Cush Drive Splines

[Boomer343]

Was going through some photos and thought I'd post these up. This is what the cush drive splines look like pretty close to failure. The o rings shown are used on the drive and show new and old. This dive had lots of lube on it but is from a high miles bike. To really see the splines the cush drive needs to be removed from the wheel.

[Steve in Sunny Fla]

wow, alot to be learned right there, esp pic #2. Thanks for cleaning that up and posting it up for us. Steve

[Centex]

....This d(r)ive had lots of lube on it but is from a high miles bike.

Just curious, what is "high miles" on that drive?

The type of lube can make a big difference in the life of wheel splines.  Many of us that have owned older BMW airheads swear by (certainly not at) Honda Moly 60 paste.  A $10 tube of Moly 60 paste will last for over 150k miles of tire changes on one bike.

Moly 60 paste (which is not a grease and should never be used on bearings) must not be confused with "moly grease" which does litttle, if anything, to protect splines from wear.  The diffference in molybdenum disulfide content is significant.


I've seen still-running BMW wheel splines worn 'till there was no flat at all on the top of the spline .... they came to a sharp pointed top and were working 'down the slope' toward completely stripping-off.  The steel is extremely strong and the splines can be very thin before total failure (not that I'd want to be depending on them  ).

[Boomer343]

Centex the ODO shows 56,000 KM and has been around once so 156000 km or about 97000 miles.

Previous owner kept good records and judging by the material I cleaned off of the splines I would say it had a fair dose of moly paste and some other greases as well.

These cush drive splines are softer material than the splines they mate up to, not sure on the BMW if it is the same.

On the low mile replacement I picked up I am using a PTFE Lubricant from Ford that they use on driveshaft splines on their trucks.

 

[Centex]

I hope that my Connie splines look better than that at 97 - 100k miles, only time will tell 

I'm sticking with the moly 60 paste without any other grease that might dilute its effectiveness - let's get back together here and compare to the teflon lubed splines at 100k 

IIRC the 70's - 80's vintage airheads wore slightly faster on the wheel/female side than on the gear/male side.  No telling what the differences are in the materials and fit between the two bikes, but I'm guessing fairly similar for these pieces.

Thanks for sharing the pics!

[m hanlen]

Was going through some photos and thought I'd post these up. This is what the cush drive splines look like pretty close to failure. The o rings shown are used on the drive and show new and old. This dive had lots of lube on it but is from a high miles bike. To really see the splines the cush drive needs to be removed from the wheel.

I'm sorry but I don't know where (cush drive splines) this is. Help me out. Thanks

[Boomer343]

The cush drive splines are right next to the warp drive.....oops sorry wrong bike.

If you have the rear wheel off the bike then you will see the plate with the splines in it. It is kept in place by a large ring. Most people don't remove it and simply regrease with the proper grease when they do a tire change. To get a better idea you could look up the rear wheel assembly on a parts listing.

Hope this helps.

[Pfloydgad]

Cush drive splines, rear hub splines, rear shaft splines. Tomato, tomoto.
Just be thankful that Mama Kaw changed the rear hub spline gear to something that wears out, and is roughly $900 cheaper then the drive splines in the pig.
(Or at least the last time I looked)
70k on my 01 produced this.
Just pull the spline gear with every rear tire change, now how hard is that. If you ride like most on here, you will need a rear skin seasonally anyway.
Being totally stranded is the result of this wear. Thank goodness I was close to home.
Just my $.02
Ride safe all, and in this new year, please, ATGATT.
Greg

[m hanlen]

Cush drive splines, rear hub splines, rear shaft splines. Tomato, tomoto.
Just be thankful that Mama Kaw changed the rear hub spline gear to something that wears out, and is roughly $900 cheaper then the drive splines in the pig.
(Or at least the last time I looked)
70k on my 01 produced this.
Just pull the spline gear with every rear tire change, now how hard is that. If you ride like most on here, you will need a rear skin seasonally anyway.
Being totally stranded is the result of this wear. Thank goodness I was close to home.
Just my $.02
Ride safe all, and in this new year, please, ATGATT.
Greg

Now I know where it is. Yes I've removed the snap ring and the rubber cushion, cleaned and checked everything several times. Sorry, I didn't recognize the first pics. I new exactly when I saw these pics. Thanks

[Jet86]

wow this is something i have never looked at on my bike as i let the dealer do my tire changing, my 86 has almost 73k