Kick Idler Gear Failure

[Jason S.]

Ridding back into Hancock to finish day one of the dual sport my engine seized. After doing some road side trouble shooting I was able to narrow it down to the transmission. After draining the oil I pulled the clutch out to have a look and found that the kick idler gear is seized (welded) solid to the main shaft. The bike is a 2008 EC 300 with over 100 hours on it and never had any issues. Has anyone had a similar experience? Any thoughts on what caused the failure?

Jason

[gasgasman]

Possibly low oil level. Since the kick start driven gear is at the highestpoint in the transmission.

[GMP]

Gear on the kick shaft, or the intermediate idler gear? I know the idler has a bronze bushing, not sure about the other gear. Only starter related mfg fault I know for sure was a too soft kickstarter spring in '07 that did not put enough force on the ratchet, causing the teeth to round off an slip.

Why would a bearing surface with 100 hrs on it decide to seize now?

[Jason S.]

gasgasman,
That was my first thought also. I checked the oil level before draining and it was correct.

GMP,
It's the intermediate idler gear that rides on the transmission main shaft.

I believe I've found the cause of the failure. One of the wedges in my Rekluse core exp clutch broke. I can account for most of the broken tab but not all of it.