1966 scrambler gear selector question

[bw_nh]

Good morning again-

The 1966 scrambler starts and runs! I gave up on the AC ignition, and using a small battery (held onto the frame with duct-tape at the moment) and re-wiring one of my ignition coils (NOT the green-label coil), the bike starts on the first kick (or second) and idles and runs well. Huzzah!

I played a bit with the lighting as well. It seems that the headlamp bucket and light switch are not the originals- so THAT took some re-wiring as well, but all seems set now.

I did check alternating output of the three wires, two show alternating current, one does not- likely a ground? It was getting dark last night, so I didn't continue working on that, and it is raining now, so... that will have to wait. I think it would be useful to get the windings to charge the battery. As of now, the battery is a dead-loss. The headlamp bucket (not original) DOES have a diode thing (and a coil?) in it, so I think I can try to sort that out, and/or use a cheap 6v purchased rectifer to charge the battery.

the gear selector sticks. I need to toe it up to select first, and THEN... push it back down. It sticks. So I must remove that selector and clean/repair as needed. Any advice for that gear select repair?

Sincerely,

Bob Woolner
New Hampshire USA

[Duccout]

Hi Bob,

Is there any spring pressure? If not the spring is broken. If there is spring pressure it may be that the grease in the selector box has gone hard and is sticking everything up, so you will need to wash everything in petrol, clean, and re-grease and try again; a lovely job!

Good luck,

Colin

[bw_nh]

Good afternoon List-

I had a spare gear-selector box, but badly corroded and not "shifting", so I thought I would practice with THAT one before pulling the scrambler's box. I understood that springs inside might jump, and an opportunity practice made sense to me. This was inside- I THINK the spring was installed wrong on this spare... note the ends of the coils are not tight against that leg... right?



I practiced taking it apart, and getting the spring on "correctly"... like this... right?



Assuming that I have done this correctly, I will pull the sticky gear-select box from the scrambler and try to remove the hardened grease, or replace the spring, or... whatever that "good one" might need. Maybe I will get that done on Wednesday. (tomorrow, Tuesday, is another rainy day).

I have other questions about electrics on the bike, but will wait for another thread about that.

I am hoping I have inserted these images properly- can you see them?

And yes, I have been a 7th grade teacher for years. BUT... this was my last year teaching, I emptied the classroom in June. I will be going back to the school system in the fall, but as a classroom aide... sort of easing into retirement, not fully retiring. Yet.

Sincerely,

Bob Woolner

[Duccout]

Hi Bob,

You look to have got everything right, although it is much harder when everything is covered in grease! As you have probably found, the spring wants to twist sideways in its holder as you try to assemble the parts.... Make sure that you have a shim between the coil spring and the coffin-shaped spring holder (some boxes don't) because if not the coil spring can work its way underneath and the selector stops working. Also, try to get plenty of grease over everything, which helps the smooth operation.


Good luck with the new work role; I worked in a school for thirty years (not as a teacher! I was on the ground staff).

Cheers,

Colin

[bw_nh]

Good morning List-

I was able to pull the shifter apart, but the three screws were pretty darned tight- I did not have my impact driver on hand, so I visited a friend's shop who DID have one. He managed to loosen all three, but cracked the housing-cover (the one held by the three screws).

I was able to free up the gear selector parts inside (it was NOT hardened grease, and NOT a broken spring), it was just that parts were not well lubricated and were binding. Removal, clean, lubricate, assemble... slather with grease, and all parts move as expected. I used the housing-cover of that spare corroded gear selector assembly to replace the cracked housing-cover. I used all of the shims that were in the original, only changing that housing cover to the non-cracked one.

I may try to get that crack welded up- I guess I wonder if the shims inside are actually dependent on clearances related to the cover... we will see.

I have NOT installed that assembly on the bike yet- the bike is in nearby Acworth New Hampshire, at our camp- we are home in Hillsboro now, but heading up there today.

I do still have questions about the electrics, and will start a new thread on that.

Thanks for the help with the gear-box selector!
Sincerely,
Bob Woolner, New Hampshire USA

[Duccout]

Well done, hope it all works correctly.

Bob, if you find that the selector shaft is in the wrong position to engage with the shaft coming out from the gearbox, all you have to do is rotate the selector box shaft until it lines up correctly (make sure that the gearbox is in neutral).


Cheers,

Colin