This article is one of a series that describes how to disassemble, work on, and reassemble the Road Star engine. This particular article shows how to remove and tear down the transfer case assembly. 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.

The Road Star's power is organized in three stages:

• The Primary Drive consists of the gearing from the crankshaft to the transmission's drive axle.
• The Middle Drive simply consists of a gear attached to the transmission's drive axle, a drive chain which turns a 'driven gear', which turns the middle driven shaft. The middle driven shaft is where the front drive-pulley attaches.
• The Final Drive consists of the front drive-pulley, the drive belt, and the rear drive-pulley assembly.

This segment focuses on removing the transfer case, which houses the middle drive system, as well as the engine's oil tank.

Remove the front drive-pulley. To do this, first remove the swing-arm bracket and the front pulley cover from the left-side of the bike, rearward of the clutch. This cover has no gasket.

As you take the cover free, notice the placement of the two, white, nylon roller/retainers. Store them, or discard them; see tip below.

Tip: Many owners eliminate the nylon rollers completely. Yamaha designed them to keep the drive belt in place, even if it becomes very loose. Mostly, however, they just encourage debris and rocks to find a place to collect and possibly cause trouble--in my opinion.

Next, bend the front pulley's nut retainer tab(s) flat. The retainer tabs are metal 'ears' on the washer under the large nut in the center of the pulley. You must get the tabs very flat so they do not catch the nut as it is unscrewed.

Use a large screwdriver to pull the tab substantially away from the nut. Then you should be able to finish the job by placing a 36mm socket--without a wrench--over the nut and rapping the end of the socket with a dead-blow hammer. Just be careful not to hammer too hard, as the shaft which rotates the front drive-pulley is held by ball bearings which can be damaged by too much force.

Now, put the transmission in first gear, or put the rear wheel firmly on the ground and the bike stabilized. Now use a 36mm socket and a breaker-bar (or an impact wrench) to remove the middle driven shaft nut.

Next, wiggle off the tab washer and the front drive pulley. Store the pulley.

As you remove the following items from the shaft, place them in a labeled sandwich bag:

• The driven shaft nut
• The tab-washer, if you'll be re-using it
• The driven shaft spacer
• The driven shaft's very thin, rubber, o-ring (if re-using it)

Store the bag.

You have two choices in pulling the transfer case out:

• You can follow the procedure in the service manual, which involves removing the battery and battery case, including the ignition module. You'll also be required to remove the transfer case's oil-tank top. This makes enough room to allow you to move the transfer case up and over the rear spring/shock.
• You can do what I did. Leave all the battery (and related wiring) and oil-tank alone. Then instead, lower the forward end of the rear spring/shock. This allows you to move the transfer case down and under the wiring stuff.

To remove the transfer case the service manual's way, remove the battery case and ignition module at this time. Next, remove the oil-tank top. Then skip the next section.

Doing it My Way

To remove the transfer case my way, you need to have an easy way to raise and lower the bike, like a hydraulic center lift.

Remove the nylock nut from right-side of the front bolt of the rear shock/spring mount. Then raise or lower the bike so the the rear wheel just touches the floor.

Now, adjust the lift up or down in tiny increments, so as to load the rear wheel with the full swing-arm weight and rear wheel weight. This will release pressure from the long, rear-shock, front bolt so you can easily extract it.

If your lift prevents the rear shock from dropping down to the floor, you will need to place some suitable boards, or other sturdy item beneath the frame, to the rear of your lift. Next, you'll lower the frame to rest on the boards, roll the lift carefully out of the way, and allow the shock/spring to drop down onto a rag on the floor. Then, slide the lift back into position, and continue removing the transfer case.

Continuing with Transfer Case Removal

On the right-side of the bike, drain the transfer case oil, if not already done.

Next, un-bolt and remove the two, chrome, oil delivery tubes from the oil-tank and the engine's right-side. Store them.

Then remove the chrome, outer transfer case cover. It has no gasket, just a large O-ring around the access hole. You do not need to remove the access plugs in the chrome cover--large or small. Note: The cover uses two M8 (larger) bolts at the rear of the cover, and the rest are M6 (smaller) bolts.

On the bike's right-side, bend down the tab-washer tab on the engine's drive axle using the same procedure as on the middle driven shaft. See photo above. Then remove the 30mm, drive axle nut, tab washer, and drive gear.

As you remove the following items from the axle, place them in a labeled a sandwich bag:

• The drive axle nut
• The tab-washer, if re-using it
• The drive axle spacer (note its orientation, prior to removing it) The drive axle, very thin, o-ring (if re-using it)
• Circular screen. See photo above
• Small washer gasket. See photo above

Store the bag.

Now remove the little bolt holding the wiring bracket which is in the right side-cover area. Then pull the bracket and wiring away (rearward) from the dip-stick (aka oil fill) tube. See service manual for details.

Remove the single bolt holding the dip-stick tube. As you do this, make note or photograph the ground strap wire attached to the bolt. Next, wiggle and pull the dip-stick tube up and out. It is held in place by a single O-ring. Store it.

Now go to the left side and remove the front pulley shroud--the one that the chrome pulley cover attaches to. It is held in place with four M8 bolts (behind the front drive-pulley), and four M8 bolts attached to the engine. The shroud has no gasket, but it does have two, solid aluminum alignment dowels. Store all these parts together.

Next, go back to the right side of the transfer case.

If you will not need to disassemble your transfer case, you do not need to separate the transfer case cover. Note: Examples of circumstances in which one might want to disassemble the transfer case are: repair, inspection, or powdercoating.

Remove the chrome thumb-screw using a hex wrench, and also take out the remaining, M8 hex bolts--there are five, total. They are the bolts corresponding to the red arrows in the photo below.

You do not need to remove the bolts indicated with the yellow arrows in the photo above. They are only removed if you wish to disassemble the innards of the transfer case.

You can now pull the transfer case out from the right-side. Go slowly; be careful. Store the transfer case.

Note: The middle drive gear and chain will be loose within the case, but you may not need to disassemble the transfer case further, unless you will be performing repair, or powdercoating, or something else on the case. The drive gear and chain can be reconnected when reassembling, without further disassembling the case.

Next, remove the neutral indicator switch and cover from its location, just above the drive axle. Then remove the speed sensor. It is at the right, rear of the engine. Each sensor is held in with a single M6 bolt. See the service manual for details.

Now, if you lowered the front end of the rear shock/spring, be sure to raise it back in position, and slide the bolt through, with the nut screwed on hand tight. Then make a sign on some blue painters' tape, entitled, "Reinstall shock/spring" and post it somewhere obvious, so you're sure not to ride your bike before reinstalling the shock/spring (after reinstalling your transfer case).

To access related articles, refer back to the Complete Engine Tear Down, Orientation article in this series to see which additional articles best address your situation.

Questions should be asked in our forum (Use discuss link below). The forum is very active and you stand a good chance of getting your questions answered there. If you would like to leave feedback for the author, or have additional information you think will benefit others, please use the comment section at the bottom of this page.

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DISCLAIMER: This information and procedure is provided as a courtesy and is for informational purposes only.  Neither the publishers nor the authors accept any responsibility for the accuracy, applicability, or suitability of this procedure.  You assume all risks associated with the use of this information.  NEITHER THE PUBLISHERs NOR THE AUTHORs SHALL IN ANY EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OF ANY NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION OR LACK OF INFORMATION.  Any type of modification or service work on your motorcycle should always be performed by a professional mechanic. If performed incorrectly, this procedure may endanger the safety of you and others on your motorcycle and possibly invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty.

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