i have a alpha one gen 2 and the upper drive shaft snapped off at the gear, why would this happen. thanks mike

Only a guess "Air Time" !

That's a pretty common problem on those. Don't know exactly why yours broke but have known them to break if you hit something solid.

Isn't there a small "necked in" area on the shaft there?

i had a gen 1 alpha snap top and bottom at the same time. i will never go the wrong side of that bouy again...

Before the gen II there was an 'o' ring grove just below the upper splines. If you hit something the shaft snapped here. The grove was removed and the taper just below becomes the weekest point.
when the prop hesitates because hits a rock or a fish that is where it snaps. Like a blown fuse, just dont hit more rocks. Sometimes the removal of the pinon is tough if the gear is lodged in the bearing area if a chunk of the shaft stays with the gear. To remove this gear tie a fish hook on a stick and fish the clutch pin retainer spring off of the clutch, then allign the pin up to down and shake until the pin falls out. After the pin is out the prop shaft will release from the shift spool and pull out. The gear will fall out when the prop shaft is out. Replace shaft and nut. The shims will stay the same.
good luck

I always wondered if the gen II was any stronger than the gen I or why it was changed. Guess it might be a "bit stronger" but not by much if the next weak link was almost as weak.

I wonder why they did change to a Gen II, what were the benefits?

Post pics of what you find in your drive and how you fix it if you would. I imagine I will be doing the same at some point in the future.....

Brian