My first real issue just came at 16,300 miles

At 16,300 miles I’ve had my first real issue , several weeks ago I was zooming along at around 55/60mph in top gear knocked it down onto 4th for an overtake ,back up into 5th & hit a false neutral,so click back down to 4th & again hit another false neutral,so time to stop & engine off. Restarted engine & heard a sound that no motorcyclist wants to hear,bang bang bang from bottom left of engine in the primary side,so switched off immediately .Recovered by RAC within the hour.
I called Norton of my news,had a sincere sympathetic chinwag about the incident & arranged to take it back to Norton central the week after,I removed the primary case & this is what I found,on the whole looks all brand new until u see those mangled mash gear teeth,found bits of metal in the oil, so what caused it ?what broke ? Something had come adrift for sure but at the time didn’t know.
I dropped bike off the on the day of the first Bar b q ,stayed at Priest House & had a beer & dinner wiv our Stuart , no not that one but Stuart2015.
So by now you may of clocked that spring ,yep that’s the culprit,it normally lives with 5 other springs in the Cush drive thing behind the clutch basket & decided to break a tiny bit of the end,now I’m reasonably practical & rebuilt & tinkered with two strokes in the past,but never had cause to go deep in engine bottoms so I thought the bike was in the best place .
The damaged gears were replaced & gearbox checked & refitted,but when the bike run it jammed in 4th & 5th with false neutral s again,gearbox removed & some other pieces replaced if not the whole box,my bike is 3.5 years old so well out of warranty, this broken spring is a rare event apparently & not something been seen b4 , but something so insignificant can cause damage ,so please don’t all think it’s your bike next ,my mileage is 16,300 ,but I’d say for price of a primary side gasket u could take the side of at say 12,000 miles and have a close look & wiggle ,for those of you more gifted than I I’m sure there are ways to check I guess & just replace all the springs in that are there & carry out preventive maintenance,refurbish clutch basket as req.
Whether spring failed first & sent like a shockwave thru to gearbox ! Or when i changed gear the cushdrive spring broke then & went flying I dunno.
I had the bike checked over & serviced at same time,prior to this it had had 6 oil changes to ,I did pay & contribute to this repair, but I know & sure wasn’t fully charged for all the labour & parts but happy with outcome, Not sure how a dealer would of dealt with it ,so hence it went to meet its maker.
As said I’ve never had any real issue b4, none of the idling probs,no stalling ,no over revving,no charging probs,no battery probs,no electric gremlins/no oil leaks,no paint work probs. hasn’t put me off at all I’m in it for the long haul
My suggestion now is that I think it would be a valuable add on for Norton & the customer to have a service/ warranty package ,which inc a yearly service & breakdown down-cover,and to have any other breakdowns covered with parts & labour with an excess of course.
This would ensure that secondhand bikes are kept in the dealer network,have updates /mods done when in for a service,help future values, improve reliability,reputation,customer satisfaction & be an envy of other motorcycle manufacturers, a lot of 961,s appear on second hand market where they’ve only ever had the first service & have 1000 miles on,little used & mothballed one summer to the next, & a lot of these haven’t had updates/mods done .
I would of been happy to pay £50 a month this last 3.5 years for peace of min ,that would of been £2100 in the pot,claimed 3 services & maybe its MOT,service at say £250 X3 =£750 + £35 (£785) for MOT = £2100 -£785 =

£1315 in the wood for aftercare warranty

I know the FCA ( financial conduct authority ) would be involved if it’s insurance based ,but if not it could be a stand alone product like an accessory

Just saying !

And also saying I’m pleased with my factory dealings/treatment & grateful for the attention my bike & I received

Good ending I would say. Having Norton so close is a definite bonus for you guys !

That spring looks to have unusual wear marks, as though it has been rubbing against something equally as hard.

From the cush drive spring cradle plates that hold them in the back of the clutch basket .

Thanks, Richard. I really was curious as to the slapping around sounds. My bike had the same symptoms, only at about 1K miles. From 5th gear, jumped down to 4th always at 4600 rpm. Then the false neutral. Norton insisted it was a detent spring. So I waited a few months for that to arrive. Dealer installed, I got on the highway, 4600 rpm, the same. So then came the 7 month wait for the new tranny. You know the rest. Alls well that ends well. My bike ran flawlessly yesterday. Glad your sorted. Pays to have a spare bike lying around. Like Tony said, great that you live close by. I'd be living next door to Donnington.

I wonder if Norton still source the alternator and clutch assemblies from Suzuki?
Their quality control is excellent, and you would not see something like this.
I have never seen such wear marks on clutch hub shock springs before.

If the spring was bouncing around in the primary, it may have bent the shift rod or the detent mechanism, or pins on the shifter drum.
Any one of these would account for false neutrals.

The chunks of metal missing from the primary and balancer gears is nasty.

1000 miles since the surgery & all running like a well oiled machine

You've just clicked off another 1000 miles hey ? Awesome ! I am champing at the bit for my ride starting Thursday .

TonyA said:

You've just clicked off another 1000 miles hey ? Awesome ! I am champing at the bit for my ride starting Thursday .

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Yes Tony,bike was faultless last week apart from my self imposed flat battery & another rear light/brake bulb( 3rd one ),it’s absolutely covered in dirt/road spray from last weeks weather atm,detailing deep clean req

BLIGHTYBRIT/SF said:

Yes Tony,bike was faultless last week apart from my self imposed flat battery & another rear light/brake bulb( 3rd one ),it’s absolutely covered in dirt/road spray from last weeks weather atm,detailing deep clean req

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Have you tried an 1157 LED bulb ? This may not fatigue due to the vibration ? I am running one now , It's worth a try I suppose , or go to a extra rough service type 1157 harder to find though .

BLIGHTYBRIT/SF said:

Yes Tony,bike was faultless last week apart from my self imposed flat battery & another rear light/brake bulb( 3rd one ),it’s absolutely covered in dirt/road spray from last weeks weather atm,detailing deep clean req

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I changed mine at about 1000 miles. Been good for the last 10,000.