Servicing the Driveshaft

[xs11]

Servicing the Driveshaft

Replacing the Driveshaft

Greasing the Driveshaft Splines

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Removing the Final Drive Hub

1. Remove the disc brake caliper assembly and suspend it from the frame.


2. Remove the rear wheel.


3. Drain the final drive hub.


4. Disconnect the shock absorber from the final drive housing.


5. Remove the 4 nuts holding the hub to the drive shaft housing. Remove the bottom 2 nuts first.


6. Pull the final drive housing away from the drive shaft swingarm. Don't lose the shock-spring that's between the driveshaft and the female coupling.


7. Carefully clean the adjoining surfaces of the driveshaft housing and the final drive hub with solvent on a rag. This is important for obtaining a good seal during reassembly.


8. Unless I screwed up the description, you're done with final drive hub removal.

Steve Garnier

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Replacing the Driveshaft

Last Wednesday evening, I obtained the replacement driveshaft from a "local" salvage yard. Since I reported my driveshaft failure to several email lists and rec.moto, there has been a minor run on XS11 driveshafts. Don't fear folks, there are still plenty to go around. If and when you need to get an XS11 driveshaft, have the supplier clean it immaculately, and then closely inspect the driveshaft splines for stair-step wear/notching in the sides of the spline teeth. The only wear found on a properly maintained driveshaft should appear to be a minor mirror-finish on the spline teeth. Except for the mirror-finish, the surface of the spline teeth should appear to be undisturbed.

Thursday evening, I very carefully cleaned all the splines (both the driveshaft splines, female driveshaft coupling splines in the final drive hub, and the rear wheel and final drive hub wheel splines of old grease, leaving a clean metal surface. I then painted" the splines with very-high Molybdenum Disulfide content assembly lube made by Bel Ray). While the Bel Ray assembly lube has an extremely high moly content, it does not have the desired lubricant flow haracteristics of NLGI-2M. Motorcyclus Assemblus Interruptus due to child/wife interrupt.

Friday evening, I greased the splines interfacing the rear wheel and the final drive hub. I then greased the forward end of the driveshaft. I reinserted the driveshaft into the ingarm/driveshaft housing. That was perhaps the most difficult reassembly I have ever performed in 30 years of wrenching. No sheeeit.

What made it difficult is that the female spline receiver on the U-joint upstream of the driveshaft is located within the front of the swingarm, and it was pointed downward, unable to accept the driveshaft. I had to reach under the rubber boot which interfaces the middle gear drive to the swingarm, place a single finger or thumb onto the U-joint, and manipulate the U-joint until the female spline receiver was in the proper orientation. In order to ascertain when proper orientation was obtained, I had to simultaneously view the U-joint spline receiver from the driveshaft insert point in the rear of the swingarm; I had to use a flashlight to gain sufficient light. Once correct alignment was achieved, I then attempted to insert the driveshaft. And of course, the U-joint would misalign by some infinitesimal amount. Repeat procedure ad nauseum until the appropriate string of extremely intense magic invectives/expletives are discovered. I finally sent the driveshaft home with a heavy rubber mallet.

Of course, the rubber boot was always tight enough to impart significant pain to large fingers/thumb. Without large/powerful hands, alignment of the U-joint would have been impossible, and would have required swingarm disassembly to complete.

I completed assembly after hand-packing the splines with 3% Moly content lithium-based grease, cleaned the mating surfaces of the swingarm and final drive hub, applied Yamabond-4 to the afore-stated mating surfaces, and reassembled the works. I then refilled the final drive hub with the necessary 80/90wt lubricant, since I'd drained it earlier so as to avoid a mess while manipulating the final drive hub. FWIW, I use Redline synthetic.

Steve Garnier

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Greasing the Driveshaft Splines

Using your grease gun on the zirk fitting will NOT sufficiently deliver grease to the splines.

I clearly remember reading this somewhere years ago and verified it at that time by opening the shaft up after greasing it. The article recommended that the shaft be opened up and grease applied liberally by hand. It is fairly simple and only requires removal of the rear wheel and loosening the 4 bolts near the end of the shaft. I like to wait until I take off the wheel for a new tire to do it.

Paul Streit

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Prior to repacking, clean the splines of old grease and "paint" the splines with high Molybdenum Disulfide content assembly lube (Bel Ray makes some). Then hand-pack the splines and reassemble, first applying Yamabond-4 to the cleaned mating surfaces of the final drive hub and the swingarm. Follow-up by applying NLGI-2M 3% Molybdenum Disulfide grease to the rear splines through the zirk fitting. Thereafter, re-apply grease to the rear splines through the zirk fitting every 2000-3000 miles.

Steve Garnier