Shaft Drive Owners – An Easy Test for You!

[bgk]

Hey you Shafty owners, please do an easy test for me, and respond to this post.

Your answers will help me diagnose a possible problem with my bike.

With your bike on the center stand, engine cold, tranny in neutral; spin the rear tire/wheel with your hand or your foot.

Does it spin easily?

Is there any noticeable friction?

Does the wheel stop rotating immediately after you stop spinning it by hand/foot?

Or does it continue to rotate afterwards?

If so, how much?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[marvinsc]

Mine is Dragging, It won't Free Wheel at all. I'm pretty sure it's a brake pad but I haven't taken the time to tear into it as yet. It still drives/rides OK but I'm sure the Gas mileage and Brake pad are suffering!

[SqDancerLynn1]

That is normal for a shaftie. If you think it is brakes just spread the pads out & see how much drag their is. Make sure to pump the brake pedel once or twice afterwards

[bwringer]

Under the conditions described, you can easily turn a shaftie's rear wheel with a boot or by hand, but it won't keep turning on its own. There are lots of parts moving and sliding in there in very thick gear oil.

There's more drag if the gear oil is cold, of course. If it's 90 degrees out and you just got off the interstate, you can get it to keep turning a little, but probably not more than half a turn or so.

A light scraping sound from the brake pads is normal, along with some muffled gear sounds.

I think the biggest indication of possible trouble would be the "feel" -- a certain amount of resistance is normal, but it should feel smooth, and there should not be a feeling like it's breaking loose before the wheel starts to turn. The resistance should also be even as the wheel rotates. If it's harder to turn at certain points, that could indicate trouble with the bearings or brakes.

[mixongw]

Under the conditions described, you can easily turn a shaftie's rear wheel with a boot or by hand, but it won't keep turning on its own. There are lots of parts moving and sliding in there in very thick gear oil.

There's more drag if the gear oil is cold, of course. If it's 90 degrees out and you just got off the interstate, you can get it to keep turning a little, but probably not more than half a turn or so.

A light scraping sound from the brake pads is normal, along with some muffled gear sounds.

I think the biggest indication of possible trouble would be the "feel" -- a certain amount of resistance is normal, but it should feel smooth, and there should not be a feeling like it's breaking loose before the wheel starts to turn. The resistance should also be even as the wheel rotates. If it's harder to turn at certain points, that could indicate trouble with the bearings or brakes.

Ditto

[Jackrp]

Re: Shaft Drive Owners ? An Easy Test for You!

Mine spins easily for a shaft (got 2 of em) but none of them will freewheel after you let go. My 850 was very stiff once, turned out to need a rear brake caliper rebuild, now easy.

[JMHJ]

I thought the rear caliper on my 850 was too tight also, until I read some of these replies. I can spin my rear wheel backwards with my foot about one full revolution with a moderate effort. I did feel the rear and front discs after a ride the other day, however, and the rear one was significantly hotter than the two fronts; and I generally try to use front and rear brakes farily equally, or more heavy on the front if anything.