Angle Drive Do's and Don'ts....

[DragonLady58]

We've all owned Chain driven bikes. Some of us have owned belt driven bikes. Shaft driven bikes are completely a diff. animal.
Several things that a person should not do with a shaft driven bike, especially ours, the Nomads.
One of them, a friend just did and he screwed his angle drive up doing it is if your engine stalls, going down the road, is popping the clutch to restart the engine.
This puts a enormous strain on the gears and bearings in the angle drive. They just weren't designed to do that. Its also hard on the final drive as well! And just think of that poor little driveshaft!
Chains, no problem, they're alot more rugged. Pretty damn rugged at that. Belts, yes, to a lesser degree.
Your starter is cranking right at the crankshaft thru a pretty good sized gear.
When you start a bike like ours, your sending a big ole shock wave off that ring gear onto that small pinion gear, which shocks back along the driveshaft, thru the angle drive, transmission, clutch, etc.
That is one big assed engine to turn over. The geared down properties of a starter is engineered to handle that brutal torque. That angle drive isn't.
Another is trying to do a dry burnout....on dry sticky asphalt. Yep, I've done a bunch of them, and yes, I did have to repair my foolishness.
My bigbore thunder 1600 engine will fry the back tire, pull on the front brake, add some throttle, let out on the clutch. Looks great, is bad for that angle drive.
Check your oil level frequently and look under your bike for oil.
MaKawa made a damn good setup, you've got 2 spring takeups to absorb the shock from the engine to the trans. 1 is right behind your clutch basket, the other is right in front of the angle drive.
Ride on!

[gleam]

Thanks for the great info. If someone is bumpstarting their bike, they're in a bad situation out on the road. What other things would be a good idea to get you out of a jam? Is jumping from a car battery okay? It's the same voltage but somehow it doesn't seem right.

[DragonLady58]

They sell little jumpstart kits. Look on Gadgets Site! Make your own for less than $20! I have a pigtail hooked to my battery with a heavy duty plug. I keep one in my rollup tool bag....with a heavy duty plug also. I need to jump my bike, I unroll my tool kit, pull it out, plug it up, ready to be jump started....Less than 5 minutes, no seat removal....

I also carry one of these if no cars are around....
https://www.amazon.com/T10-Portable-...portable&psc=1


400CCA, $50....even has usb ports on it to charge electronics.
If I use this, I hook up my plug-in jumper cables, take this outta the bag, just clamp the reds together, then the blacks, hit the button, and go....

[Ridefree]

Very good information here DL . I always appreciate learning something new on the forum . :

[vulcanscott]

If You Jumpstart off of a Car Battery DO IT WITH THE Engine Off ! That is what I have allways been Told . V Scott

[JD Hog]

Hey DragonLady I have the Deltran version of that in my saddlebag all the time. I have used it a few times on stranded cars and it works great. Also good for recharging your phone when tent camping.

[Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by vulcanscott

If You Jumpstart off of a Car Battery DO IT WITH THE Engine Off !

This. ^^^^^^

[blowndodge]

Originally Posted by DragonLady58

We've all owned Chain driven bikes. Some of us have owned belt driven bikes. Shaft driven bikes are completely a diff. animal.
Several thing that a person should not do with a shaft driven bike, especially ours, the Nomads.
One of them, a friend just did and he screwed his angle drive up doing it is if your engine stalls, going down the road, is popping the clutch to restart the engine.
This puts a enormous strain on the gears and bearings in the angle drive. They just weren't designed to do that. Its also hard on the final drive as well! And just think of that poor little driveshaft!
Chains, no problem, they're alot more rugged. Pretty damn rugged at that. Belts, yes, to a lesser degree.
Your starter is cranking right at the crankshaft thru a pretty good sized gear.
When you start a bike like ours, your sending a big ole shock wave off that ring gear onto that small pinion gear, which shocks back along the driveshaft, thru the angle drive, transmission, clutch, etc.
That is one big assed engine to turn over. The geared down properties of a starter is engineered to handle that brutal torque. That angle drive isn't.
Another is trying to do a dry burnout....on dry sticky asphalt. Yep, I've done a bunch of them, and yes, I did have to repair my foolishness.
My bigbore thunder 1600 engine will fry the back tire, pull on the front brake, add some throttle, let out on the clutch. Looks great, is bad for that angle drive.
Check your oil level frequently and look under your bike for oil.
MaKawa made a damn good setup, you've got 2 spring takeups to absorb the shock from the engine to the trans. 1 is right behind your clutch basket, the other is right in front of the angle drive.
Ride on!

DL I've been trying to wrap my brain around this and I can't. How does rolling with the engine off and letting out the clutch to bump start it (most Nomads won't bump start because of the slipper clutch design) cause any more load on the drive train than downshifting with the engine on and letting out the clutch going down hill or coming to a light with each gear?

[DragonLady58]

Originally Posted by blowndodge

DL I've been trying to wrap my brain around this and I can't. How does rolling with the engine off and letting out the clutch to bump start it (most Nomads won't bump start because of the slipper clutch design) cause any more load on the drive train than downshifting with the engine on and letting out the clutch going down hill or coming to a light with each gear?

The ring and pinion is designed for the small pinion gear to to spin fast, to mesh with that bigger ring gear. That gives you a geared down drive to pull a heavy load....bike and passangers.
Kawa build 2 spring loaded takeups to keep the engine and trans from pounding the drivetrain. Theres one right behind your clutch basket to help protect your gearbox.
The 2nd is between your trans and the angledrive. Its a big spring with a couple of pieces with large radiuses that all smoothing of the engines impulses. This protects the driveline.
Yes, the washers work with the clutch and this spring device to keep from tearing shit up.

I have a Thunder 6 spring clutch, the washers aren't in my clutch....mine as been converted to a 6 spring pressure plate setup. Theres no give there, its just a big old honkin motorcycle clutch now.
My friend that scrambled his angle drive has one, too.

Back to ring gear.....folks that have made a big basic clutch like ours, are able to push start the bikes.
The ring gear, is designed to be turned by the pinion. When you try to roll, engaging your clutch, to crank your engine on this shafted bike, Your using the big ring gear to spin that pinion....which can easily overstress the pinion. Instead of a 3.5 to 1 ratio or whatever the final drive is, your subjecting that pinion to 1 to 3.5 loading. In laymens terms, its like lifting a 100 lb. load with a 3.5' lever, with 1' between your pivot and the load.
NOW....REVERSE THAT LOAD! Use a 1' lever to lift 100 lb. load, with 3.5' between the pivot and load. Thats the typa load your subjecting the pinion gear too. The super rapid start of that pinion,whips back along that dtiveshaft, and that shock is transfered directly thru your angle drive! Remember, the angle drive has a protecter behind in, between the drive and the trans. No protection when bump starting.....Its all in the gearing ratios.
That spring behind PN# 13048 is a 2 fold device. 1 is allows easy engagement to angle drive to trans, 2 allows it to act as a ratchet, it can rock back and forth. Look at the exploited view of your clutch, the same thing is behind your clutch basket. Again, a 2 fold device....All this has the helping of the slipping action of the washers.

Now, with the stock clutch in play, I don't even think you can bump start a nomad....never tried it. With a meanstreak spring, maybe....but kawa designed safety into the drive system. I believe in stock condition, the motor won't spin over. BUT, you'd still transfer that shock to the angle drive....though you wouldn't be spinning over that huge engine....

[DragonLady58]

Originally Posted by vulcanscott

If You Jumpstart off of a Car Battery DO IT WITH THE Engine Off ! That is what I have allways been Told . V Scott

Yep! Can fry your regulators.....the big surge of both a alts firing up when hooked to a 12-14+ volt batt. being charged at 50+amps....
You can, but its best not to. Most pass. cars, if its idling your ok. A pickup or HDtruck....I wouldn't advise it. Its not worth hurting your bike over....
A weak battery can be supplimented and cranked. A totally dead battery, it'd take all the juice the little jumpstart units got....
When my battery died, I smelt burnt wires a few days before. After I got it fixed....with a totally dead battery, my portable jumpstarter cranked the bike about 5 diff. times till it wouldn't do it anymore. Thats with me starting it, letting it run some, then turning the switch off. Did it just to see how many times it would crank it....

[DragonLady58]

Originally Posted by JD Hog

Hey DragonLady I have the Deltran version of that in my saddlebag all the time. I have used it a few times on stranded cars and it works great. Also good for recharging your phone when tent camping.

Have even used it to charge my laptop while watching movies camping!

[Jim1955]

Glad I read this, I've had my fuel lite come on a few times at about the 90-100 mile range and twice the engine cut off while riding. Both times I popped the clutch and it started right up. First I don't know what caused it to stop running like that and second I didn't think I was possibly doing damage to the bike by doing it. Now when that lite comes on I fill it up, usually takes about 3 gallons. So from reading here, I should stop the bike and start it up like the beginning of the day if this happens again?

[MAS Tequila]

Just put it in neutral and hit the starter.

There is no need to stop.

MT