Drive shaft and such

[dna9656]

Pulled the rear wheel today to check for grease and general condition of the drive shaft and differential. See the pictures below. I am changing out the rear tire and wheel, along with the front too. These tires are both made in 1012 so that's on but the tires on the other bike are newer and the drive shaft and pinion are in way better shape.

You'll have to enlarge the picture to really see just how chewed up the teeth are; I think they are burned a bit too. So even though Yamaha doesn't list a servie interval for greasing the drive shaft, conventional wisdon dictates that EVERY time you remove the rear wheel, Inspect and GREASE THAT SET OF GEARS!!!

[Du-Rron]

New driveshaft time.

[Venturous Randy]

Yep, when mine failed, I was in a very remote place in the mountains by myself. I was not sure what happened, I just knew it was drive line related. I ended up being able to put as little power to the rearend as I could and made it home. I ended up replacing the collar on the rearend as it was chewed up too. From that point on, it was greased every time the tire was off.

Randy

[Black wing]

ive got about 20 of those laying around, pm your adress and pay shipping and i'll send ya one.

[dna9656]

ive got about 20 of those laying around, pm your address and pay shipping and I'll send ya one.

 

To paraphrase "The Blues Bothers I" I got both kinds; good and bad" right here! I have 6 VRs here; ONE that runs another ONE I have hopes for and FOUR parts bikes!

When I was on active duty I saw a large truck axle repaired on which the end of the axle (about 2" of splines) were broken off with "Belzona" a kind of epoxy. I wonder if this can be used to repair the drive shafts and gear coupling... as they are obsolete.

Edited August 7, 2016 by dna9656

[bongobobny]

Don't waste the time and effort, it is at best a temporary fix! Nothing wrong with a good used one. The one you showed in the picture is obviously toast...

[dna9656]

Yeah that was my judgment too; TOAST, sourdough! I just checked the parts catalogs and found the 1300CC bikes use a different shaft as well. So I was wondering if a 86 y/m rear wheel/differential assembly be used on the 83 to 85s (the 1200CC bikes)? Just curiosity, THAT would be pretty cool....

I know some pretty S/H machinists that have the capability (at home) to do the machining, but then I suppose if it were really necessary you COULD file it to shape...

[Venturous Randy]

The reason that the MKII driveshaft is different is because it is longer and that is because it fits deeper into the final drive coupling. This is because the coupling is made to lubricate the splines with the final drive gear oil. I see no reason that a MKII final drive would not be a direct bolt up to an MKI, as long as you used an MKII driveshaft.

And, other than occasionally greasing the u-joint coupling, you don't have to worry about greasing the final drive splines.

Randy

[Black wing]

there are so many of those things laying around repair is just not really worth it but if its required welding and resplining is the only way to go

[dna9656]

To paraphrase "The Blues Bothers I" I got both kinds; good and bad" right here! I have 6 VRs here; ONE that runs another ONE I have hopes for and FOUR parts bikes!

When I was on active duty I saw a large truck axle repaired on which the end of the axle (about 2" of splines) were broken off with "Belzona" a kind of epoxy. I wonder if this can be used to repair the drive shafts and gear coupling... as they are obsolete.

 

 

 

Here's the "other kind"; I pulled this out of the old #1 bike; looking good!

 

 

So this is going in tomorrow!

[bongobobny]

Yup! Works better with all the teeth intact!

[Prairiehammer]

Here's the "other kind"; I pulled this out of the old #1 bike; looking good!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]106783[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]106784[/ATTACH]

 

So this is going in tomorrow!

 

Actually, I think that driveshaft is worn substantially. Granted the teeth are not galled, but note how sharp the teeth are. Unworn teeth will be very blunt, with a prominent flat at the tip of the teeth.

 

Here's a good one for $9 plus shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/83-Yamaha-XVZ-1200-XVZ1200-Venture-drive-shaft-driveshaft-/311596597077?hash=item488c9abf55:g:0J4AAOSwYmZXF~84&vxp=mtr

[dna9656]

ive got about 20 of those laying around, pm your adress and pay shipping and i'll send ya one.

 

What kind of shape are they in?

[dna9656]

Actually, I think that driveshaft is worn substantially. Granted the teeth are not galled, but note how sharp the teeth are. Unworn teeth will be very blunt, with a prominent flat at the tip of the teeth.

 

Nice talking to you Kevin! And thanks for contributing to my edumication!

As this was the first shaft I had ever seen AND it is in SO much better shape than the one I found in the bike I figured it was good; well Kevin reminded me just what worn gears look like. Here is another picture of what I thought was a GOOD shaft; the angle is from the end, look closely and you'll see the thrust side of the gear is worn; worn so much that the "flat" top of the gear Kevin talks about is worn into a sharp tooth...Thanks to Kevin!

 

[bongobobny]

Yup!! Not very symmetrical at all!! Better than your chewed up one but still worn...

[djadam]

I have a question for someone on here. I have an 06 RSV, just barely has 20,000miles on it. When I am rolling slowly, I can feel a grinding that seems like it's from the back of the bike. I can feel it thru the seat. Could this be drive shaft related? I had a new rear tire put on last year, they said they greased the splines and all that. I have not taken it off myself. I can by by a little mechanically. Is it easy to remove once the bags are off? I have the jack adapter to get it off the ground. Also, what kind of grease it supposed to be used for the splines? Is there anything I should be looking for? I do not feel the grinding when I'm going about 20mph or faster. Only when going slow for stopping ot just taking off. But mostly, when rolling to a stop.

Thanks for your time.

Adam

[bongobobny]

Whoo Boy Adam, you just opened a can of worms there!! Yes, it COULD be driveshaft related, could be a LOT of other things as well!!

 

Yes, it is fairly easy to remove the driveshaft! The hard part is getting it back into the u joint again. There is an inspection hole in the swingarm that once you push back the rubber boot you can see. This hole works dandy for sticking a screwdriver or something in there to hold the u joint end up to guide the driveshaft back into the splines.

 

My first thoughts when you stated they greased the splines is did they do BOTH ends of the shaft, or just spread some grease on the differential end only?? Ya never know...

 

The grinding noise can be a lot of things like a dry u joint, wheel bearings, brake calipers hanging up, warped rotors, clutch issue, and on and on...

 

You will get several answers as to what grease to use, I use a synthetic wheel bearing grease myself. You want something that is fairly thick as there is a lot of pressure exerted on the splines.

[Prairiehammer]

I have a question for someone on here. I have an 06 RSV, just barely has 20,000miles on it. When I am rolling slowly, I can feel a grinding that seems like it's from the back of the bike. I can feel it thru the seat. Could this be drive shaft related? I had a new rear tire put on last year, they said they greased the splines and all that. I have not taken it off myself. I can by by a little mechanically. Is it easy to remove once the bags are off? I have the jack adapter to get it off the ground. Also, what kind of grease it supposed to be used for the splines? Is there anything I should be looking for? I do not feel the grinding when I'm going about 20mph or faster. Only when going slow for stopping ot just taking off. But mostly, when rolling to a stop.

Thanks for your time.

Adam

 

I suggest that the drive pins in the drive hub are dry and dirty. Clean and lube.

M2005-015, REAR WHEEL CREAKING.pdf

[gaj1917]

 

Yes, it is fairly easy to remove the driveshaft! The hard part is getting it back into the u joint again. There is an inspection hole in the swingarm that once you push back the rubber boot you can see. This hole works dandy for sticking a screwdriver or something in there to hold the u joint end up to guide the driveshaft back into the splines..

There is a trick to this. I think I read about it here on this forum somewhere, but can't recall where or by whom. When reinstalling the drive shaft, with the transmission in gear, push the shaft in and turn clockwise at the same time. That seems to pick up the dangling end of the u-joint and the shaft will slip in. At least it has worked for me in the past.

[djadam]

what kind of grease or lube do you use on this?

[gaj1917]

what kind of grease or lube do you use on this?

I use a molybdenum grease.

[djadam]

bongobobny,

Thank you very much for your help so far. There is no grinding noise at all. I don't hear a thing. I feel a grinding thru my seat coming from the back end when I'm coming to a slow roll. The clutch is nice, no slipping at all. The rotors, calipers and pads are all good.

[Freebird]

Did this start after you had the new tire installed? It may be a long shot but it sounds almost exactly like what I felt when I got the spacer in the hub installed in the wrong direction. It allowed the wheel to shift just enough so that the tire just barely rubbed at times. It seemed to center itself when I was riding but would rub at slow speeds.

[Black wing]

i only have one in decent shape for your year. not great but better than what you have.

 

 

 

 

[Venturous Randy]

If it takes me more than five seconds to push the driveshaft into the u-joint, I am doing something wrong. I put vise grips on the lip on the big end of the driveshaft just snug enough to be able to hold the other end of the driveshaft up. I will then stick the shaft up into the tube and stick the shaft end into the u- join, lifting it and twisting until it slides in. I then install the final drive housing with the mounting nuts barely snug then install the wheel and axle before tightening the four nuts.

Randy