Mileage vs. Annual intervals for spline lube?

[mgordon]

Hi All,

I bought my old K100RT back the other day, very happy! After a brief and not so lucky year with a much abused r1100rs, i'm happy to have the K back.

The bike has had spline lubes done at 33, 51k and 68k (miles) intervals. The last interval was one year, and was done in 2005. The clutch plate and rear seal were done at the same time.

The bike now has another 10k on it (78k). My mechanic is telling me that the service interval for spline lube is 3 years, no matter the riding or mileage--because the lube dries out. Is this true? The bike has been basically in storage for 1.5 years, rarely ridden. It shifts and runs flawlessly (good maintenance record).

Thanks,
Mike

[lostboy]

I'd be torn-a spline lube on an early K only takes about three hours, so it's not a huge job. On the other hand, if it shifts well, it probably doesn't need it.

One of the ways we used to "test" whether a bike needed a spline lube was to get it hot, then downshift by pulling the clutch lever, letting engine speed drop to an idle, then moving the shift lever. If it went into the next gear smoothly, we would consider the splines to still have adequate lubricant.

It's my opinion that each bike will require different intervals for spline lubrication based on it's owners riding style, shaft alignment and environmental conditions.

[jobee58]

I might be missing something, but is this last response about final drive/drive shaft lube or about clutch spline lube? I know both are recommended for K's (my impression being that final drive-drive shaft is the more critical). The reason I ask is because I think there have been a number of experiences of final drive failure that didn't really have any kind of shifting-related symptoms.

[mgordon]

Very good point. My mechanic charges 5.0 hours and does both--clutch input and output/driveshaft splines.

I did the downshift test as suggested and bike shifts smoothly (considering it's 40-45 degrees up here). However, I had a final drive fail on a vintage goldwing once--took off on a trip where they were 50% (at the hub). So, better safe than sorry. Next $400 i get I will get it done.

Thanks,
Mike

[lostboy]

My post concerned input shaft/clutch splines.

Checking and lubing driveshaft splines should be done frequently until you know what your bike requires. This too is dependent on rider and environment.

[37071]

I have heard it suggested that the driveshaft spline should be lubed ever time a new back tyre is installed. The back wheel is already off, so that is a good time to take off the rear drive and then clean and relube the spline.:thumb

[mgordon]

when you say 'take off the rear drive' do you mean remove the final drive from the wheel hub, and lube the splines/flanges on the drive face? Or do you mean remove the driveshaft from the tranny/engine and lube?

[lostboy]

The rear drive is removed from the swingarm, exposing the male spline on the RDU and the female spline on the driveshaft.

[mgordon]

That would definitely be done on a tire change, no? Or would they unbolt the RDU from the hub? I had a rear tire put on at the dealership about two years ago, and they told me they would have done the splines then..

[lostboy]

I wouldn't count on it being done during a tire change. You generally have to ask for this, and it would add a half hour or more to your labor.

It sounds like you are confused about the location of the splines in question; up until the end of dual arm swingarms, the rear spline was on the rear wheel and rear drive's ring gear. With the advent of monolever and paralever the wheel bolts to the ring gear and the driveshafts are run dry (with the exception of non-GS types). Thus the need for periodic driveshaft spline lubrication.

[37071]

I was thinking about the monolever K Bikes. The back end of the driveshaft will lose all its teeth if that spline is not greased regularly. This is especially true of the non-GS types.:D

[mgordon]

thanks for the clarification--yes, i'm getting confused between early goldwings and the monolever type. I'll get it done for sure. $500 CDN covers clutch and rear drive splines