Balance split gear spring

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Bikefalcon

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May 24, 2019
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Need a balance split gear spring. Norton only sells the entire gear assembly. Anybody know where I can get just the spring?
 
Bikefalcon said:
Need a balance split gear spring. Norton only sells the entire gear assembly. Anybody know where I can get just the spring?
Click to expand...

We’ve bought a lot of them from Norton. I know a lot of people from this forum who bought them from Norton. They definitely sell them.
 
Last edited:
Bikefalcon said:
Need a balance split gear spring. Norton only sells the entire gear assembly. Anybody know where I can get just the spring?
Click to expand...
Did you actually check with them and this is what Norton said ? They used to sell the springs alone. There may have been a change in the design and this way if you have an older bike you get the upgrade ? Maybe now it will come pre-tensioned and locked so you can just put it in and release the bolts once the gear is in place . Just guessing , ask Max.
 
TonyA said:
There may have been a change in the design and this way if you have an older bike you get the upgrade ?
Click to expand...

That's possible.
They may have developed a new design that will not require future replacement, but has a fitment that will not work with the original gear.

The Hinckley 865 Bonneville's have backlash gears on each camshaft. They never need replacement.
Quite a few owners on the TriumphRat forum have over 100,000 miles on their bikes.
So there is a way to design a backlash mechanism that doesn't need replacement.
 
Of course, I have already ordered the tools from Colorado Norton to service the balance split gear spring and now no spring. Anybody have one they want to sell?
 
I only have one spare. If I had more id get you one. This is ridiculous. This is the exact reason why dealers are frustrated. One day you can buy a simple part. The next day they have a new policy which means you have to buy an entire assembly. So worst case you have to buy an entire assembly (keep trying and ask someone else). You will still need the tool to set the tension to install it. Be sure to get the gear jam too. Makes the job real simple. No doubt this is the culprit for most of the noise on the primary side. And perhaps they did make it better. But when its done correctly the first time, there is likely never a need to replace that spring. At least not for a very long time.

You’ll also need these tools if ever you want to dig deep into the engine so definitely not a waste. Even Norton purchased a bunch from us. Not sure if they still use them or not.

Please keep up posted on this matter.

PS - proceed with caution. Im telling you now it is incredibly easy to damage the spring. It take hardly any effort. Be patient and take your time. You can even disassemble the one you have and check the width with the tool. It may actually be okay as is. Just be super careful taking it apart or you will over stretch it.

Not to scare you off because the job is really easy. Just take your time.
 
BritTwit said:
That's possible.
They may have developed a new design that will not require future replacement, but has a fitment that will not work with the original gear.

The Hinckley 865 Bonneville's have backlash gears on each camshaft. They never need replacement.
Quite a few owners on the TriumphRat forum have over 100,000 miles on their bikes.
So there is a way to design a backlash mechanism that doesn't need replacement.
Click to expand...

The design is a good one. The root cause is almost always at assembly. I doubt they re designed it. But anything is possible. The only part they may have fixed is the dowel. We told them years ago that there is more slop because in some bikes they used a rounded off dowel. So the spring could slip up and in the round tip. We just ground them flat and pushed them up to correct this. But it was only in a few bikes we’ve seen. I bet we’ve gone through almost every cdn engine. My dad used to fix these kinds of things before the bikes go to the customers. Unfortunately this didn’t start until we diagnosed a bunch of repeating issues like this one.
 
Bikefalcon said:
Of course, I have already ordered the tools from Colorado Norton to service the balance split gear spring and now no spring. Anybody have one they want to sell?
Click to expand...


My dad remembered buying a bunch and finally found a package of 20 in the shop. He's willing to part with 10 of them. $32 usd each plus shipping. PM me if interested.
 
9 have been spoken for. I’ll send them out tomorrow.

Earlier today a reliable source contacted me to say: (keep in mind this may or may not be true)

“Norton only has a few springs on the shelf for themselves now. They used to assemble the gears but now buy the gears from over seas pre-assembled, hence why they wont sell you one”

This source said I can share this info just not say their name.

Hmmmmm....
 
At this point, the really interesting questions would be whether the springs are custom design just for Norton, or an off-the-shelf item from a manufacturer. If the latter, it would be really nice to know the manufacturer and part number:rolleyes:

Ken
 
Doesn't the EU have rules about minimum times spares have to be available after manufacture? I suppose selling the whole unit might be a get out jail card there.
Glad i bought two when i could.
 
Just activated a part number for the balance shaft split gear spring. They can be ordered now!

Part number : 5200008

Sorry for the inconvenience! Hope its all a bit easier now.
 
pingu-nz said:
FYI

Triumph have a backlash cam gear with a similar looking c spring
with pictures .
https://www.triumphrat.net/air-cooled-twins-technical-talk/923482-ticking-noise-solved.html

cheers
Paul
Click to expand...


Great find Paul. Thanks for sharing. Dreer was awesome about buying off the shelf items that were proven. If it's not the exact same I bet there one that is. No way Dreer or Norton paid for a die or is paying to laser cut/waterjet them if they can source them in bulk. BUT>>> you never know. I'll go to the Triumph dealer and buy one and reverse engineer it and see how they compare. My dad and Peter bought around 50 or so years back when he was a dealer and was replacing it on all the new bikes coming into the country because it was one of the biggest complaints.
 
QUOTE FROM BIKE FALCON: Contacted Max and he is the one who told me they only sell the complete gear assembly.


Max Muller said:
Just activated a part number for the balance shaft split gear spring. They can be ordered now!

Part number : 5200008

Sorry for the inconvenience! Hope its all a bit easier now.
Click to expand...


Well isn't this interesting.....................
I have 10 on the list - anyone who doesn't want me to send theirs out please contact me. They will be going out later today.
 
ntst8 said:
Doesn't the EU have rules about minimum times spares have to be available after manufacture? I suppose selling the whole unit might be a get out jail card there.
Glad i bought two when i could.
Click to expand...

Yes 10 years but nothing about how small the part assembly should be, so separate spring or complete assembly meets the criteria.
 
Springs just went out. I’ll email you all soon. Thanks and glad we could help out. We don’t sell retail. Too much work... but so happy to help all the amazing 961 owners out there who contribute to this forum.

Cheers.
 

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