Chopper goes BANG, CLANK, DRIP

[ajo771]

Got the Chopper out of storage today. Cloudy AM ride home from dealer, 75 miles.

Sun comes out, take off for a little spin. Stop for a Gatorade and go to start the Dog, and BANG. Get a crank or 2 out of the starter. Sounded like I lost a tooth on the starter gear. Try to crank it over, just free spins. Bump start it and drive 100-200 feet and hear a "clank". metal dropping inside. Call the dealer they tell me they cant pick it up until tomorrow and ask if I can limp it home. Tell them OK it's only about a mile. Get home and oil dripping out of the bottom of the tranny.

Also, earlier in day the bike slipped out of 5th gear 3 times over 75 miles. Dealer thought they had the problem fixed, as BD had a fix for the same problem.

Dealer says problems will be taken care of under warranty, including pickup.

Thank You Rochester Thunder.

 

[BBChopper]

That sucks!:down:

 

[Bigdog_Outlaw]

Man....that don't sound good. At least it's under warranty.

 

[ajo771]

I'm hoping for a quick turn around. Forecast says about 5 days of rain, starting tomorrow. So, it looks like they have a week.

 

[scubaman15]

Man that don't sound good ...I have a 07 chop as well??:down:

 

[erldawg]

Sorry to hear about the problems AJ hopefully RT will get squared away. Yea this weekend is not looking to good so far..

 

[ajo771]

Rochester Thunder sent out their mechanic, Scott, today. He had to take the Chopper back to the dealership. Hopefully tomorrow they'll have a idea on how long it will be in for repairs .

 

[Gas Man]

let us know... that sucks...sorry to hear about it..

 

[ajo771]

OK, talked with dealer this AM.. Starter shaft broke right off. Mechanic said he never seen this before. In explaining it to BD they said we must be misunderstanding him because they were understanding that the shaft broke in half and they never heard of that. BD expedited parts to dealer.

Mechanic said BD had a service bulletin out on the starter leak (replace starter). Also mechanic said a shim looked bad and they were doing a complete tear down to identify what caused the failure.

I expressed my concern that I've had a lot of problems with this bike, several which no one has ever seen or could explain to me. Dealer reassured me that I was a good customer and that they and BD intend to stand behind me on this. Said everything is being documented and if problems continue beyond warranty that they would consider it a warranty issue as it was pre-existing claim.

I am so happy to have a stand up dealer. Rochester Thunder is good people.

That being said, if I keep missing rides because the bike is down I'm going to go freakin nuts. I want to RIDE. (crying now).

 

[Chopper Dave]

yeah Ajo....sucks with down time....but thats good that you are being taken care of:up:

 

[dogvet]

OK, talked with dealer this AM.. Starter shaft broke right off. Mechanic said he never seen this before. In explaining it to BD they said we must be misunderstanding him because they were understanding that the shaft broke in half and they never heard of that. BD expedited parts to dealer.

Can you get pictures of the broken shaft? where did it break?

 

[ajo771]

Can you get pictures of the broken shaft? where did it break?

The bike is 75 miles away at dealer. I'll take camera out there tomorrow and see what I can get pics of.

 

[Raywood]

Did it break like this? This happened to mine a while back.

 

[ajo771]

I don't know. Mine looked normal on the bike, and I haven't seen it off the bike yet. I hope to get pics tomorrow.

 

[Gas Man]

Yeah that is nuts... keep us posted.

 

[dogvet]

Did it break like this? This happened to mine a while back.

Damn, usually when a starter grenades, the idler gear is broken. That is usually the result of engine kickback. I see in your pics that the idler gear appears to be intact. Any explanation as to the cause of that particular failure?

 

[lee]

hey Vet - can you offer some explanations on these terms for me? which is the idler gear, what does it do, and what is engine kickback? Thanks Vet

 

[Raywood]

Damn, usually when a starter grenades, the idler gear is broken. That is usually the result of engine kickback. I see in your pics that the idler gear appears to be intact. Any explanation as to the cause of that particular failure?

This was last year and Knotso took me on this road along a lake that was full of BIG pot holes. Hard to believe but think one might have broke the starter! I was experiencing a few kickbacks though.

BDM covered even though the bike is well out of warranty. :flag:

 

[Cephus]

Sorry to hear about the bike. At least BD is standing behind their product and it going to take care of you. :2thumbs: :2thumbs: 67 today, I'll take my dog for a walk just to rub it in :lol: :lol:

 

[dogvet]

This was last year and Knotso took me on this road along a lake that was full of BIG pot holes. Hard to believe but think one might have broke the starter! I was experiencing a few kickbacks though.

BDM covered even though the bike is well out of warranty. :flag:

I've heard of BDM to do the right thing whether the bike is under warranty or not!

Typically, a kickback event that breaks the starter is immediate. Your starter pics didn't look like a kickback related failure to me. Impressive failure though!!!