DRIVE SHAFT EXTENSION

[larrydr]

6 Years ago I needed a 2 inch drive shaft extension for a swing arm extension on my 1995 XV1100 Virago  The stock wheelbase is to short if you are doing a lot of 2 up riding  ..  First cut the old shaft in the middle  and machined both of the cut ends ..The made a sleeve to act like a coupling ...Machined the inside of the sleeve .003 inch smaller than the machined ends of the drive shaft ...They would not slide together ...Put the drive shaft into a freezer for 5 days , next heated the sleeve to near red hot ...Mounted the drive shaft in a jig under a hydraulic press and proceeded to press the sleeve over the machined drive shaft ends .. It a tough job to press them together ...But it did go together after some time of trying ...The Yamaha shaft had spines at one end and gear at the other ..Did a spin balance in a metal lathe ....I road the bike with extension for 45000 K's never a any trouble > It did improve the ride by a long ways and handling had very little change ....The turn radius became about 10 percent larger  ...I sold the bike in 2020 April , and because of the safety inspection , I needed to return the bike to the original wheel base ...    I still have extension .  If you are going to try making a extension do not weld near the cuts on the machined ends of the shaft

Edited January 13, 2021 by larrydr

[skydoc_17]

Interesting write up Larry! My first thought would be to weld the joints, but I can see how that would cause distortion. I just wanted to mention that if you wanted to extend the swingarm on the First Gen, or Second Gen. Venture, the driveshaft on the FJR 1300 is about 3 inches longer, and fits perfectly in the tranny gearbox and final drive of the Ventures. I have never tried to see if the swingarm would switch over to the Venture BUT they are both Mono-Shock units, and this would also allow you to run a wider tire on the rear of the venture. It would be interesting to see if it would be possible! Just an FYI.

Earl

[larrydr]

I did  extend the swing and shaft on the 1995 XV1100 because my wife and I ride double a lot ..The centre of the rear seat or passenger weight is right on the centre of the rear wheel or axle ...The XV1100 has enough torque to throw the handling off when you shifht down to 4th and crack the throttle and at 60 to 70  mph the handling or the front end will drift and is bad in a side wind ..The passengers weight is too far back , with a 2 inch extention the problem is gone .  I sold the XV1100 and did buy a 83 XVZ12TDK , I am 74 and the wife and I are planning some out of province trips .     Would like a softer and quieter ride......We would ride    i29 south of the USA border if Covid goes away ...Have some family  and freinds in the USA

Edited February 8, 2021 by larrydr