Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board A65 Clutch Cush Drive Screws Loosening

The 3 cush drive screws in the back of the cush drive on my A65 keep coming loose, has anyone had this problem before and fixed it? I am thinking using loctite red and staking the screw heads to the inner clutch backing plate. Were these screws staked in place at the factory? (The cush drive is the hub in the center of the clutch)

Thank you in advance

I believe they were staked, a punch into the screw drive slot. Later (T140 maybe?) they used through bolts.

I am looking at other parts in the clutch and in the area of the clutch to check for damaged and loose parts.

Blue locktite
They were notorious for doing this back in the day then the spider would chew through the side plates

Thanks for this information BSA_WM20. I was thinking of using red loctite but blue could be a better choice.

Why not stake them? Then you'll KNOW they won't come loose.

They were staked from the factory. I would tell you what sort of punch to use, but the first word gets deleted by the web moderator.
And, yes the later ones used bolts in place of those screws.

Most shock absorbers with any mileage on them are worn beyond repair anyway, so I usually replace the whole unit. It's a poorly engineered piece of kit to be honest.
In the very few cases I re-use the screws I use Loctite and stake them too.

SR

David, does the deleted word begin with a "P" and end with "K" ?

The moderator probably won't allow the name of a certain class of metal file, either, because it begins with a "B" and ends with "RD."

Thank you; I didn't get that.

Stein Roger, are you saying that you replace the entire clutch center hub?

I would reccomend replacing the whole hub , every bit of it wears, the grooves get notched and the spider wears out against the rear plate, they re not worth rebuilding as the cost of the individual parts comes to more than a complete unit. They are a high wear item, because the wear is hidden it goes largely unnoticed until no amount of new plates or springs will prevent it from sipping and dragging as the worn spider allows the drum to tilt under load, the more worn it gets the faster it gets worse. A worn hub will end up causing slip and drag , this cooks the clutch up and the plain steels warp, after that its a nightmare of positive wear feedback.

Precisely! There's probably a proper British term for such a punch but I don't know it.

That would be "centre punch"

+1, the individual parts alone would buy you a new complete hub and a night on the beer, it just isn't worth messing with an old one.

I'm just re-assembling clutch centre now. Before removal, I understood that the plates were fastened with 6 x 1 BA screws, but mine has the later 3 bolts which are 1 3/8" BSF (or cycle) x 1/4", both being 26 TPI. The ends are slotted then staked, I had to drill off the ends to remove the the bolts as I wanted to check the rubbers. New bolts just need a saw cut on the end, Loctite then staking. All the parts lists I've seen just show the original 6 CSK screws.

Correction, the bolts are actually 1/4" UNF, 28 TPI.

I think this came out with the later triumphs but it was a good modification for all bikes. the screws should be 1/4 UNF. a spot of weld and ground back wouldn't go a miss.

I think this came out with the later triumphs but it was a good modification for all bikes. the screws should be 1/4 UNF. a spot of weld and ground back wouldn't go a miss.[/quote]

You are correct Allan, I've just measured them, they're 28 TPI UNF. What threw me was the bolt heads are stamped GSF, the G looking more of a B!

I'll alter previous thread.

Over here a center punch is usually a blunt instrument with a flat, circular end. A pr**k punch has a sharp end.

how come ball cock and gland nut go through unchecked?

I have heard that this problem was corrected on later models with larger bolts or through bolts. What year was this and will it fit a 69 A65L?

It was on the later post 73 triumphs I believe and yes it will fit on any 3 spring A65 clutch.

So would this is a direct swap without changing any other parts?

Yes, take the old cush drive out and put the new one in....

Obviously replace anything else that needs replacing. But wouldn't wouldn't waste my time repairing them anymore, spent too long doing that.

I believe any new (reproduction) cush drive will have through bolts, so you don't have to worry about specifying 73-or-later triumph. Just order the entire assembly as one part and it will come with the bolts in place.

p/n 57-4435