**spline lube....** help?

[biketrax]

I have been having some rough shifting last couple of thousand miles on my 100GSPD 19k ... I was just advised to lube the spline first??
Any advise and help in locating the sources on how to do it?
thanks

[rpeckham136133]

Cannot see how lubing the splines would do anything for rough shifting!

Spline lube is straightforward: you must be able to break apart the engine and the tranny. It can be done without removing either from the bike, but most people would probably separate and remove if they are in that far.

In a nutshell: the driveshaft has to be disconnected, as well as the clutch cable. Some people like to take out the swingarm for access to slide the tranny back. Some will disconnect exhausts, then remove the rear engine mount bolt and tilt the engine forward. The goal is to be able to slide the tranny back a little over an inch, to expose the splines which are on the tranny input shaft (attached to tranny).

There will be alot of stuff that has to get done to do some of the steps above (like remove the battery cable, etc) but you get the picture....

[biketrax]

Cannot see how lubing the splines would do anything for rough shifting!
....

Thats what I thought also but thats what was recomended by more than one?
So I say to yu RP what so you suggest as my aproach to the remedy?

[rpeckham136133]

Thats what I thought also but thats what was recomended by more than one?
So I say to yu RP what so you suggest as my aproach to the remedy?

Tell us more about "rough shifting": does it take more effort to shift with your foot? does the clutch engage suddenly? does it go crunch and clunk -- any feel or noise in particular?

get wordy on us!

[BuddingGeezer]

The symptoms of a dry clutch spline is hard down shifting espcially shifting from 3rd-2nd/2nd-1st. The clutch is not totally disengaging because the friction from the dry shaft is holding it in place.

The bike may upshift fine.

It doesn't matter if one believes in lubing the clutch splines or not, the fact is that the clutch splines need lubricating with an EP lubricant or they will wear away. Most use Honda Moly 60.

Kinda like the Fram commercial, "Pay me now or Pay me later"

Ralph Sims

[rpeckham136133]

Thanks for that clarification, Budding Geezer (great name!)...

I am not saying that it should not be lubed, I have both Honda Moly and BMW in my shop, just was not aware of how that could impact the shifting... especially since that tranny is supposed to be so much better than my airhead trannies...

:drink

PS I know that I had a link to some info on the how-to for clutch spline lube, am still searching and will post if and when I can find it again....

edit: here it is: http://www.airheads.org/content/view/209/98/

[20774]

I used both the Airhead one previous posted as well as this one:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/spline/

to do my /7. Together, they present a good approach to lubing the splines. It took me the entire weekend (not working all the time); but I thought about each step and decided how to proceed and made some slight changes along the way.

If it's never been done, it might be best to remove the tranny for a thorough cleaning and lubing. Taking the short cut might help to determine if a dry shaft is part of the problem.

There was a certain period of input shafts which were specially coated or machined so that the spline lube was needed less often. Is the GSPD one of them?

[biketrax]

Tell us more about "rough shifting": does it take more effort to shift with your foot? does the clutch engage suddenly? does it go crunch and clunk -- any feel or noise in particular?

get wordy on us!

YES!! The gears go crunch and clunk every once in a while. I plan to do this spline lube soon. Should I be made aware of other things to consider?
Shifting tends to have a tough time finding the correct gear especially between first and second, I have to jam down and up harder than I feel it should be. Also my clutch cable seems to have stretched, it seems to be at the end of its adjustment.

[DennisDarrow]

Perhaps some research on clutch adjustment, spline lube, and transmission problems might help you. Easy searchs. I find that some of the stuff posted above is pure BS..............pardon me 20774..............NOT YOU............

Anyway..............have you drained the transmission to see if there are chunks stuck to the magnet of the plug???...............Have you possibly strained the trans oil through a filter to see if there are non-magnetic chunks in there???

Crunching and grinding noises are NOT from clutch adjustment/spline lubes. Shifting problems yes; but not the noises you describe................

Just my thoughts; but do a search about spline lube and clutch adjustment in this forum and you will find a lot of valid information.....................Dennis

[rocketman]

YES!! The gears go crunch and clunk every once in a while. I plan to do this spline lube soon. Should I be made aware of other things to consider?
Shifting tends to have a tough time finding the correct gear especially between first and second, I have to jam down and up harder than I feel it should be. Also my clutch cable seems to have stretched, it seems to be at the end of its adjustment.

have you adjusted the lever end? and if the cable is at its end of life then that could prevent the clutch from fully disengaging and could cause the problems you discribe. Change that out before you do anything else and make sure its properly adjusted at the clutch end then with some free play at the handle end, that might be all that's needed.

RM

[dzimbric]

Check the internet BMW riders website for more info. BEin IN posted a thread in this forum on perfroming a spline lube on the K75 several years ago. Should not be hard to find.

[PGlaves]

Budding Geezer is exactly right. The three relevant parts are the pressure plate, the clutch disk, and the clutch cover (fixed ring). When you pull the clutch the pressure plate moves forward away from the clutch disk. The disk is thus no longer squeezed between the pressure plate and the clutch cover. It is not in contact with the pressure plate any more.

BUT, unless it can too slide slightly forward away from the clutch cover it continues to rub on it. The transmission is thus still subject to some torque (twisting force) from the engine. And this torque makes it difficcult to downshift.

The splines are the connection between the clutch disk hub and the transmission input shaft. Those splines need to be clean, smooth, and lubricated in order for the hub to slide slightly on that shaft. And dry grease, metal grindings, and rust don't make a very smooth surface for sliding.

So when the clutch hub splines need lubrication the very first sign in difficult downshifts. I can't tell you how many folks years ago told me they had trouble downshifting, pulled their transmission, took it in, they found nothing wrong, put it back in the bike and the trouble went away. But Oh My Goodness - yes they did lubricate the splines when re-installing the transmission.

Funny how that happens!

[jforgo]

to service the throwout assembly on the ass end of the transmission. If that is sticky, or a part inside is broken, it can alter the adjustment point on the clutch, and make it seem more worn than it is.
Neglect and corrosion in here might even cause a damaged/bent rod (which is what actually pushes against the diaphragm spring) further exacerbating clutch issues.
Also, if for some reason the shaft which goes thru the ears back there is bent, or only in one ear, definitely wouuld cause issues.
This is easy to do in connection with the spline lube.

[Polarbear]

Lube them splines and they will last a very long time. Don't and they will actually spin someday, moving the bike NO more! I'm sure some have heard of this happening. The shaft lubed is a lot cheaper than a new input shaft. A good wrench with some experience can do the job in 4 hours, approx..., removing the tranny and doing a really good job, cleaning and all else:). Randy:thumb