembly. I ordered all the replacement gaskets, o-rings, and seals.
When the engine was apart, I inspected the crankcase. I found that the inner wall of the crankcase had been chewed up by the 1st gear, uh, gear. This discovery led me to my diagnosis:
The output shaft bearing failed first, leading the output shaft to rotate in an eccentric pattern, wearing into the crankcase walls. This is why I kept seeing metal shaving in my oil whenever I did an oil change. Eventually, the cracked bearing wore a groove into the shaft that worsened overtime, weakening it to the point where the end snapped off, which caused the kickstart assembly to "skip." I also noted that the output shaft seal had gone bad, and was leaking oil. The seal was either shredded from the metal shavings, or was widened by the eccentric rotation of the shaft itself.

It is probable that the excessive load placed of the output shaft from Thursday''s wheelie fest pushed the shaft to its limit. This situation has been difficult emotionally and financially. I have spent well over $300 just to get my steed back on the road, and I'm still in the process of re-assembling the engine. By tomorrow, I will have my motorcycle back, the the toll has been heavy.
If you remove the money from the equation, this is a great project and a great test of my skill and knowledge. I just happy that this wall all be over soon.

Thank you for reading!

To all my followers who may be wondering when my next photograph batch will be, I will be riding East to my Hometown for a few days. I will be sure to get some unique shots along the way, but no promises.