Hitchcocks Forum

Can someone please advise me on removing the distributor drive gear from my 2005 Classic 500 Bullet.I have removed the nut but the gear is not coming off.I don't want to do any damage and I can't see a puller listed in the manual that I have so some help would be welcome.

The gear pinion is a taper fit on a non keyed shaft and can easily be removed with a 2 legged puller.
You should find a 'slot' about 2 O'clock to feed one leg behind the gear which needs to be slid around to about 1 O'clock. Then you fit the second leg of the puller opposite the first now sits at 7 O'clock.
Or you can buy the special tool.

Thanks Ric that's just the info I was looking for.

If you remove the points back-plate you can slacken the drive gear nut, but leave it at the top of the threads, then give the drive shaft a gentle tap with a hammer and suitable drift?

This is how I do it with my SR1 magneto, the rear of the timing cover pulls the drive gear off the shaft and by leaving the nut on you protect the threads on the shaft and prevent the shaft flying across the workshop.

I'm assuming that the points back-plate is the only thing holding the shaft in place, you would be wise to check.

A bit of a rougharse way of dong it, but it leaves you with £26:40 to spend in the pub.

A standard 2-leg puller doesn't quite fit properly, the legs stick out at too obtuse an angle to fit in without fouling the casing. I had to bastardise my one by hacksawing the "large" end (which I never use anyway) off the reversible legs so they can sit directly below the "shoulder" of the puller . Then it fits ok.

Oh yeah, I should add, a 2005 one may well have a bearing mounted dizzy shaft, in which case the technique suggested by John M wont work because it's held in by a circlip. It works on older ones because the shaft just sits on plain iron bushes.



I suppose it would work if you undid the three bolts holding the distributor housing on so you were knocking the whole casting off with the shaft in place, but they in turn, won't be easy to get at with the sprocket in place. Pic of sprocket removed showing the three bolt heads (in stupidly tight on my one) and the bearing mounted shaft on my 2004 bullet 500.

I took mine off the other day without a puller. I managed to loosen the three screws so the distributor was hanging loose and then heated the gear wheel and gave it a tap. I put the nut on a bit to protect the thread of course and you need to support the case so you have something solid to tap against. Came off fairly easy peasy.

there a more effective and less intrusive way than jamming stuf between pinions.



and that's the third pinion method, that is as old as when pinions were invented.







a third pinion always blocks the working of the two other.