[jbdrury]

Hi everybody!

Does anyone have any recommendations on where I can order a new sprag clutch assembly, and how much I should be paying? I'm riding a '06 Electra X. Thanks!

[Anon]

Are you in the USA?  If you have a dealer nearby, they can get it for you.  If you don't have a dealer close by, then just call CMW (the guys that run the forum).  You can just order it (or anything else) over the phone.

Eamon

[clamp]

Has"nt anyone chased up an alternative sprag,--one that not made is India.    Im sure RE does not make its own sprags. There must be some numbers on it. Take it to the FAG --Timken ball bearing shop and talk to someone about it.

       I got an Indian made spark plug in it , I sure ah hell aint chasing one made in India.

    Tyres -bulbs -spags , bearings , cables  electrics etc etc doesnt have to come from the RE shop.

[Joe28]

CMW had mine to me in a few days, was like $400 plus, but was a good deal.
Careful that you don't need shafts, bushings that they ride on, (if they are worn, it'll "cock" the sprag and bad things will happen.
General consensus is that a LOW idle causes the motor to stall and crunch, (the ignition box also picks up electrical signals that screw up the timing).
What caused your to go south??
Good luck!
Joe
Give me some tools! This is running perfect, I'll see if I can get it better!
Damm, it won't start now??!! What was I thinking?

[The Garbone]

CMW had mine to me in a few days, was like $400 plus, but was a good deal.
Careful that you don't need shafts, bushings that they ride on, (if they are worn, it'll "cock" the sprag and bad things will happen.

   $400.00      For something that could go south in a week...  Yikes..

Clamps Idea has merit except the fact that I think its an overall design issue not just poor sprag quality,  but it might help on price...   I chose the 3rd option of getting a KS only inner and not having to worry about it again...

[Kevin Mahoney]

I've mentioned this before on the forum, but if you have a Lean-Burn engine take advantage of our offer of a new TCI unit (ignition) for free. Either go through your dealer or call us with your VIN number and we'll send you one. You can tell if you have one because they are green instead of the factory original which is black. They are electrically shielded better and help prevent the starter motors electrical interference from causing a spark at the wrong time. It can help preserve your sprag clutch. If you have sprag problems the factory recommends one of these, but we are giving them to any Lean burn owner "just in case".

[Joe28]

True so, true!
Mine went south like 3 weeks after I got my ride. (I had it idling cold one morning, it was turning s-l-o-w-l-y ,then it stalled and the crank rocked backwards, CRUNCH! ).
I called CMW, they shipped the sprag, then shipped me the ignition box.
I installed the sprag and box, turned up the idle a bit, richen the carb, and so far, (knock on wood) nice-nice!
Joe
I dunno why my bikes whimper when I go to my tool box?

[clamp]

400 dollars yikes  @#$%^hell

     Hey I only gave 2000 dollar for the bike,-- new.

    Mine spits back just about every time I start it is coughs and whizzes back the motor.

       I hope it goes soon --you whatch ille get one for 4 dollar not 400.

     In India workshops in Chennai there is a list of labour charges on the wall,  it was a  good read ille tell yer.  One stayed in my head - Full  Engine overhaul,---2000 ruppes

      Er about 30 rupees to a dollar.
       

[scoTTy]

knocking on my wooden leg ..   all the updates our hosts have sent me is working..  perfectly.. push a button..  .. a second or so later .. vRooM// 

course I have always set a high idle on all my engines...  especially those with a rope starter

[jbdrury]

Thanks for all the responses, I love how much support there is on this site. Ok, so I'm getting the quote on the new sprag clutch, but I guess I'm just looking for some clarification.

To be honest I am yet to confirm that it actually needs to be replaced; the bike has sat for awhile and there could be any number of other issues that are keeping her from starting at the moment. However, descriptions of what happens to the electric start matched symptoms on my bike earlier last summer. My electric start made that grinding noise a few times, and then just began to sound like it was spinning freely. In response, I just learned to kickstart, which worked fine for the rest of the season before I put her away for the winter.

Now then, could I simply, instead of replacing the sprag clutch with a new one, just remove the entire assembly and only kickstart her? Or is my potentially-ruined sprag clutch going to keep her from even kickstarting until the entire assembly is replaced? Forgive my ignorance on how a sprag clutch works...

[ace.cafe]

Thanks for all the responses, I love how much support there is on this site. Ok, so I'm getting the quote on the new sprag clutch, but I guess I'm just looking for some clarification.

To be honest I am yet to confirm that it actually needs to be replaced; the bike has sat for awhile and there could be any number of other issues that are keeping her from starting at the moment. However, descriptions of what happens to the electric start matched symptoms on my bike earlier last summer. My electric start made that grinding noise a few times, and then just began to sound like it was spinning freely. In response, I just learned to kickstart, which worked fine for the rest of the season before I put her away for the winter.

Now then, could I simply, instead of replacing the sprag clutch with a new one, just remove the entire assembly and only kickstart her? Or is my potentially-ruined sprag clutch going to keep her from even kickstarting until the entire assembly is replaced? Forgive my ignorance on how a sprag clutch works...

Yes, if you remove all the parts from inside the "hump" on the primary case, then you can ride the bike that way, with just kickstarting.
You can even put the starter motor back on, and bolted in place if you want to keep the hole sealed-up, so you don't have to make a block-off cover plate. Just remove that gear assembly that's  inside the "hump".
If you have anything busted in there, be sure to clean out the primary well too.

[skippy]

I'm glad that questions been answered in regard to binning the sprag cluch assembly, I am currently on my dealers back to get my clutch fixed under warranty as mine only lasted 7 weeks from new and I would also like to remove the entire unit the next time it goes. I've read the new EFI models don't come with a kickstart does this mean the problem has been dealt with or are a lot of these owners going to be left doing the old Le mans start on their shiney new steeds.

[PhilJ]

It means the starter was designed into the engine and added on like the other REs and should never give any more trouble than any other motorcycle or car.

[Motor]

Thanks for all the responses, I love how much support there is on this site. Ok, so I'm getting the quote on the new sprag clutch, but I guess I'm just looking for some clarification.

To be honest I am yet to confirm that it actually needs to be replaced; the bike has sat for awhile and there could be any number of other issues that are keeping her from starting at the moment. However, descriptions of what happens to the electric start matched symptoms on my bike earlier last summer. My electric start made that grinding noise a few times, and then just began to sound like it was spinning freely. In response, I just learned to kickstart, which worked fine for the rest of the season before I put her away for the winter.

Now then, could I simply, instead of replacing the sprag clutch with a new one, just remove the entire assembly and only kickstart her? Or is my potentially-ruined sprag clutch going to keep her from even kickstarting until the entire assembly is replaced? Forgive my ignorance on how a sprag clutch works...

Yes, if you remove all the parts from inside the "hump" on the primary case, then you can ride the bike that way, with just kickstarting.
You can even put the starter motor back on, and bolted in place if you want to keep the hole sealed-up, so you don't have to make a block-off cover plate. Just remove that gear assembly that's  inside the "hump".
If you have anything busted in there, be sure to clean out the primary well too.

If the gears and clutch were not removed, but the starter was, with a suitable block-off, would this be bad?  Seems to me that they would just be going along for the ride with nothing to cause the sprag to break due to a kick-back.  Am I missing something? 

Motor

[ace.cafe]

Thanks for all the responses, I love how much support there is on this site. Ok, so I'm getting the quote on the new sprag clutch, but I guess I'm just looking for some clarification.

To be honest I am yet to confirm that it actually needs to be replaced; the bike has sat for awhile and there could be any number of other issues that are keeping her from starting at the moment. However, descriptions of what happens to the electric start matched symptoms on my bike earlier last summer. My electric start made that grinding noise a few times, and then just began to sound like it was spinning freely. In response, I just learned to kickstart, which worked fine for the rest of the season before I put her away for the winter.

Now then, could I simply, instead of replacing the sprag clutch with a new one, just remove the entire assembly and only kickstart her? Or is my potentially-ruined sprag clutch going to keep her from even kickstarting until the entire assembly is replaced? Forgive my ignorance on how a sprag clutch works...

Yes, if you remove all the parts from inside the "hump" on the primary case, then you can ride the bike that way, with just kickstarting.
You can even put the starter motor back on, and bolted in place if you want to keep the hole sealed-up, so you don't have to make a block-off cover plate. Just remove that gear assembly that's  inside the "hump".
If you have anything busted in there, be sure to clean out the primary well too.

If the gears and clutch were not removed, but the starter was, with a suitable block-off, would this be bad?  Seems to me that they would just be going along for the ride with nothing to cause the sprag to break due to a kick-back.  Am I missing something? 

Motor

The starter motor is not at issue with this problem. It's the actual gears in the sprag system which are the parts that break. The presence or absence of a starter motor in this system is immaterial to whether the sprags break.
That's because the sprag clutch is a one-way operating device. When the bike kicks back, or stalls and kicks back during the stall, it tries to drive the sprag in a direction that it won't go, and it breaks off the teeth and binds the gears.
That's why you have to get those gears out of there, if you want to eliminate the possibility.
These sprags have sometimes broken when using the kick-starter, and also when the bike stalls from a low idle, and the starter motor isn't even being used in those cases. In any case the starter motor would be happy to do a couple rotations in reverse, without causing any problem.
It's the sprag that  won't go backwards, and it's constantly engaged with the primary gears.