Rookie needs help

[HamptonT]

I'm pulling apart my sons 1980 ATC 110 and need some tips and tricks. I have the motor off and on the bench. Couldn't budge the four screws on the sub trans cover. Bought a new 1/4 inch impact driver and that did the trick very nicely. Now I have all four screws out and the cover won't budge. I've hit it with a rubber mallet and just don't seem to be getting anywhere. Any tips or tricks on how to get it off? If this is how things are going to go, I might be in way over my head. I wanted to do this thing with my son to learn along the way.
Thanks. Sorry for this dumb question and I apologize in advance for the dumber questions that will follow.

[rcurtis16]

all covers have things called douls, well i dunno how to spell it, but anyway there little pieces of pipe, and they sorta hold the cover in place along with the gasket, just hit it in a outward position with the rubber mallet and it should come eventually, rememebr its old, and might never been taken apart, what exactly are you planning on doing to the motor?

[HamptonT]

Thanks. Now I know to hit it so that it comes out straight. Before I was hitting it to the side.
The motor ran prior to pulling it off. But it would not engage into gear. I was advised to look into the sub transmission shift fork. Also, it will shift through the four gears some of the time, but not all of the time. Sometimes it will only shift to a point in between two gears. I have the service manual and it is pretty good about what parts need to be inspected for wear and replaced. The machine is actually in very good condition for its age. We planned to take it all apart and rebuild it from the floor up. Not necessarily because it needed a complete rebuild, but more of a father son learning adventure.

[tri again]

Nice that there are lots of those engines around (Cheap) in case something catastrophic goes wrong.
Not real common with the 110 but the 125 had a 'shift drum stopper' issue.
They'd either come loose, or bend and break the mounting bolt.
but the drum stopper is avail for like 10 bucks.

try the search key for something like 'shift problem' but we'll help you through this.

[rcurtis16]

thats awesome, thats how i learned what im at, me and my dad did a 350 moto 4, if was my first bike, after that ive rebuilt 2 250es big red motors with new tops ends, and have scrapped a few, i have also rebuilt a 1985 suzuki rm 125f motor myself with very little help, once you learn this stuff, and have an interest, you just learn in no time

[trike savior]

sound like a nice father son project. that sub transmission shifter usually just gets dirt built up on it and becomes hard to shift. when you get it off you will see that lever moves a little shifter fork on inside. on top of fork is a little e-clip that holds it all together. remove eclip and slide shift lever out of case. wire wheel the lever shaft and clean hole in case if it looks bad. put a dap of grease and reassemble. that should fix it if you dont find any damaged parts.

keep us posted if you need help. i have lots of experience with these bike and tons of parts if you need anything. good luck

[Dave8338]

Greetings, another from MN trying to keep these old ATCs alive. It is great that you are taking this time to spend with your son, you both will remember this time, forever. Congrats. :)

[HamptonT]

Well I got the sub trans cover off. I have nothing to compare it to, but it looked impressively well inside. No wear, nothing broken and surprisingly clean. I think I can easily say that the problem is not in the sub trans.
I tried to run through the four speed trans again and I found that it would shift into first, but when I go for second, it doesn't quite make it all the way into gear. In that state, any further attempts at shifting up through the gears results in nothing. I can only go back to first and start again. I'm thinking something associated with the shift drum.

[Badbmwbrad]

The shift drum stopper is underneath the right engine side cover. It is located at the top rear area beneath the right engine side cover. The shift drum stopper may become damaged due to stomping on the shift lever.

[HamptonT]

Any tricks on how to remove the clutch. The service manual talks about a clutch outer holder. Do I need one of these to do it or is there a work around. Thanks.

[trike savior]

they make a special vise grip you can get at local autozone or napa. it looks like a vise grip but has what looks like atv chain attatched to it. you can adjust the chain length to go around things like the clutch and then use the vise grip action to lock on hard. that is what i normally use. also the clutch takes a special tool to remove the nut that holds it to crank. if i remember right its like $10-20 from dealer and well worth it if you plan on playing with hondas much cause they used that style nut on atc/atv's and motorcycles. you need to remove the cover/bearing holder on the clutch and you will see the nut. there should also be a locking tab bent to keep it is place. use a small screw driver to pry it away from nut.