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Big maintenance: oil, spline gear, grease, tires
Hello friends and neighbors,
I got a new set of tires today. Yes, I put almost 2000 miles on my plugged rear tire. It had about 9000 miles on it and I know it could have gone another 3000-4000 miles before needing replacement. Maybe this rear tire will wear out instead of getting punctured. I've had my last two rear tires forced into early retirement because of a nail and a screw. My front tire had over 16,000 miles on it and still had tread that could have lasted 1000-2000 more. I'm really liking these Bridgestone S-11 Spitfire tires. They're not expensive and wear quite well while giving me all the performance this moderate canyon-carver/commuter needs.
I stopped by a local dealer and picked up some Moly 60 paste. I had been using a heavy-duty marine gear grease. It's been doing OK, but I wanted to get "the right stuff". I used brake cleaner and shop rags to clean out all the old grease on the spine gears. You're not supposed to mix the greases.
As you can tell, there is virtually no wear on the spline gear. My 1980 GS850G has the harder, darker metal spline gear. It seems the later years used a softer metal, as Mr. bigsmellyfred recently found out. But the new OEM parts should be the harder metal.
Here's a couple of closer shots of my spline gear.
I use a little of the old grease to help the axle and other parts go back together easier.
As you can tell, there is virtually no wear on the spline gear. Lucky me. I used a flat blade screwdriver to scoop out the Moly 60 paste from the container (that tube is only about half full) and coat the gear. I also put a film of Moly 60 on the drive gear, just in case I missed any spots on the driven gear. Here's a shot after I got it all cleaned up, before applying the Moly 60.
I got up at 8:00am this morning (unheard of for me on a Saturday!) and by 10:00am I was in CycleRider (local bike shop) with my wheels to let them mount and balance (for free) the tires I had purchased there. I pay about $10 more per tire than online prices, but I don't have to pay shipping and don't have to mount and balance them myself.
Thursday evening after work I also changed the engine oil and filter, secondary gear oil, final drive unit oil, and air filter. I've started using a new oil, Castrol GTX Diesel 15w40. I get a gallon jug for $14 at my local Pep Boys. The oil formulated for diesel motors is supposed to contain more of "the right stuff" too. I've been using synthetic 75w90 gear oil, either Castrol or Mobil1, in the secondary gear box and the final drive unit. I guess it was about time (8128 miles - factory recommends 7500 miles) to change the gear oils because I had been noticing a bit more noise and things didn't seem as smooth. I attributed it to lousy shifting techniques. But after changing the gear oils, it was noticeably smoother and quieter. But I'm still going to work on my shifting technique. ;-)
After I got it all back together today I spent some time cleaning up the shiny parts to make my "Jessie" look more presentable. Maybe I'll have some time tomorrow after church to scrub the "new" off of my tires. Everybody ride safely, and keep your machines in good working order.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
I got a new set of tires today. Yes, I put almost 2000 miles on my plugged rear tire. It had about 9000 miles on it and I know it could have gone another 3000-4000 miles before needing replacement. Maybe this rear tire will wear out instead of getting punctured. I've had my last two rear tires forced into early retirement because of a nail and a screw. My front tire had over 16,000 miles on it and still had tread that could have lasted 1000-2000 more. I'm really liking these Bridgestone S-11 Spitfire tires. They're not expensive and wear quite well while giving me all the performance this moderate canyon-carver/commuter needs.
I stopped by a local dealer and picked up some Moly 60 paste. I had been using a heavy-duty marine gear grease. It's been doing OK, but I wanted to get "the right stuff". I used brake cleaner and shop rags to clean out all the old grease on the spine gears. You're not supposed to mix the greases.
As you can tell, there is virtually no wear on the spline gear. My 1980 GS850G has the harder, darker metal spline gear. It seems the later years used a softer metal, as Mr. bigsmellyfred recently found out. But the new OEM parts should be the harder metal.
Here's a couple of closer shots of my spline gear.
I use a little of the old grease to help the axle and other parts go back together easier.
As you can tell, there is virtually no wear on the spline gear. Lucky me. I used a flat blade screwdriver to scoop out the Moly 60 paste from the container (that tube is only about half full) and coat the gear. I also put a film of Moly 60 on the drive gear, just in case I missed any spots on the driven gear. Here's a shot after I got it all cleaned up, before applying the Moly 60.
I got up at 8:00am this morning (unheard of for me on a Saturday!) and by 10:00am I was in CycleRider (local bike shop) with my wheels to let them mount and balance (for free) the tires I had purchased there. I pay about $10 more per tire than online prices, but I don't have to pay shipping and don't have to mount and balance them myself.
Thursday evening after work I also changed the engine oil and filter, secondary gear oil, final drive unit oil, and air filter. I've started using a new oil, Castrol GTX Diesel 15w40. I get a gallon jug for $14 at my local Pep Boys. The oil formulated for diesel motors is supposed to contain more of "the right stuff" too. I've been using synthetic 75w90 gear oil, either Castrol or Mobil1, in the secondary gear box and the final drive unit. I guess it was about time (8128 miles - factory recommends 7500 miles) to change the gear oils because I had been noticing a bit more noise and things didn't seem as smooth. I attributed it to lousy shifting techniques. But after changing the gear oils, it was noticeably smoother and quieter. But I'm still going to work on my shifting technique. ;-)
After I got it all back together today I spent some time cleaning up the shiny parts to make my "Jessie" look more presentable. Maybe I'll have some time tomorrow after church to scrub the "new" off of my tires. Everybody ride safely, and keep your machines in good working order.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
Much cheaper than buying them here though, even with the shipping and customs.
That was fun! WHOOSH!!! SNAP-PING! For some reason the front was really tight and didn't want to seal enough to hold any air. I'd have everything back together, but the swingarm is gonna get polished over the next while. Something you shafty guys can't do. 
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