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6/17/2016
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Ogden, UT, USA
2017 KTM 350 SXF has the freewheel rubbing on the case. I noticed a very small amount of aluminum shavings in the oil the last 2 changes. Took off both side covers to inspect and found this...
The bearing in the freewheel does not seem to be pressed in as far as it should be. Can anybody help confirm that mine should be pressed in more? I cannot find any info in the manual or online about it. Thanks
Looks to me like you've found the issue. Was this bearing ever replaced before? The bearing and gear are sold as separate parts so perhaps someone failed to set the position correctly when pressing it in, maybe even back at the factory. Typically, when a bore has a beveled edge like that, the face of the bearing would be flush with the bottom of the bevel. Also, when everything is installed, how do the teeth of this gear align with the next one? Do you see any slight misalignment? I'd get a new bearing and press it in to the correct position.
Update, I took the pictures to me local KTM shop, luckily they have "a guy" who knows all there is to know. I showed him the first picture with it set flush to the front and literally before I could say anything more he told me it was a 350 and I was getting some small metal fleks in the oil from the gear rubbing the case. He said that yes, that is supposed to be set to the back end of the gear and that once in a while he sees this, common enough he knew exactly what it was. Says he has seen them come from the factory that way (but they shouldn't) and possibly some might even have the bearing shift with regular use (although unconfirmed).
He said to go ahead and push the bearing back further and that will resolve the clearance issue.
Yeah, I think for $10 I will get a new bearing and set it correctly. There is plenty of room for it to slide forward when engaging the other gears, in fact the other gears have quite a bit of play in them. I guess since they only spin briefly to start the bike, they don't need to be set to super tight tolerances, other than this freewheel gear?
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