Cam Gear broken - need ideas ...

Franz · Nov 23, 2005

Hi Folks,

I need some ideas or advice what to do: As I mentioned in another post, my 1997 FE501E quit all of a sudden while riding in the woods. The diagnosis: the cam gear broke apart and punched a hole in the head towards the water pump. Besides this, there is some metal scraped off from that area, but nothing structural seems to be affected.
My question now: what should I do? The whole motor was rebuilt less than a year ago, and this part was replaced. Total riding time not more than 25 hours! Should I shed the hundreds to buy a new head and all the other goodies that are shot, should I try to get it fixed (welding, etc.)? Since the only pressure there comes from the water, even JB Weld might work ...
OR: forget about everything, and part it out? I loved riding this bike, but my confidence level is somewhat off since the motor did not last at all.

I am trying to add pictures. Any advice is really appreciated.

Thanks, Franz

berger · Nov 23, 2005

I think I would take it to a machine shop that specializes in aluminum cylinder head repair. Have them look at it and give you an estimate.

sandskipper · Nov 24, 2005

Franz-

Another idea would to check the "Dealers" section of this fine website and jot down a few numbers and call around checking to see if anyone has a head laying around they are willing to part with for $$$. I remember not to long ago that one of the site members mentioned that a dealer he knew of had a shed full of parted out old bikes. I don't recall the thread it was posted in or the member that mentioned it but that is a idea. While you are at it, maybe inquire about the cost of the parts you need as well. Sometimes ebay has parts on it but the chances of you getting the items you need is probably small as it is hit-and-miss at best. Just a few thoughts I thought I would put out there...

Regards,

Taffy · Nov 24, 2005

get on the european ebay. there are always heads and stuff on there!

WE ARE RUNNING AT 150 items on line at anytime!

secondly, that won't weld BUT if i had some devcon i would use it. get a rotary file and machine it down a little which also gives the devcon a good grip.

if you can find a UHE member on this site who will send you a dollop + hardener in the post you'll do fine. send them $10 bucks in return.

the reason i say this is because NOBODY uses the whole tub without it going "off" eventually. just paste it in and stick the rotary file over it afterwards to clean it up a bit.

viola!!!!

new camwheel and camchain-off you go!

and stop being so down!!!!

regards

Taffy

logjump · Nov 24, 2005

After viewing the picture of the broken cam gear, it's obvious that it failed where the material was very thin due to large holes having been machined. The only Berg cam gears I've seen, have been solid material without the large holes.

My questions would be,
1. Did the cam gear come with the large holes from the factory?
2. Can you get a cam gear without the machined holes?
3. What is the purpose of the holes in the first place? (weight reduction or balancing)?

Sorry this happened. I would try to repair rather than part out.

Good luck,
Log

dsducati · Nov 24, 2005

The fellow with the machine shed full of parted Husabergs is Peter Hardsteen at HMS motorsports. 505-870-4807
dan

Taffy · Nov 24, 2005

logjump said:
After viewing the picture of the broken cam gear, it's obvious that it failed where the material was very thin due to large holes having been machined. The only Berg cam gears I've seen, have been solid material without the large holes

that isn't true logjump. mine is like that and i've seen piccies of others that are as well.

regards

Taffy

doctorcorey · Nov 24, 2005

You didn't specify which, if any, other parts were damaged. Was the camchain broken or have any damage? It looks to me like the gear cracked from being flexed. Were the cam gear bolts tight? Looseness here could cause this failure. If the camchain was damaged, you should carefully examine the crank (cam chain drive gear) for damage, as well,or just replace it. I agree with others here that you could probably repair the head if you can get it clean enough for epoxy or weld it if price permits. Both of my engines have alloy solid gears. I'm almost sure that this was caused by something mis-installed so I wouldn't use this incident to judge the Husaberg for reliability. Good Luck. :idea: :idea: One more thing, If you should use this type af gear again, use a dremel tool and lightly chamfer any sharp edges on the inside of the lightening holes. This can help prevent stresses that lead to the development of cracks. :idea:

Taffy · Nov 24, 2005

doctor

i think we ought to diagnose a new camchain don't you? given the death throes and the final moments of the camwheels life wouldn't the doc consider the camchain to be just a teeny weeny bit DEAD?

crank gear will be ok-tough as old boots!

regards

Taffy

Franz · Nov 24, 2005

First, thank you for all your input so far. It makes me feel a lot better that there seem to be various ways to fix this thing again ... javascript:emoticon('

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Very Happy

The cam gear came this way, it was put in about a year ago, but I had only about 20 hours put on the motor since it was fixed. I did not touch anything on the bike aside from oil changes and a valve adjustment. No need to!

Other damage: I don't know yet. The timing chain is toast, the cylinder and the piston seem to be ok, and the valves seem to be ok, too. I have not reached the bottom end although ...

By now I think to fix (better: to have fixed) the motor again, but the whole project is going to be delayed a little bit. I am a graduate student, so the new 450 is not really an option, although Dan is a really nice guy and I am sure we could come to an agreement ... and Vacaville is only 20 min from UC Davis ... Anyway, I have a big exam coming up, and I plan to start working on the rebuild sometimes early next year. To have Dan's shop do it is sure an option, but there are other ones out there, too (no offense, Dan!!!). We shall see!

Franz

Taffy · Nov 24, 2005

Franz

i'm sorry mate but call me thick! where is the expense in this? you pulled it all undone so we can presume you're going to try and put it all together.

so where is the expense?

get on with it and stop being a tart!

regards

Taffy

doctorcorey · Nov 24, 2005

Well, Taffy, of course I would replace the cam chain, gear, bolts, tensioner, and maybe even fix that hole in his head. My inquiry as to the condition of these ancillary components was simply an attempt to more accurately ascertain the root cause of the failure. It is my nature. 8) P.S. If you don't own a good torque wrench, buy one.

Franz · Nov 25, 2005

Taffy said:
Franz

i'm sorry mate but call me thick! where is the expense in this? you pulled it all undone so we can presume you're going to try and put it all together.

so where is the expense?

get on with it and stop being a tart!

regards

Taffy

No offence taken! It is not about the expenses involved - these I tried to relate to me being not able to get a new one, it is about the time that I am able to spend on other stuff than school right now. Therefore the delay. I plan to get it done early net year, and put a sound file here. Too bad I don't have one, especially since it sports a nice Big Gun!

Franz

Franz · Feb 15, 2006

Re: Cam Gear broken no more ...

Finally, I took a couple of hours off, put the fixed motor back in and hit the magic button: the bike is back alive!!!

Peter Hardsteen had to take a dive into his shed with spares: a used head, a used cam ( mine was bent!) and a used counter balancer. New cam bearings, and a new rod bearing, and some smaller stuff came from him, a couple of greens from me ...

What most likely had happened: one of the bolts holding the cam gear in place came loose, and started to grind off material from the head and the valve cover area. When it finally broke, it snapped timing chain and somehow broke the cam gear, with consequent massive damage to the head ... and lots of aluminum everywhere else in the motor.

When I had it fixed for the first time, I was really optimistic that it would last. Timewise, it was ok, but the riding hours sucked. This time, I sure hope for better durability.

Thanks for all your input when I was really pessimistic about this: right now, I am all smiles and I sure do hope that the weekend will provide some riding weather.

Franz

doctorcorey · Feb 16, 2006

Good to hear, duder. Remember the torque wrench and proper locktite. Another Husaberg at large! :twisted:

PowerFiend · Feb 16, 2006

Taffy said:
logjump said:

After viewing the picture of the broken cam gear, it's obvious that it failed where the material was very thin due to large holes having been machined. The only Berg cam gears I've seen, have been solid material without the large holes

Click to expand...

that isn't true logjump. mine is like that and i've seen piccies of others that are as well.

regards

Taffy

The old aluminum cam gears were solid, the newer 2003 up steel cam gears are machined thinner inside the diameter of the teeth and have the balance/lightening holes.

dsducati · Feb 16, 2006

Glad to hear Peter was able to help.
dan

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Franz

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