Spline Drive on K series

[tjtraver]

Clutch Spline lube shortcut (not )

Don,

Thanks for the info ! And also for such a VERY speedy reply... I will do it by the book, using the hang-it-by-a-rope-from-the-garage-ceiling method ... sometime before the riding season really kicks in ... from reading the manual, yes, would have to think first time thru it will easily take several hours... Thanks again, hope to meet you sometime, seeing you are just across the river from me in NJ... Thanks again ... Todd Traver ( do you ever hook up the the BMW riders at Stateline overlook off the Palisades on Sunday mornings ? ).

 

[deilenberger]

Re: Clutch Spline lube shortcut (not )

Don,

Thanks for the info ! And also for such a VERY speedy reply... I will do it by the book, using the hang-it-by-a-rope-from-the-garage-ceiling method ... sometime before the riding season really kicks in ... from reading the manual, yes, would have to think first time thru it will easily take several hours... Thanks again, hope to meet you sometime, seeing you are just across the river from me in NJ... Thanks again ... Todd Traver ( do you ever hook up the the BMW riders at Stateline overlook off the Palisades on Sunday mornings ? ).

Actually - nope. Too much traffic and too many cars up that part of the state. I just blast through it usually, or go up the western edge of NJ (nice roads there..)

A suggestion - before doing it - pull out one of the tranny bolts (it won't fall off) - visit an autoparts place. Get the same thread bolt about 3" long. Get 4-5 of them. Cut the heads off and slot them for a screwdriver. These make very nice guide bolts so you're not holding the weight of the tranny when removing and reinstalling it. Makes it a MUCH easier job. On disassembly - just take out a bolt and thread in the guide pin you made, then the next one and the next one.. etc. On reassembly - put them in the bottom 4 bolt holes.

Best (and you might consider coming to the NEPB - the Internet North-East Presidents Breakfast - April 24-25 near Mount Holly NJ..)

 

[CustomSarge]

Primo Idea!

TNX Don for the "cut-off bolt as guide" idea, it's great. Real glad I put 2 cents in; 5 came back!

 

[tjtraver]

K75 Spline lube tip

Don , Now there's something I didn't see in any manual. Thanks so much for the great idea ... ! Makes perfect sense !

If schedues permit, will try and make it down there the end of April ... an excellent excuse for a nice ride down along the Delaware river... Thanks Again ! ... Todd

 

[jdiaz]

Here's what the cut-off bolts should look like:

 

[jdiaz]

And here's what the trans spline should look like:

 

[knary]

And here's what the trans spline should look like:

wow! clean!

The bolt trick is very good and works very well. I didn't bother to slot them as they always spun right in by hand without any fuss.

 

[jdiaz]

wow! clean!

Yeah, I'd never seen the parts looking that good either. What's more amazing is those pictures were taken right after we'd pulled the bike apart.....25K miles and four years since the splines were lubed last time. We didn't have to clean a thing other than the splines. I've never been that lucky before.

I had the clutch basket seal in hand and was prepared to disassemble the clutch, but everything looked great when we pulled it back. And knock on wood....that transmission is still on the original seals.....its never been apart.

 

[knary]

Yeah, I'd never seen the parts looking that good either. What's more amazing is those pictures were taken right after we'd pulled the bike apart.....25K miles and four years since the splines were lubed last time. We didn't have to clean a thing other than the splines. I've never been that lucky before.

I had the clutch basket seal in hand and was prepared to disassemble the clutch, but everything looked great when we pulled it back. And knock on wood....that transmission is still on the original seals.....its never been apart.

Are you saying that you didn't clean that tranny, that it was that nice looking "naturally"??!?!

Admit it, you only ride that bike indoors.

 

[jdiaz]

Are you saying that you didn't clean that tranny, that it was that nice looking "naturally"??!?!

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Twas a good thing too, since we did two spline lubes that day....

 

[kbasa]

Where's all the clutch dust?

Holy cow.

 

[knary]

Where's all the clutch dust?

Holy cow.

Exactly!
Whenever I pulled my K apart, it was like working in a chimney - blackish clutch dust everywhere.

 

[jdiaz]

Where's all the clutch dust?

Holy cow.

I'm pretty easy on clutches in general, and the K75 has such a low first gear I don't need to slip it very much. The original one I took out of there at 155,000 miles measured out virtually new....I still have it in a plastic baggie.

 

[hankb]

Here's what the cut-off bolts should look like:

Wow! Mine did not look like that. In addition to the matte black clutch lining coating, I had a little pile of rubber crumbs and aluminum shavings in the depression above the alternator.

 

[jdiaz]

Wow! Mine did not look like that. In addition to the matte black clutch lining coating, I had a little pile of rubber crumbs and aluminum shavings in the depression above the alternator.

Now you know why I didn't want to come over and work on your bike, Hank.

 

[hankb]

Now you know why I didn't want to come over and work on your bike, Hank.

Actually... If you took one look in my garage, you would see why I didn't invite you!

 

[byker]

k bike spline repairs

I had the pinion gear, drive shaft end and universal joints repaired/replaced by Brunos Machine and Repair in Kitchener Ontario. A fellow MOA member had written a pictorial article on this subject in the Owners News and had used Bruno for the required service. With 106k kilometers the splines were on their way out. I took the parts to Bruno myself as his shop is 1 hour west of Toronto in Kitchener Ontario and looked over his shop and work in progress. The quality of work is exceptional and prices are very reasonable. Turn around time was 10 days. Bruno is a master toolmaker and has made his own jigs to do the work. The end result, in my opinion, is better than what came from the factory. Greater attention to tolerances and such is what makes Brunos repairs superior to those of others. If you wish to contact Bruno, his number is 519-745-7824

Regards,
Avrom Brown
1987K100RS
71133

 

[BRAHMA]

Don-

I have a thread going inquiring about the schedules for servicing the clutch spline and the drive splines on my '85 K100RT. In brief, I'm getting conflicting information that is getting me confused. If you don't mind, could you please answer some quick questions?

1. What is the schedule of service for the clutch spline drive?

2. What is the schedule of service for the rear drive spline?

3. Why didn't you mention the "inner" spline of the driveshaft?

4. Is it true that I can yank (pull, pluck whatever) the driveshaft out once the final drive is removed?

5. If #4 is true, how the heck do I align it and get it back in? I've read there is some circlip or something down in there- how do I get it connected back?

Thanks- I'm desperate for this particular information, and going blind by reading volumes of blogs, threads etc. looking for these particular answers.

Regards-

Dale Dervin

 

[deilenberger]

Originally posted by ddervin

Dale wrote me directly.. so here was my email reply to him:

Don-

I have a thread going on BMWOA inquiring about the schedules for servicing the clutch spline and the drive splines on my '85 K100RT. I read a post of yours from a year ago regarding information about spline maintenance. In brief, I'm getting conflicting information that is getting me confused. If you don't mind, could you please answer some quick questions?

1. What is the schedule of service for the clutch spline drive?

On a K100 - once it's done with Moly60 - it's probably good for
20-25,000 miles or more. More on this below..

2. What is the schedule of service for the rear drive spline?

Every tire change.

3. Why didn't you mention the "inner" spline of the driveshaft?

Because it isn't a sliding spline and I've never heard of one
wearing out.

4. Is it true that I can yank (pull, pluck whatever) the driveshaft out once the final drive is removed?

Yes.

5. If #4 is true, how the heck do I align it and get it back in? I've read there is some circlip or something down in there- how do I get it connected back?

To get it out - put a hose clamp on it and pry it out with a big screwdriver against the hose clamp.- don't ding up the swingarm surface.. use some wood to protect it.

Putting it back in is easy - rotate it until it engages the splines then tap it in with a leather mallet (rubber would probably work also). It will seat on the circlip (it's actually a wire ring on the output shaft of the tranny).

Thanks- I'm desperate for this particular information, and going blind by reading volumes of blogs, threads etc. looking for these particular answers.

You didn't mention how many miles you think are on the FYK (it's always a guess since the speedos were almost all repaired or replaced), and if there is any record of a spline lube being done.

That determines when it needs doing. If you've never done it - and don't know if it was ever done - then you DO want to do it.

Once you've done it with the proper lube (Honda Moly60) - then the next time (20-25k miles later) you'll get an idea of how frequently it needs to be done.

The rear drive needs doing at 10,000 miles or every tire change, whichever comes first. And the inner driveshaft spline never really needs doing.. but if you really want to make sure - do it once with the moly grease and then forgetaboutit.

Regards-
Dale Dervin

 

[BRAHMA]

Don-

Thanks for the reply. I'll post here instead of email you directly for the benefit of others.

My bike has 81,900+ miles on it, and I have kept meticulous records on it for the past 17 years that I have owned it. I'm the second owner, but it only had 2718 miles on it when I bought it as a bank repo in 1987.

I'm not sure what you mean by the "FYK", but I have religiously had the clutch spline lubed every 10,000 miles. Since I have lately started to get confused by dealers, I haven' t had the clutch spline lubed since about 13,000 miles ago by a dealer in southern Ohio I trust. My confusion from varying dealers about the maintenance schedule for this service is why I am looking for "definitive" answers about this.

However, I am not sure about if the folks ever did the rear drive splines at the same time, because they never asked me if I wanted it done, and I never asked them to do it because I always thought it was the clutch spline that was the big thing to do- I never new about the drive splines!

Yikes!

However, four years and about 9000 miles ago ( I don't ride it all the time anymore, I love it so much I'm trying more to "preserve" it throughout my lifetime!) the bearings in my final drive blew (don't know the cause of that because I ALWAYS replace the gear oil in it at the start of every "season" every year), and when I personally replaced the final drive, I greased that rear drive spline, because my basic knowledge of mechanical stuff told me it was "the thing to do". I remember clearly it already had what I thought was a "decent" amount of grease on it, but I cleaned both the spline and the "female", part of the new final drive, and greased them both. I used fresh "regular" grease I had lying around, which is definately not Honda Moly60.

I will immediately pull the final drive, find some Honda Moly60, and clean and grease everything again.
-------------

To clarify, I'd like to reiterate what you are telling me for you to verify I have this right.

1. Find and buy HondaMoly60 (probably at a Honda dealer- duh...), and pull the final drive and clean and grease the rear drive spline. You recommend this should be done every 10,000 miles.

2. Alternatively, the shaft could be pryed out in it's entirety, both spline ends cleaned and greased with Honda Moly60, and put back in by rotating and aligning, and whacking it back in with a leather (or rubber?) mallet. Again, you recommend this entire service is to be done every 10,000 miles (and sounds easy enough for me to do).

3. You recommend the clutch spline be lubed every 20,000 to 25,000 miles with Honda Moly60. This I REALLY, REALLY WISH I could do myself, but I just don't have the setup to hold the bike up. I HATE having to pay around $375.00 to get it done, and would MUCH rather do it myself so I KNOW it's done right (paranoid), but I think it's out of my personal mechanical and tool ability.
----------------
I have one more question;

There is a "weep" hole on the bottom of the tranny that gets about 6 or 8 drops of oil out of it now on every ride.

1. Is this a "main seal" between the trans and engine that is letting loose?

2. Could it be replaced during a clutch spline lube since the trans would be out? I realize the clutch would have to be disassembled, but hey, having it torn down that far already might help.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

DSD