5th wheel/pinion design change

[barber1303]

Anyone know why Yamaha moved away from the original 5th wheel/pinion design (gear teeth engagement) to the new design (dog/slot engagement)? Both designs seem like they'd work okay. My original '85 5th wheel/pinion gears still look really good after 32k miles...any reason I should switch to the new design?

Original design:

New design

 

[MaxMidnight]

If it ain't broke....

 

[one2dmax]

You apparently missed out on the recall. The earlier design is "Stronger" but can fail easier and let it kick out of gear (or not hold under power). They kept that design going for a lot more years in the Ventures but those bikes don't generally get ridden as hard as the Vmax's tend to.

 

[barber1303]

Do you happen to have any literature on this recall? I can't seem to find any information about it on the 'net.

 

[one2dmax]

I don't think I have anything? That recall was done back in 1985 and was a "kit" of gears that the dealer had to install.