[bondobird]

Looks like the rubber in your gear has split. Careful with the spring. Wear thick leather gloves for protection. Also, if you can garage your ride at night, I have found it helpful to leave the windows down just a little before you shut off. Seems to take stress off the motors. I have taken all my motors apart and back together again, they would tend to "lock up" before I started the "cracking" routine. Also run the windows up and down a few times now and then to keep em "in shape". Works for me.