Well, Guys, I really did it to my 2005 ES Bullet Deluxe. Here's an email and pictures I sent to Kevin, along with his reply:
Kevin,
I have been upgrading and tuning my 2005 Bullet Deluxe for a week now and you and the forum have helped me a lot.
Unfortunately, I think I got the ignition a little too advanced because she backfired pretty hard, started, and made this horrible grinding, clanking noise. I shut her down immediately but not before some serious damage was done. Enclosed are three pictures. The alternator is history, I guess, so I'll be ordering a new one. As you can see, the rotor is badly gouged out and the stator has pieces of gear teeth ground up against the magnets.
In the third picture, the starter motor gear, you can see several teeth broken off, which did all the damage. Fortunately, they only trashed the alternator and not the primary chain or any related gearing or the clutch mechanism.
I can replace the alternator and kick start the bike, I think, but I don't know how to access the starter motor gear. Do I have to remove the entire primary chain gearing and clutch? If so, what special tools do I need? I'm over 90 miles from a dealer and nobody around here is willing to work on a vintage-style Brit bike so I have to do the work myself, if I can. Although I love learning about my RE, this is probably a little more than I wanted to know... :o) :o)
Any input, help, advice, assistance you guys can offer will really be appreciated. I'm really sick about what I did to my bike and want it on the road again as soon as I can get it running right. I would put this on the forum but feel a little ashamed about it.
Thanks, Kevin...
Tom
Kevin's reply:
Tom,
This is great forum material even though it is tough on you. The gear you
are looking at is a component of the sprag clutch. It is the 560017 part
called the Gear, clutch driven. It is part of the sprag clutch assembly
560042/A. The gear on the actual starter motor is most likely untouched. You
will need to remove the entire inner and outer primary cover, clutch and
alternator to get at these parts. You will have to evaluate what needs
fixing when you get it opened up. There is a set of needle bearings and an
idler gear that may also be damaged. To do the job correctly you will need a
set of brass feeler gauges to make sure you have adequate spacing between
the rotor and stator of the alternator, a puller for the clutch, a clutch
brake bar, a puller for the engine sprocket and a guide for the inner
pricamry chaincase seal. You can get by without some of these tools, but
they make the job a lot easier and quicker. I would also highly suggest that
you get a parts book and repair manual. The exploded views in the parts book
are worth their weight in gold.
Kevin
Update:
Fortunately, I have the parts manual and the service manual.
I've gotten the alternator off ( used a heavy duty oil filter wrench to hold the rotor; worked great!), the chain adjuster assembly off, and am waiting for my order with the special tools Kevin listed. Tried to use a gear puller on the engine sprocket but the claws were too short so had to order the engine sprocket puller. I'll keep the forum posted as I progress into this "hard lesson" . Moral of the story: Don't set your ignition too advanced or you'll trash your Sprague clutch when it backfires!!
Thanks go to Kevin and Tim for their continuing help.
Tom
[old attachment deleted by admin]