UH OH !!

[ThumperWR450F]

I'M NOT 100% POSITIVE BUT I THINK I SHEARED MY WOODRUFF KEY. I HEAR A SOUND COMING FROM THE CASE WHEN THE BIKE IS RUNING. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS THE CHAIN HITTING THE FRONT SPROCKET GUARD,BUT IT WASN'T. I AM GUESSING THAT'S WHY IT IS TAKING ATLEAST 10 KICKS TO START HER UP. KINDA SUCKS HAVING YOUR BIKE STORED IN A SHED WITH NO LIGHT AND 10 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND !!IF THAT'S THE CASE HOW HARD IS IT TO REPLACE THE KEY?I DON'T HAVE A PULLER IS THERE ANYOTHER WAY TO GET THE ROTOR OFF?

[lipskid]

C'mon. You guys are really starting to freak me out. Mine makes a noise to. Me thinks its the clutch.

[ThumperWR450F]

THE NOISE IS COMING FROM THE SAME SIDE AS THE ROTOR. I WAS HOPING IT WAS JUST THE CLUTCH MAKING NOISE

[SMD]

Gentleman, I can tell you from experiance that your bike well not run with a sheared woodruff key. So pop the inspection cover and check the torque spec. (61) Its possible the rotor is loose and the bike is slightly off time.

Now concentrate on your jetting and don't worry about a little clutch noise. ?

[tctrailrider]

Thumper,

If the key is sheared you may not need a puller to get it off. I picked up a steering wheel puller at Sears for $20.00 that works fine. You need a three point setup, also get three metric bolts approx. 2 1/2 inches long with washers. I forget the size but its the same as the schroud bolts, I think 8mm. Have fun.

[xr600r]

61 ??????????????? the last i heard it was suppose to be 47 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ? :D

[ThumperWR450F]

I'M NOT SO SURE I SHEARED THE KEY NOW.I TOOK OFF THE SIDE CASE AND I PULLED ON THE ROTOR AND SPUN IT. EVERYTHING MOVED AS ONE. THERE WAS NO PLAY AND I DIDN'T SEE ANY BROKEN METAL ANYWHERE.KINDA FUNNY AFTER I DID ALL THAT THE BIKE WAS STARTING ON 1ST KICK. I DON'T KNOW WHY OR HOW BUT IT'S NOT TAKING 10 KICKS LIKE IT WAS. GO FIGURE !!

[utvols]

SMD

You are wrong on your point that the bike will not run with the key sheared. I chased a suspected jetting problem on my 450 for over a week before finally checking and finding the key sheared in my bike. The flywheel was in line enough to only throw off the timing so that it started and ran like like the jetting was off. You are correct in assuming the bike should not run but that is not always the case.

I highly reccomend pulling the flywheel and physically checking that the key is in place. You can torque the nut all you want but still not know that the key is holding everything inline.

[ride4ever]

The bike will run with sheared key, not to good but still run. You won't be able to see it thru the inspection

hole. Will most likely have to pull flywheel to see damaged key. Mine was not completly sheared, just half

way. Torque specs, who knows? Better contact dealer for current specs.

[YZ_Abuser]

Thumper,

If the key is sheared you may not need a puller to get it off. I picked up a steering wheel puller at Sears for $20.00 that works fine. You need a three point setup, also get three metric bolts approx. 2 1/2 inches long with washers. I forget the size but its the same as the schroud bolts, I think 8mm. Have fun.

Bad idea! Don't use a steering wheel puller or any jaw type puller! Go buy a Flywheel Puller. It's the right tool for the job and costs between $10-$15.

A jaw type can ruin your flywheel, and they aren't cheap to replace! K&N tools makes them as well as others. I've got two, one that works on the older SEM ignitions (KTMs, Husky) and one that works with most of the new Japanese ignitions. They are a great investment that everyone should have.

Here is something that you can do to make sure your flywheel is sitting properly on the conical shaped crankshaft. Take the flywheel and woodruff key off. Cover the area of the crank where the flywheel sits with valve grinding compound. Push the flywheel on and turn it back and forth making a perfect fit. Remove all compound material and re-install the flywheel and tighten to the proper torque. Don't forget the woodruff key!

[Hick]

Don't use a steering wheel puller

They work fine on the 426. The Yamaha tool looks just like a wheel puller to me...

[SMD]

Apparently I should have defined "running" before participating in this thread.

[YZ_Abuser]

I guess I don't have a good idea of a steering wheel puller. I thought it had jaws. I still say don't use a jaw type. A real flywheel puller is too cheap not to use.

[Hick]

You are right abuser, a jaw type could damage the rotor, in fact I'm not even sure if a jaw type would work, not sure if there is clearance twixt rotor and case.

A steering wheel puller will work fine provided you use the correct size bolts (6mm I think) lined up straight, and the business end doesn't look like it will mushroom the end of the crank.