R1100RS-Spline Lube Tail Pivot Question

[bwanajames]

Gents,

Doing a spline lube and I'm to the point where I'm ready to do the tail pivot. I've combed these forums pretty throughly and understand that (from Paul Glaves specifically) I can leave the air box attached to the rear frame when I pivot the tail up (as opposed to removing the air box entirely).

The dilemma is, there is only about a 3/4" of clearance between the air box and the battery tray, which doesn't allow much tail lift before contact. The logical thing is to remove the battery tray, right? Well, even after removing the battery tray fasteners, it appears to have a bottom flange that is spot welded to the larger ABS tray. In other words, I can't remove it separately.

So, you guys that leave the air box in place during a tail pivot, how do you avoid this interference?

Jim

 

[rad]

It has been years since I did an RS, but I'm 99% sure your best bet is to drop the air box down and out as you lift the tail section.

 

[cb75076]

I did a clutch spline lube (and clutch replacement) just a few months ago on a 1996 R1100RT. I did end up removing the airbox, so I don't know if this info applies, but I know that I had to remove 4 nuts from posts under the ABS/battery box area. The two nuts under the battery itself were obvious and easy to get to, but the two front ones, under the ABS unit, were harder to reach. I was able to access them by wedging a small piece of wood under the ABS unit, just enough to put a small wrench on the nut, then was able to painstakingly turn them bit by bit. Attached is a photo of the battery box/ABS unit once the four nuts were removed - the area is held up above the posts on the trans and engine that the nuts were on.

 

[cb75076]

Here's a view from further back, and from the opposite side.

 

[arthurdent]

Looks from the pic like you may have gotten your undies in a twist! I agree that your support system may be more sturdy than the garage itself.

 

[limecreek]

Another view with the air box removed.

 

[PGlaves]

I remove the ABS unit and the battery and then the battery tray.

 

[bwanajames]

Ignorant Rookie Question...

I remove the ABS unit and the battery and then the battery tray.

Hi Paul, thanks for chiming in. Though relatively new to this site, it didn't take me long to figure out that both you and Voni are legends.

Ok, compliments aside, I'm going to ask a dumb rookie queston. My initial reaction is - since the ABS is hard-plumbed with metal lines - isn't it more difficult to fuss with disconnecting hydraulic lines, fluid dripage, bleeding etc. than pulling the air box? What am I missing?

Thanks Paul. You sure help a lot of folks...

Oh, and a related question if I may. Is Guard Dog GD-525 (30% moly) still your preferred spline lube?

Jim

 

[Walking Eagle]

Grease Wars

First, WELCOME to the wonderful world of Oilhead spline-lubes.

You've come to the right place for advice, and have spotted "Mr. Gold Standard" in Paul Glaves. . .

There should be several threads regarding the "right" lube for your splines, and you'll quickly notice that - as with the ubiquitous belly-button, EVERYBODY has an opinion. Here is mine.

Paul, and others, are of the opinion that the "old" standby, Honda Moly 60, is NOT the preferred lube, BY ITSELF. Too much Moly (60%, thus the name), and not enough "sticky grease" to help keep it on the splines for 25-30,000 miles.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not familiar with the Guard-Dog 30% Moly ingredients, but the Moly % is right-on, so IF this already contains a "sticky grease" out of the box, you should be good to go. I use (other) Guard-Dog Moly products in all my (non-crankcase) lubes on Airheads and Oilheads -- another good idea, IMHO.

I use a 50/50 mix of BelRay Waterproof grease and Moly 60, mostly because I already have a tube of Moly 60. In the past, Paul G. has also used this 50-50 mix, but with a different "sticky grease."

Brief history of using ONLY Moly 60, and the unhappy consequences of same, can probably be searched-out on Honda Valkyrie threads. The main use of Moly 60 over the years was to lube the FD splines on Goldwings and other similar drive splines. THIS WAS DONE AT EVERY REAR TIRE CHANGE, which was typically under 10,000 miles -- sometimes, WELL-UNDER. Worked fine in that application. When the Valkyrie INTERNAL (hard to access -- sound familiar?) splines were lubed ONLY with Moly 60 -- it proved to be a bridge too far, and these bikes started eating their internal splines, due to "pushing" the 10,000 mile interval. $$$$

FYI, I became a True Believer when I "forgot" to lube the splines on an '84 GL1200 at a rear tire change, and had to buy a new/used FD. YRMV.

If you research the threads, you'll see that many excellent folks have used ONLY Honda Moly 60 for decades, without incident. Not trying to start a war here, so do your own due diligence, and factor in the cost of making a mistake. It's a LOT of hard work to get to these splines, and using what you are comfortable with lends wonderful peace of mind as you ride this magical machine for many happy miles.

Walking Eagle

 

[cb75076]

Very observant about the undies, arthurdent, but at least they're boxers.

 

[Olsensan]

Go here, pics and ref material.

http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?t=58350&highlight=1150rt+spline+lube

 

[flars]

air box

I took the air box out when I pulled the transmission on my 98 RS. Once you start lifitng the tail it comes out easily without having to disturb the ABS or battery box. It is flexible and just slides right out once all the nuts and screws are removed.
The only hard part comes when you can't get the transmission off because there is a wire bundle that blocks the two studs sticking up out of the transmission (the airbox attaches to these two studs). I had to use a tire iron to pry the wire bundle out of the way.