Drive Shaft Maintenance

[Wrongway]

Drive shaft maint. On 1st Gen

 

Here is a good article that was written by Mr. Fred Vogt. Fred published a lot of this type articles for the MTA's Motorcycle Roads Magazine.

 

This service should be completed every tire change or 10,000 miles (16,000k) or at least every two years; but in most cases it isn't done because we don't always have a dealer replace our tires and/or we don't tell him to do the work. So if you just bought the bike or you are not sure it has been done, it would be a good time to think about servicing the rear wheel of your Venture. The procedure is fairly simple to do on bikes without a trailer hitch and only a little harder if your bike has one. Remove the rear bags, right muffler, rear brake caliper and deflate the tire; then remove the rear wheel. If your Venture is a 1983, 84, or 85 you will need to remove the rear drive or differential and remove the drive shaft. Clean the drive shaft and coupling, then grease both ends before putting it back in (note: make sure that the shaft goes back into the u-joint. If you are not sure, remove the spring on the boot covering the u-joint and check it. Next clean the spline or gear on the rear drive and grease it with a good quality grease, personally I use a medium Moly based grease. Now find a couple of 2" x 4" and place the rear wheel spline side up on the boards. When you clean the hub and splines off you will see the spring clip or circlip that holds the hub in place; remove this clip and before you remove the hub mark the possession of the hub so you can replace it in the same holes it came from. Now clean the hub and inspect it for wear then apply grease to the inside of the hub and to the six posts that fit into the wheel. Check the o-ring on the wheel to be sure it is in place before you replace the hub and circlip. Check the bearings inside of the wheel and check the bearing movement; if they are rough or worn replace them. Now for the mono shock pivots place a jack under the rear drive to take the strain off of the mono shock then dissemble. Clean and grease all of the pivot points and reassemble (if you have a 90 - 93 or you have had grease fittings installed, just give them a squirt). Before you install the rear wheel take the axle and put it back through the swing arm into the final drive to check the alignment. If you find that it is in a bind you will have to change the wedge shim between the final drive and the swing arm. Check the oil level in the rear drive or replace the oil if it has been 10,000 miles since it was serviced and check the brake pads for wear. You can now reassemble your bike and have another year or two of trouble free riding.

Fred J. Vogt, #01037