Drive line slop

[Kawi_Nut]

I have what I think is an excessive amount of slop in my drive line. About a quarter rotation of the clutch output (driven side) drum. This much isn't normal is it?!? Thinking rear wheel hub damper? I would post a video but haven't figured out how to on here yet.

[doug of so fla]

A good place to start is;

On the bottom of the hub there is a open slot,
Move wheel as far one way as you can, mark on stationary part, then move wheel as far the other way as it goes and mark where it stops, measure that distance.
Easy to figure out what you are doing when you are doing it. I am just guessing from my memory (CRS) but I think it was something like a 1" to 1-1/4" doesn't matter just compare same measurement with other XII members and go from there. Just make sure y'all measure the same way.
Play is always there but not in excess unless something is radically wrong, and that usually shows up with vibrations or noise.
I measured mine when new and at over 100,00mi + it was still the same on 3 of my XII's. Hope this helps..

[Kawi_Nut]

Thanks Doug. But what I did was pull the final drive oil fill and look at and touch the ring gear as I moved the clutch hub driven basket. The play is not in the rear wheel damper. It is some place else as the ring gear does not move when the basket is turned. Someplace further up the drive line. The bike runs and drives fine but I don't have another Voyager to compare with. My Concourse does not have much play at all compared to the Voyager. Just that this slop seems excessive to me. But I can't imagine bevel gears or trans gears having that much back lash without making some strange noises when riding.

Link to video https://youtu.be/4y-aqX6PdLU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[doug of so fla]

Looking at your video, I would say the best thing you could do is e-mail it to Carl Leo, He has been in there more than anyone and could give you some good information. voyagerparts@bellsouth.net, He may see it here but I would contact him.

[Kawi_Nut]

Thanks again Doug. I just fired off an e mail to him.

[Irish59]

I have the same problem with my voyager..I have a lot of excess slop in my drive line and have eliminated every thing from the rear pinion up to the front pinion..At this point in my diagnosis i am suspecting two components on the transmission pinion shaft in the transmission..I havent pulled it down yet because i need to contact someone with more knowledge of these transmissions..the two components that i suspect are a Cam Damper and Receiver..will let everyone know when i find the problem..Irish59

[Kawi_Nut]

Irish, Did you ever get this sorted out? I have not messed with it any more. The bike runs fine it's just annoying at this point having all that slop. I'm thinking it's a damper in the clutch somewhere. I'm not familiar with exactly where but looking at part diagrams there isn't much left that would give that much slop.

[Irish59]

No,I haven't got around to doing anything with it yet..I'm planning on getting into it in early December when i have a lot of time off from work..In my research of the problem i think it is one of two choices..the first is the Bevel Gear assembly which has a Cam Damper and receiver which tie into each other and the other would be the starter chain which links the transmission to the crankshaft and it might be stretched too much..The bevel gear assembly can be removed without taking the transmission apart, not so for the starter chain..when i get into it and find something worn or bad i will post it here...cheers..Irish59..

[cushman eagle]

Irish,I think if you look at a breakdown of the Voyager crankshaft and transmission,you will find the starter chain does not drive the transmission,a straight cut gear machined on the crank has that responsibility by mating to a gear on the clutch.

[ekap1200]

I just have to ask, Why did you take it apart ? What was it doing when ridding it ? Was it making noise, vibrating, clutch slipping. There is always going to be backlash in the many moving parts and gears. The slots in the gears that the sliding clutch gear dogs go into are quite a bit larger than the dogs than go into them. Along with the back lash of the remaining gears and about .011 " backlash on the front pinion set you may be fine... Give us some more clues to what you were having issues with. Was it hard to shift, or jumping out of gear or clunking when you shift.
How many miles in the clock, what was the condition of the bike when you bought it ? What did you find in the oil when you drained it. If you suspected trans issues the oil should have been drained thru a painters filter to see any metal or chips or broken parts. Most of us here can run these engines for over 100,000 and never even worry about the engine.
Let us know what was the initial problem that led to taking it apart and we all can sort this out.
Gene Kap.

[Irish59]

Hi guys,i haven't taken the transmission apart yet, i am still evaluating the problem..I ride the bike to work every day and run errands on it..The only part of the drive line system i have checked out is the rear pinion ,driveshaft and front bevel gear..they are all ok..
The transmission has excessive whine and in my opinion especially when it is under load..The noise from the transmission deafening and i use a full face helmet..?
The transmission is clunky and sometimes pops out of first gear when moving off from a standstill..?
On deceleration when the load is taken off the transmission the bike starts to buck and jerk and it does it in all gears except 1st..?
The bike has only 15000 miles on it according to the odometer...!!!!the engine runs very smooth..it does not use any oil..
Kawasaki does not have any service records on the bike period...like it never seen the inside of a dealership for any service..
There is no one else that i know of in this area that has one that i can compare it too..It looks like it might have been in an accident because some of the screw hole's in the front fairing don't line up with the frame..
Isn't there some kind of deceleration valve on these bikes?..I came across some mention of a valve somewhere..I find it hard to believe the Japs would put a bike on the market with a transmission as noisey and clunky as this one...Irish59..

[ekap1200]

Well more info, Now in your state of sunny Fla. there is a man who is the best mechanic a 1200 can know
He is down in Ormond beach, get hold of him , go down there buy him lunch and let him take your bike for a run.
Then its real simple, DO WHAT HE SAYS TO DO...
Carl Leo is his name and Voyagers is his game.

[Kawi_Nut]

I have not taken it apart farther than what is shown in the video above. I can rule out the drive shaft and everything from the rear wheel to the left of the engine. When I look into the engine oil fill and move the rear wheel everything is fine there, no play. So all the slop has to be between the clutch hub and the gears in the trans? I have not removed the nut that holds the clutch hub on and dug into that but is there anything there that would give that much play? Does anyone have a clutch job that they are doing and can shoot a video of how much play they have with all the clutch plates out and turning the clutch hub?
Here is the link to the video so you don't have to scroll back up looking for it.

Link to video https://youtu.be/4y-aqX6PdLU
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y-aqX6 ... e=youtu.be[/youtube]

I have been wanting to ride over to see Carl as I am on the other side of the state in the Tampa Clearwater area. I hope to do that in the next month or so now that is so nice out to ride!

[Irish59]

Hi KAWI-NUT, watched your video,mine is just as bad as yours if not worse...I have been told that the transmission is gear driven off the crank so that eliminates one of my ideas as being the problem....hopefully in December i will be able to pull down the bevel gear assembly and see if the problem is in there...Irish59..

[Kawi_Nut]

Thanks for the reply Irish. Yours has more issues than mine does. Mine never pops out of gear. It has a little whine at higher speeds but I understand this is normal with the straight cut gears and it being "clunky". Shifts to have to be deliberate and done with "authority". The bike runs and rides great except for the slop and yes it does lurch and kind of buck at lower speed because of the slop. I'm curious to know how many others have this much slop in their drive line or if this is a common thing with these bikes and is considered "normal".

[vxiirider]

They will tend to lurch and buck at low speeds if you are running below 3000 RPM's. These Voyagers seem to run and shift their smoothest at or near the 3000 RPM mark.

[Irish59]

Drive line slop problem solved......with all the input i received from fellow voyagers and my experience with the problem i set out on a course of action...A few times in the morning's when i started up the bike it would take up to 15 seconds for the timing chain to stop making noise so i figured the tensioner was going bad. I found a manual one on ebay and installed it..I took the bike out for a ride around the block and found that had eliminated the drive line slop as well!!!!!!!!!..Boy was i happy ....Now the bike shifts up and down with no slop in the drive train even when i am in 4th gear doing 20 miles per hour...It is like night and day in the way the bike shifts and runs now..One thing i did find out, the tensioner in my model is not hydraulic,it is manual and i did not find that out until after i replaced it..It has a 10mm bolt on the head of it and when you take it out you have an adjustment screw inside which you can adjust with a 2mm flat blade screwdriver...that will save you $50.00 there..The kawasaki one is around $80.00..Hope this helps other voyagers out there with the same problem....Good luck all....Irish59

[misft]

Oh WOW! Now that's a rather interesting tidbit of information.

[Irish59]

when you consider how the transmission and engine are mated together it makes a lot of sense..if you have excess slop in the timing chain its going to affect your transmission on acceleration and deceleration..i rode it to work today and its more a pleasure to ride now....Irish59.

[Kawi_Nut]

Very interesting! Happy New Year and thanks for the update! Mine does make a bit of what I think is timing chain noise. I'll definitely look into this. Did the tensioner also take away the physical slop in the driveline?