Author Topic: Windshield mechanism gear relacement  (Read 6219 times)

Offline alans1100

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Windshield mechanism gear relacement
« on: July 18, 2013, 11:43:26 PM »
After Pete's problem with his windscreen adjustment playing I noticed this come up on My-Mc-Phoenix.com.

http://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?130126-Windshield-mechanism-gear-relacement

ST1300ers,

After spending considerable time and resources in the past 6 months engineering and negotiating ways to produce a replacement gear.
I now have several gears that are machined and heat treated from appropriate bar stock.
Pauls, (STOC #3499) PDF doc in the former post clearly details the critical failure.

A little history ; My 2003 ABS experienced a stripped helical drive gear October of 2012. I had really liked the ability to adjust the windshield to changing conditions and without it the bike just seemed kinda "broke". Defeated after exhaustive searches for replacement parts, workarounds, OEM suppliers, reading all related posts, etc. I finally succombed to buying a window adjuster assembly from Honda (380$ shipped). Honda - ADJUSTER ASSY., WINDSCREEN Item: 64170-MCS-G01. My bike was fixed, however this transaction really gnawed on me... being forced to replacing an entire (expensive) assembly for one - under engineered and failure prone component.
Anyways, as I am a materials engineer with a background in machining and metals and it was winter; cold, wet, dark, I pursued a fix for my old assembly. I first found that the OEM gear is made by P/M (Powder Metal) process; where molds are filled with Fe & C powder and sintered (pressed under heat). The process causes diffusion & basically solidifies the powder. The P/M method provides OEM manufacturers with a way to make hundreds or thousands of fairly intricate metal parts at a low cost/pc. The resulting P/M helical drive gears are fairly hard (Rockwell C = 34) and dimensionally accurate... but quite brittle. (see images of failed gear)
Soooooo , we have a brittle drive gear coupled to an over-complicated multi contact surface mechanism in which the helical portion of the gear must mesh with and move two coordinated spiral cables in curved housings attached to "dogs" sliding on rails attached to a motorcycle windshield. Each cable is constructed of alternating rows of metal and polymer "ribs" on the OD. There is tremendous resistance (perhaps intentionally?) designed into the mechanism from the beginning. The system typically fails at the helical "drive" gear portion depending on multiple bike specific historical factors; speed at which adjustments are made, windshield size, lube, rail and cable condition, alignment, temperature, number of up/down cycles, etc.
Anyways....
The replacement gear is complicated to produce; requiring a knowledge of metallurgy, a journeyman machinist willing to do small batches, special tooling and heat treatment facilities but should be more robust @Rockwell C = 58 with the added "toughness" element based on material selection that should eliminate the brittleness problem.
It is a drop-in replacement. Disassemble, clean thoroughly (yes WD40), lube (no WD40), and reassemble. If there is significant cable (polymer) damage a "fresh" surface can be obtained by rotating the cable 180 deg during the assembly process. The cables do not rotate during use.

ST1300 window adjuster gear made by a small shop in the USA. Should be good to go.
I currently have 4 gears availiable...each one way cheaper than 380$ ... contact me off list if interested.
carlermotorcycleparts@gmail.com
Please put GEAR in subject line.
If the response is positive and reports are good , i can begin on a larger batch.
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Offline Gavo

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Re: Windshield mechanism gear relacement
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2013, 01:00:53 AM »
E mailed and waiting for a reply
Rob
Undercover HVAC Tech
All round nice guy so i believe
Also have now been told !

"We are all in it together"  Harry Tuttle.

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Offline tj189

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Re: Windshield mechanism gear relacement
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2013, 05:16:38 AM »
great find Alan, I will keep an eye out for Gavo's response  :clap
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Offline StinkyPete

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Re: Windshield mechanism gear relacement
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2013, 07:40:13 AM »
Good find Alan, and it may save some ST owners a considerable bag of gold in the event of a failure.
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Offline Neale

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Re: Windshield mechanism gear relacement
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2013, 08:02:40 AM »
Have sent email as well. Will be interesting what it costs and what shipping will be.   :think1
Neale

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Offline Biggles

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Re: Windshield mechanism gear relacement
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2013, 01:19:52 PM »
Have sent email as well. Will be interesting what it costs and what shipping will be.   :think1

Shipping should be little- it would fit in a strong envelope.
It's great that someone has the technology to do this.  I hope he makes a good bit of dough out of it without charging a fortune.  He could get away with $50 if it's as good as he says it is.
For the modern man who lives in the city, riding a bike might be one of the only ways to escape the humdrum monotony. To take off and ride. To be both at one with nature and one with the bike. To feel masculine. Adam Piggott

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Offline Neale

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Re: Windshield mechanism gear relacement
« Reply #6 on: July 19, 2013, 04:16:47 PM »
Got this back. Still makes it cheaper than the alternative me thinks.  :think1 see who wants to throw in for it.  I'm not in a position to do anything now and won't be for a while. Maybe someone might want to coordinate a bulk order if needed. Cheers. :beer



Hello Neale,
I currently do not have any gears to sell. The first four produced are now distributed to 4 STlist members across the US.
They were snapped up really fast after initial posting. I am now awaiting reports but have already placed much larger order
and would definitely consider shipping to  Australia.
The gears are $140 / pc. shipping included to the cont US.
Larger batches (10 or more) could be less.... I am sure we could work something out there.
Not sure about shipping... but we can make it work.
Keep monitoring the board and please keep me in mind.
Lead time for next batch is 4-6 weeks. end of august 2013
email me again sometime mid August to reserve a few.
Great to hear from you.
g'day mate
warofman9 (ricke) 


On Thu, Jul 18, 2013 at 6:01 PM, Neale Ray <nealeray@icloud.com> wrote:
Spotted your spiel regarding the mechanism failure for the screen on the ST1300. I know that most in the Australian ST Owners Club would be interested in this fix. Can you please provide a price and shipping cost if available.

Thanks mate,

Neale Ray
Ph: 0438 426 958
Neale

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Offline tj189

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Re: Windshield mechanism gear relacement
« Reply #7 on: July 19, 2013, 05:06:40 PM »
Whilst I think the cost is a bit pricey, I would still get one, so count me in if we do a bulk order please
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Offline Biggles

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Re: Windshield mechanism gear relacement
« Reply #8 on: July 19, 2013, 05:11:24 PM »
I needn't have worried about him getting paid for his work!!  He can get away with US$140 because the Honda part is so expensive, and you're still stuck with a brittle gear wheel.

Maybe we should all be pulling the plastic and getting some lube on those tracks to extend the life of the mechanism.
For the modern man who lives in the city, riding a bike might be one of the only ways to escape the humdrum monotony. To take off and ride. To be both at one with nature and one with the bike. To feel masculine. Adam Piggott

OzSTOC #16  STOC #6135  FarR #509  IBA #54927