How To Lubricate The Rear Drive Splines

[sodbuster]

You need to grease your drive splines each time you change your rear tire. This is true for all shaft drive bikes, regardless of brand. The drive splines get surprisingly hot. Additionally, there's a lot of pressure on the splines and a lot of back and forth sliding motion. Any liquid type of grease will quickly be squeezed out of the splines, and leave you with no protection.

The ONLY grease that should be used on the spline is genuine Moly 60 paste (60% molybdenum disulfide). A lot of greases now say "Moly" on the container, but dont come close to the Moly 60 paste. Moly 60 is a dry lubricant which bonds to the metal surfaces, offering lubrication properties even when the parts have squeezed everything liquid out. Part number for Honda Moly 60 Paste in a 3 oz. tube is 08734-0001

UPDATE #1 : Reports from the Valkyrie Riders website VRCC are saying that MOLY 60 is not holding up and you'll get rust over time. I recommend using GuardDog 525. It is 30% moly and has been tested and designed for motorcycle use

UPDATE #2: Honda Moly 60 Paste has been discontinued and GuardDog is no longer in business. Honda Moly 60 has been replaced by Honda HN 08798-9010 MOLY PASTE (M77). Some current Moly paste choices are Honda M77, Loc-Tite 51048, TS-60 moly paste and Jet-Lube. There are differences in Molybdunum disulfide percentage and temperature rating among these... so I suppose the one with highest Moly content and highest temperature range would be the winner?
The Loc-Tite & TS-60 products gets good reviews.

UPDATE #3: I confronted a service manager at the dealer I usually go to for parts on what's the right stuff to use for the drive splines. He replied "The manual says to use Honda Moly 60". But when I asked him if that's what's used in the shop he kinda hesitated and said "Well, no we use Bel-Ray Assembly Lube ". But, finding Bel-Ray Assembly Lube might be a challenge. It appears that it's no longer available at some outlets. Over on the Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club website (VRCC) many riders are using Bel-Ray Waterproof Grease (not the same as assembly lube) with favorable results and having virtually no wear on any of the splines even after 100k miles. So, take that for what it's worth.

Original lube requirement per Honda Service Manual for a GL1100 is lithium based multipurpose NLGI No. 2 grease w/MOS2 additive. The lube requirement for my '99 Valkyrie was Molybdenum Disulfide Grease .... basically a multi-purpose grease w/MOS2. So .... you will need to decide what your comfortable with.

But, like notable members have pointed out, the BIG key to long life for the splines is proper assembly procedure and checking/re-lubing at 10k-15k miles.

I removed the website and photo for GuardDog as it is no longer in business. It's replacement appears to be the HONDA M-77 & TS-60 product referenced below. TS-60 seems to be what the Beemer dudes are using.



Because Moly-60 Paste is no longer available it should be substituted with one of the products listed below.

Check out the following links:
BEL-RAY WATERPROOF GREASE https://www.belray.com/product/waterproof-grease
HONDA M-77 https://www.amazon.com/Honda-HN-08798-9 ... B0083BWUYW
LOCTITE MOLY PASTE https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-234227-L ... B001HWBSJW
TS-60 SPLINE GREASE https://www.tsmoly.com/grease-spline-grease-p-367.html
JETLUBE http://www.jetlube.com/pages/EP_Bearing_Grease.html


With your rear wheel off the bike, the drive splines will be exposed.
The drive side spline has a splined gear that extends outward, and rotates as the driveshaft rotates.




The wheel side spline has a splined gear that accepts the drive side spline. Before you remove the wheel side spline from the wheel, and it might take some persuading, scribe (or use a magic marker) it's orientation so it goes back in the same holes.




Clean off any existing grease with whatever means available (Rags, Q-Tips, Paper towels, etc). You'll likely need some solvent like Kerosene or Brake Parts Cleaner to get them clean (I used lacquer thinner). You want the surfaces to be CLEAN & DRY prior to applying the paste.

When all the splines and sliding pins are clean and dry then apply the Moly-60 paste. The idea here is to more or less paint the splines - you're not looking for a large volume of grease, like you would use on a wheel bearing. It's helpful to use a clean solder flux brush or old tooth brush to spread the grease or just use your fingers to smear it on. It's going to be a messy task so wearing some latex gloves is a good idea.

Inspect the o-ring for wear and replace if necessary. Coat the wheel hub and o-ring with some Moly 60.




Coat the sliding pins on the wheel side spline as well.




Before assembling the wheel side spline, clean out the sliding pin bores of the wheel. A 20 ga. gun cleaning brush in a drill works good for this.




That's it. Now assemble the wheel and drive unit to the bike. While you're at it now would be a good time to change the gear drive oil too.

[rogue1000]

That has come just in time; I'll be pulling the rear after the first for a new tire and I was looking for just this sort of "How to". Thanks

[Sagebrush]

I have a friend who owned a Valkyrie, after he got some significant miles on the bike he began having issues with his final drive. Rebuilt it twice over a couple of years. Then he found that if he lubricated his splines like Roady points out his final drive woes were over. He finally sold that bike with over 160,000 miles on the clock.

Good tip Sodbuster.

[Neil]

Thank you for taking the time to put that together ... timely indeed, rear coming off this Saturday 8)

[sodbuster]

Also, you'll find that the BMW shops are using this as well. The tube cost me $9.95 + tax

[heraldhamster]

is there any way to re-orient the splines correctly if the wheel was taken off by a P.O.?
or do you just want it to get back on the way it has been for the last several hundred or thousand miles?

yeah cleaning the residue from the previous batch can be a real b*tch.

[sodbuster]

is there any way to re-orient the splines correctly if the wheel was taken off by a P.O.?
or do you just want it to get back on the way it has been for the last several hundred or thousand miles?

yeah cleaning the residue from the previous batch can be a real b*tch.

The splines themselves don't need to be re-oriented it's just the sliding pins in the holes of the wheel. I noticed that if I indexed the pins to the next hole in the wheel that the wheel side spline carrier didn't want to slide in and out very good like it was binding. So I just kept indexing it until I got it to slide properly.

[Ole Guy]

Pretty cool article. First time I have heard anyone mention the final-drive-hub lube. Excellent work here. I am sure mine needs a brushing or two.

[heraldhamster]

...The splines themselves don't need to be re-oriented it's just the sliding pins in the holes of the wheel. I noticed that if I indexed the pins to the next hole in the wheel that the wheel side spline carrier didn't want to slide in and out very good like it was binding. So I just kept indexing it until I got it to slide properly.

ah! thanks.

[tk1971]

I'm in the process of getting ready to re-assemble my rear end, but I can't get the flange off. My impression from the manual and this thread, is that it pulls right off. Am I missing something?

Thanks.

Tony

[sodbuster]

I'm in the process of getting ready to re-assemble my rear end, but I can't get the flange off. My impression from the manual and this thread, is that it pulls right off. Am I missing something?

It may need a little coaxing with a tire iron or something similar. I know the first time I removed mine that's what I had to do.

[sunnbobb]

I had a tough one too. I ended up using a wheel puller with a bar across the hub and the flange came right out.

[tk1971]

Got it off. As suggested, I used the "Key to the City"... err, I mean a crowbar.

Thanks once again.

tk

[DutchPurrpl]

Hey, just letting you know I finished a combination of this project and several more "while the wheels were off". Thanks to all who have contributed to this wealth of great information. I figure I saved over $1000 by doing the front engine work, the timing belts, and the drive spline while the rims were in for new Dunlop Elite IIIs. Total cost for all (minus tires) was about $140. Of course, that's in addition to the great satisfaction and bonding with the machine. Thanks again for all your help.
Dutch.

[dutchpurrpl]

Hey, just letting you know I finished a combination of this project and several more "while the wheels were off". Thanks to all who have contributed to this wealth of great information. I figure I saved over $1000 by doing the front engine work, the timing belts, and the drive spline while the rims were in for new Dunlop Elite IIIs. Total cost for all (minus tires) was about $140. Of course, that's in addition to the great satisfaction and bonding with the machine. Thanks again for all your help.
Dutch.

Just wanted to let y'all know this is my new address. The old account wouldn't work right anymore, so Roady deleted it and gave me this one. Although I lost my "lead" cred, it's still me, and I've put on about 200 miles since that previous post, including@ 80+ mph. Runs great, solid as a rock! I did have to retighten the water pump housing bolts twice, as they work in a little after heating and cooling.
Just one thing: how do I get rid of the vision of the front wheel studs coming loose, the wheel going flying, and the fork digging into the highway, launching me into a thousand foot arc?
Dutch