Hi John,
We fitted a spacer behind an (almost) new sprocket so it's sitting on the parts of the splines that aren't worn. I did 250km on it today without any problems (although I'm going very slowly and being careful on the acceleration) and I think it's going to get me to Quito. If not, there's always the options of finding someone with a welder or putting the bike on the back of a truck.
I have a choice of either welding the sprocket to the shaft or replacing the shaft. I think I'm going to replace the shaft in Quito.
Actually, I'm quite looking forwards to splitting the engine. Every time I visit a mechanic, I learn something useful. When splitting the engine, I get to learn about removing the engine, fitting the cylinder head and fitting the barrel. I'm now quite comfortable stripping down the flywheel side of the engine casing after watching a mechanic do so and when I (well, we) fit the kickstart kit in Quito I get to learn how to strip the clutch side down.
You just can't buy this sort of experience back at home, most mechanics I frequent won't even let me in their workshops due to 'elf and safety regs.
All the best,
Dunc.
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