Drill and Tap front sprocket shaft

[ams14]

Anyone have a writeup or pics on this?  I would like to get rid of the clip and drill/tap the end of the shaft and put a bolt in there.

Do you think I could do it in-place?

What would the bend/lock washer look like, maybe something that has the cross section of the shaft/splines?

[Slack]

What's wrong with the clip? C-clips hold all the gears and bearings in place in auto and even semi transmissions. I think one can handle the whooping Horse Power and huge Torque numbers the GS puts down just fine.
You'd also be introducing vibrations into the engine by unbalancing the shaft, possibly causing premature failure of the bearings or seals.
And, I would say that a bolt is way more likely to come off and leave you F'd then a c-clip.

[Janx101]

Yeah as Slack says, in that particular application I'd trust a c clip way more!   If you don't trust them long term then maybe keep some spares?

[Big Rich]

Older Suzuki bikes (heck, many older bikes....) use a huge nut to hold the front sprocket on. On my GS450 and GR, I need a 32mm socket to fit the nut, and the lock washer needs "un-smashed" to get the socket on the nut. And since it requires a substantial amount of force to tighten / loosen, the engine needs to be in gear and sometimes wedging a piece of wood in the rear wheel to lock it in place too.

A circlip sounds pretty good to me....

[W201028]

You would have a very hard time to drill and tap the output shaft by hand. Those shafts are probably case hardened, and as previously mentioned you would almost certainly drill it out of center or off axis, inducing vibration. If you are dead set on this, take the bottom end apart and bring the shaft to a qualified machinist. It would be a 50 dollar job max, if not less for a drill and tap job.

If you are in the central pennsylvania area, PM me and I would be happy to drill and tap the shaft for 20$

[ams14]

OK, thanks everyone for your input!  The groove is badly worn on mine so was looking at alternatives.  If I had to take it out to machine it (which is sounds like is the way to go) I may as well just replace with a new one where the groove is intact.

[Janx101]

Replace with new(ish) is always good!