2016 GS Drive Shaft Rusted to FD

[lkraus]

Since I've never had the shaft out of my RT, I'm sure there are more knowledgeable people here, but I think the thicker portion contains shock absorbing rubber and the shaft portion is embedded in the rubber. I can imagine that in time, heavy acceleration could allow the shaft to rotate within the rubber, leaving the joints out of phase.

 

[robsryder]

I think that it is common for the rubber damping material in the thicker portion of the driveshaft to allow for some rotation of the thinner part of the driveshaft, hence the out-of-phase result.

There is a company (Henderson Precision) that rebuilds BMW paralever driveshafts prone to this rubber slippage. He uses a urethane product to restore the phasing of the u-joints -

http://www.hendersenprecision.com/indian_moto/bmw_products.html


The Ei rebuildable driveshafts, sold by Ted Porter, have replaceable rubber inserts for restoration of the u-joint phasing, should the need arise -

https://www.beemershop.com/product/rebuild-kit-for-r1200-ei-driveshaft.html




Following is a link to one's experience with the rebuildable driveshaft -

https://circamotolife.com/bmw-r1200gs-rebuildable-driveshaft/

 

[bobgerman]

I didn't think this posted from last night so I have a duplicate post with a little more information.
I did some poking around about drive shafts in general and yoke timing is very important.
I wouldn't think the torque of the motor would actually rotate the damping section 45 degrees but stranger things have happened.

Thank you everybody for your input and information!

Bob

 

[bobgerman]

In the 40,000 miles, how did the driveline run? I can’t picture it contributed to the trouble in removing the shaft?

Is there a chance the new shaft came shipped in the condition/orientation it is supposed to be in?

I have changed a lot of u-joints, never on a motorcycle. It always takes me a while to be satisfied with the feel of articulation of my repair.

I don’t know much about “phasing” but it seems to be a factor of some sort. I maybe have skipped the whole “phasing” deal as I seem to put index marks on components like a driveshaft so it goes back together as it came apart.

OM

I didn't notice any vibration. The new shaft is the way it should be. That's what jumped out at me when I laid them side by side.

 

[bobgerman]

What is the source of the replacement shaft?

Ted Porter's E1

 

[bigjohnsd]

Ted Porter's E1

Glad to see Ted's product made it to market. It is half the price of the OEM unit. I wish this had been available when my '14 GSA shaft had a failed U-joint.

 

[pglaves]

Vibration is not the initial issue. What is going on is that as it rotates the rotation speed through a universal joint speeds up and slows down when the U joint is deflected at an angle. So with paired U joints good design has one speeding up and the other slowing down at exactly the same time. When phased properly the actual input yoke speed and output yoke speed stay the same. Otherwise, the speed changes stress the U joints and the splines too.

The illustrations show the correct phasing and phasing 90 degrees out of phase. It is possible to have something half-way in between as posted by the OP too.