The override seemed to be working correctly when I first went over the bike. I lifted the front wheel off the ground and the front tire easily turned forward and locked up a little slow in reverse. I turned my attention to the poorly running engine which turned out to be a blown stuffer gasket. Once running correctly the bike steered smoothly and pulled my steep test hill with ease so I figured the override was in good shape. Turns out the override was NOT in good shape.

Both miter boxes feel smooth after removal with no metal coming out on the front magnetic fill plug and a very small amount on the rear. If a lot had come out I would have pulled the driveline apart for an inspection and found the swallowed override spring. The rear miter box tab is bent back maybe 1/4″ with about 1/2″ of the miter box sticking out of the frame tube. That was an obvious clue something was wrong but the dirt line on the miter box showed that it was this way for a very long time. I measured .669″ of spring stuck between the override hubs so the math does not add up. I think maybe the spring got sucked in and they did not catch it. Looking at how the blank left side end miter box cap in the old MK0 picture is clocked compared to what came with the bike I suspect the front miter box was replaced at some time. The 3 bolts holding the driveshaft bearing in certainly did not let the driveshaft move forward which normally is what wipes out the front miter gears. Maybe the 3 bolts were added later?

The override hubs are retained with 1/4″ split pins. The rear hub is very close to the miter box so I thought it must have busted the pin and slid back when the spring got swallowed. A small Allen wrench went straight thru the rear split pin so this is obviously not the case. I was planning on just replacing the override spring but SURPRISE! the hubs have an outside diameter of 1 7/8″ instead of 1 3/4″. This means a stock spring won’t fit and it is unlikely that I will find a left hand wrap spring for 1 7/8″ hubs. I have 4 options. #1 Have a couple custom springs wound. #2. Turn the hubs down to 1 3/4″. #3. Replace the override assembly with an old unlocked one. #4. Replace the override assembly with a new locked override.