I was doing donuts on solid ice today and heard a quick pop. Immediately I noticed a vibration from the drivetrain . The bike kept running and still had power. I rode it to the trailer and took it home. Once in the garage I noticed fluid leaking from the front main driveshaft, where the shaft exits the transmission (front of the snorkel). I jacked the bike up and started it. The front driveshaft is bent badly, binding, or the u-joint(s) are bad. It appears that the shaft coming out of the snorkel may have moved out a bit and I am not sure if that is binding the front axle. I may have broken a pinion locknut or something else.

Any ideas where to start would be great!!

 

doing the donuts in 2wd or awd. if in 2wd the hubs could have engaged from the centrifugle force of the axles and engaged - HARD. if so it can cause prop shaft to bend. take a look under the bottom of your case. there may be a flat plate below the snorkle. drain the case and removed plate, there will still be some fluid in cover, so be prepared. you can check for damage to pinions. hope this is of help.

 

Thanks for the reply. I was doing them in 2wd and was at near full throttle. Does it mean anything that I can not move the shaft front or back with a prybar. There seems to be no slack and the shaft seems to have moved out of the snorkel forward by about 1/4 inch.

Steve

 

when you say cant move front or back, do you mean the prop shaft itself won't slide back and forth?

 

I have tried to push it back and forth with a small prybar with no luck. I was wondering if the shaft moving out of the snorkel could be binding it. It is only about 1/4 inch out and I do not know how much it is suppose to move. Also how hard is that snorkel seal to replace because it will have to be replaced?? I am going to pull the plate off in the morning to look at the gears.

Thanks