This article is one of a series that describes how to disassemble, work on, and reassemble the Road Star engine. This particular article describes how to tear down the engine's clutch, shift-shaft, primary drive gear, pickup rotor, and oil-pump driven gear assemblies. See the Complete Engine Tear Down, Orientation article in this website for details.

Be sure you refer to the service manual through all phases of this project.

Housed within the chrome clutch-cover, the crankshaft's Primary Gear has three functions:

• It spins the clutch basket, which engages the transmission, which drives the middle drive gears in the transfer case, which turns the drive pulleys, which rotates the rear wheel, which makes you smile.
• It spins the oil pump drive gear (on back of the clutch basket), which turns the oil pump driven gear, which turns the oil pump, which circulates the motor oil, which cools and lubricates the engine.
• It turns the ignition timing wheel (aka pickup-coil rotor), which generates an ignition pulse, which charges the coils, which fires the sparkplugs, which powers the engine.