My 1999 RT has about 60,000 kms on it. Other than a planned brake line upgrade, there's no maintenance items outstanding for the upcoming riding season. At what mileage is the spline lube recommended? I think I'm there but I don't have much time to donate to the garage as I'm busy with several other major projects.
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What mileage for 1st spline lube?
- Thread starter flhfxd
- Start date
pglaves
#13338
A good rule of thumb is about 40,000 miles (about 65,000Km). Certainly if you notice any reluctance to downshift - especially 3rd to 2nd - you are on borrowed time before a $1,500 - $2,000 transmission job, plus clutch parts, if you remove the transmission yourself. Drop it off at the shop and the $3,500 to $4,000 pricetag exceeds the value of the bike maybe.
That simply would never happen. I have too many tools and a lot of respect for hard earned cash. LOL. 45000 miles. Check. Thx
ALIENHITCHHIKER
New member
I inspected and re-lubed the splines on my '00 RT at about 60K. Took me probably 10 hours - including replacement of the paralever pivot bearings with bushings. But I move slow.
Got a little obsessive about it - examined the splines with a a big magnifying glass. They looked like they had just been machined. I honestly could not detect any signs of wear.
When I put it all back together I used the famous Glaves' recipe -- moly paste + moly grease. Rumor has it that the Glaves moly potion is good for 100K. Yep, I think I saw that somewhere on the internet, or someplace like that.
Currently at 110K. I'm disinclined to mess with it again, at least until it's time for a new clutch plate.
I'd welcome Paul's opinion on my theory that if the splines look good at 60K they are likely to be trouble free for many more miles. Am I fooling myself?
Got a little obsessive about it - examined the splines with a a big magnifying glass. They looked like they had just been machined. I honestly could not detect any signs of wear.
When I put it all back together I used the famous Glaves' recipe -- moly paste + moly grease. Rumor has it that the Glaves moly potion is good for 100K. Yep, I think I saw that somewhere on the internet, or someplace like that.
Currently at 110K. I'm disinclined to mess with it again, at least until it's time for a new clutch plate.
I'd welcome Paul's opinion on my theory that if the splines look good at 60K they are likely to be trouble free for many more miles. Am I fooling myself?
RPGR90s
Member
Spline Lube
I too would welcome Paul's opinion. '04 RT, spline lube at 40k back in 2010. Inspection was similar to AlienHitchhiker's, with no perceptible wear. I applied 50/50 Wurth/Moly 50. Current mileage is 110k and I'm reluctant to remove the tranny again as the trans shifts beautifully.
RPGR90s
I too would welcome Paul's opinion. '04 RT, spline lube at 40k back in 2010. Inspection was similar to AlienHitchhiker's, with no perceptible wear. I applied 50/50 Wurth/Moly 50. Current mileage is 110k and I'm reluctant to remove the tranny again as the trans shifts beautifully.
RPGR90s
pglaves
#13338
I am reluctant to advise a person not to lube a clutch spline. The reason is I have seen too many fail. It is obvious that when a spline looks perfect after 40 or 50 thousand miles that the alignment is perfect or near perfect and a misalignment cause of future wear is unlikely. But the spline lubricant serves three functions: 1) it is a lubricant that eases the clutch hub sliding on the shaft; 2) it cushions the shaft and hub splines as rotary force is applied; and 3) it serves to protect the metal surfaces from moisture and the resultant oxidation (rust).
In this case the splines looked perfect at 40K miles. It is now 60K and ten years later. Given the lubrication with a combination of Honda Moly 60 and Wurth Sig 3000 it is distinctly possible, maybe even likely that those splines are fine. I have (somewhere) a picture of the splines on my K75 at 300K miles that look that good.
That lubricant will last a long time. What I will say for sure is that at the very first sign of a problem downshifting, especially from 4th to 3rd or 3rd to 2nd, it is time to take things apart and renew the lubricant.
