And the Hits Just Keep On Comin'!

[Doug D.]

Here we go again...

A few of you have followed along as I replaced my original 1641 with an 1835. Well, I finally got it dialed in, and I've been riding as much as I can, weather permitting.

So here I was Friday afternoon, trippin' down the highway after work, headed home to start what was supposed to be a great three day holiday weekend. I'm cruisin' along and about a mile from the house, I start to hear this rattling sound and the bike starts to pitch forward and back. I pull off the road and shut it down, fearing the worst thinking my new power plant just went south. I look around, and can't see anything obviously wrong, so I start her up again. The engine just purrs like a kitten (albeit a very large and angry kitten), pretty as any I've seen.

So I get back on and take off. 1st gear, no problem. 2nd gear, smooth as silk. 3rd gear has a bit of shimmy, and 4th gear grinds and clatters like it's full of gravel. Son-of-a-beatch, after all the crap with the new engine, the damn thing shells the transaxle! So I cram it back in 3rd and limp it home, and once again, the process to "refit" begins anew.

Of course, there's nobody around here close that'll even touch a VW tranny, but I found a guy in Springfield, MO who's been rebuilding bug boxes for a long time. He seems to have a pretty good rep, so I'm gonna roll the dice on a rebuilt unit. He says he has what he needs to get it done in a few days and can have it ready by next weekend. That'll give me enough time to get it back together, just in time for a weekend road trip the following week. He's building me a single plate with 388's out of a '74 Super Beetle. Should be stout enough for my app, and it might even improve mileage over the 412 that is on the bike now. I guess I'll find in a week or so.

Wish me luck, guys and gals. My patience with this contraption is wearing very thin, not to mention my wallet.

PEACE and ride safe!

[David357]

Sorry to hear the news Doug.

Hopefully it all comes together real soon.

Please keep us posted.

[DeathBySnuSnu]

The single side is a stronger box, mostly due to less case flex.

You will like the 3.88 gear.

But it does have a lower 4th (.93) to make near the same rpm at highway speed.

If you want your highway rpm lower get a .89 or .82 fourth put in. Of course you may already have that covered with the big tires.

[Doug D.]

Thanks, guys! As always, I appreciate the well wishes.

If you want your highway rpm lower get a .89 or .82 fourth put in. Of course you may already have that covered with the big tires.

I did ask about the .82 4th gear, and the builder explained the .82 gear would come out of a bus box and wouldn't work with the 388 late model set-up. He said he'd have get one from Weddle and it would be another $400, nearly doubling what it's gonna cost for the stock rebuild. Needless to say, I opted for the stock rebuild. Given my ****house luck, I guess we'll see what happens.

PEACE and ride safe!

[rhino 2]

Here we go again...

A few of you have followed along as I replaced my original 1641 with an 1835. Well, I finally got it dialed in, and I've been riding as much as I can, weather permitting.

So here I was Friday afternoon, trippin' down the highway after work, headed home to start what was supposed to be a great three day holiday weekend. I'm cruisin' along and about a mile from the house, I start to hear this rattling sound and the bike starts to pitch forward and back. I pull off the road and shut it down, fearing the worst thinking my new power plant just went south. I look around, and can't see anything obviously wrong, so I start her up again. The engine just purrs like a kitten (albeit a very large and angry kitten), pretty as any I've seen.

So I get back on and take off. 1st gear, no problem. 2nd gear, smooth as silk. 3rd gear has a bit of shimmy, and 4th gear grinds and clatters like it's full of gravel. Son-of-a-beatch, after all the crap with the new engine, the damn thing shells the transaxle! So I cram it back in 3rd and limp it home, and once again, the process to "refit" begins anew.

Of course, there's nobody around here close that'll even touch a VW tranny, but I found a guy in Springfield, MO who's been rebuilding bug boxes for a long time. He seems to have a pretty good rep, so I'm gonna roll the dice on a rebuilt unit. He says he has what he needs to get it done in a few days and can have it ready by next weekend. That'll give me enough time to get it back together, just in time for a weekend road trip the following week. He's building me a single plate with 388's out of a '74 Super Beetle. Should be stout enough for my app, and it might even improve mileage over the 412 that is on the bike now. I guess I'll find in a week or so.

Wish me luck, guys and gals. My patience with this contraption is wearing very thin, not to mention my wallet.



PEACE and ride safe!

Thats one of the reasons why i sold my Dune Buggy back in the early 70's..

Get it running , Then something else go's South...

[peteg59]

Sorry to hear of your "downtime", Doug.

As with anything mechanical, things will happen.

Look on the bright side, you have already done the engine. The trans is/was the next "weak" link in your trike.

With a rebuilt & hopefully stronger trans going in, you should have powertrain issues resolved for the here & now.

The only things that could break or wear now are fairly minor from a financial standpoint, so all you've got to do is ride it & enjoy it

[stinger608]

Damn Doug, that sucks bro!!!!!!

Hopefully the rebuilt will end your issues man.

[DeathBySnuSnu]

I think I still have a set of early (nut style) keyed shaft 3.88's and a .89 fourth laying around somewhere if you need them.

I am running splined 3.44's and .82 fourth from Rancho in mine.

[Doug D.]

I think I still have a set of early (nut style) keyed shaft 3.88's and a .89 fourth laying around somewhere if you need them. I am running splined 3.44's and .82 fourth from Rancho in mine.

I appreciate it Rex, but I picked up the rebuilt today. Should have read this sooner!

The builder opened up my core this afternoon, and man what a mess. He said the bearing under the nose cone blew up, letting the gear stacks flop around. He added 4th was the last one on the stack, so it caught the brunt of the damage. I'll try to add the pics...



Like I told him, good thing I was only about a mile from home when it let go.

I should be back on the road this weekend!

PEACE and ride safe!

[DeathBySnuSnu]

That was a fairly late model box that died there.

That is a spline shaft clip style.

[Doug D.]

That was a fairly late model box that died there. That is a spline shaft clip style.

In all honesty, I don't know a lot about 'em. This one was an "AH" single plate box. The builder I got the replacement from said he'd seen this happen before, but it's a rare occurrence. With the exception of an annoying nose cone seal leak, I got 5 years of trouble-free service out of it before it went hand grenade on me. Not bad, I thought, as I bought it pretty reasonable at the time. Too bad the rebuilt "AJ" wasn't as cheap!

PEACE and ride safe!