Indian Scout. - Info?

[metalchewy]

After lubing it up and getting everything running smoothly on the crank and hub, I put a few miles on it. The freewheel is so quiet now you can barely hear it.

Got all three gears working, fast bike!! I was able to maintain 20 mph effortlessly over on a street that has one of those radar signs.

I think the clutch spring is gummed up or weak. To shift any higher gear, I click the shifter, then reach back and twang the shift cable down the seat stay, and then it will shift. To shift down, coast and click and it changes gears fine. So I don't think the clutch spring is pulling the chain back into the hub like it should.

I was thinking of filling up the hub with brake cleaner and rinsing it out, letting it dry, and the refilling it with 30 weight oil. Thoughts?

 

[Wildcat]

The shifter and cable may need a little more oil. With the cable unhooked, does the little shift chain retract easily? Spin the wheel while you test it. The wheel has to turn, or the cog moving to shift smoothly on these hubs. That was usually my problem, any resistance from the cable or shifter wouldn't let it up shift.

The bearings in the hub uses grease while a lot of the workings inside use light oil. The pawls, the things that make the clicking noise, need light oil to work, grease will keep them from engaging. Flushing out the hub may leave the bearings without grease, that's if they have much that's useable now.

It's over 60 years old, maybe never been opened. It may be a good idea to tear it down, clean and grease it. But it's a big job, and making sure there's not a speck of dirt when it's put back together is just one more thing that might go wrong. Maybe give it a little more time to work the oil in before tearing it down. A shop may tell you it's bad just to sell you a new hub, which would be an option also. 7 or 8 speed?

 

[metalchewy]

Thanks wildcat,

New shifter cable will be here by Friday. I was impatient in waiting for it, so i've been playing with the bike in the meantime. Based on your earlier recommendation i ordeded it the next day. And i think that it is the culprit, based on your last comments.

Tomorrow, I'll open the oil cap and let the oil i put in drain out, and put more fresh clean back in. After 12 hours with oil in the hub, The chain retracted into and out of the hub fairly easily. After a day, all gears worked easily by hand. I would suspect as things lossened up in the hub, dirt and dried up sediment is now suspended in it. It couldnt hurt to change it.

In terms of grease and bearings, this is vegas, it gets hot here, most bikes are dry of grease in 5 to 10 years, or so i am told. In Looking at the teardown instructions, it seems i should be able todo just the first few steps, grease the bearings and put it back together. Without actually tearing into the transmission.

I need to give my mbbo bike some time or i wont make the deadline.

 

[Wildcat]

Sounds like a plan.

I need to spend more time prepping and painting on my entry also.