Rear Wheel Removal - Final Drive Unit - Hub/Spine Greasing

[Guest]

Here are some photos of my exposed final drive unit, hub & spline. Also included the photos of the spline on the wheel Is it just me or does it look kinda dry in there? Notice any damage?

Need to grease for sure. Is Honda Moly 60 still the way to go?

[growler]

I definitely want to clean out that wheel hub area and inspect the teeth, what should I spray in there?

Anything else I should disassemble and inspect? Bearings?

[eil]

Those splines look good.

Yes to the Honda Moly 60. Accept no substitutes! I got my tube from Amazon, not sure it's sold there any more: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...L._SL1000_.jpg

I'd tend toward brake cleaner except you don't want to mess up that seal. Maybe Simple Green and a rag wrapped around a popsicle stick?

You can't disassemble the bearings but you can check them. They should rotate very smoothly with little effort and no play.

Now might be a good time to check swingarm bearings too but I've never done that myself so I'm not qualified to explain how.

[growler]

Thanks for the advice. I'll avoid any cleaners that may damage the seal.

Honda Moly 60 I'll try to pick up locally.

Those splines look good.

Yes to the Honda Moly 60. Accept no substitutes! I got my tube from Amazon, not sure it's sold there any more: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...L._SL1000_.jpg

I'd tend toward brake cleaner except you don't want to mess up that seal. Maybe Simple Green and a rag wrapped around a popsicle stick?

You can't disassemble the bearings but you can check them. They should rotate very smoothly with little effort and no play.

Now might be a good time to check swingarm bearings too but I've never done that myself so I'm not qualified to explain how.

[chuck hahn]

I think a stiff round parts washer brush and some diesel would clean it up pretty easily.

[Dogma]

There is some wear visible in the 2nd to last image. It's tricky to spot while installed on the wheel, since the face of the spline always looks undamaged. I wouldn't recommend degreasing it to get a better view, since you may end up degreasing the bearings too. Look past the face of the pline, or feel past it with a pick or piece of bent wire. You'll find a significant portion of the tooth is gone. A fresh one (or one from a year that doesn't wear out) will have the same profile the whole length of a tooth. The '82 bikes have the spline that will eventually wear out and fail, lube or no. If that one has 82K on it, it's doing very well. Bwringer, the resident expert on this topic (and many others), says they usually fail before 50K, IIRC.

[bwringer]

Agreed -- I'm about 95% sure that driven spline (the one in the wheel) is toast. Can't really see in these pics, but you can see that the teeth are pretty worn. Once they start to wear, they deteriorate quickly from there.

Take it out and take a better look.

The teeth on the drive spline (the one on the bike's final drive) are somewhat damaged but I've seen worse. You'll be fine with a new driven spline in the wheel and a thin coat of moly paste on both.

It's very hard to judge color balance in digital photos, but it does look like your bike is wearing one of the "soft" gold splines found in 82-84 shafties. The new part is more of a silver color and has a smoother finish. The new driven spline (Suzuki calls it "JOINT ASSY DRIVEN") is still in production and used on Suzuki's Boulevard C50 cruiser, so it's easiest to just order a new one from your favorite source for Suzuki bits.

You can also haunt fleaBay for a rear wheel and/or driven spline from any 1990+ Suzuki shaftie 800-1200cc -- Intruder, C50, GSX1100G, VX800, Madura, etc. Obviously that takes longer, and shipping a rear wheel is crazy expensive (although sellers are sometimes willing to remove the spline and hardware and just send that to you).

$140, but it'll basically be bulletproof from now on:

http://www.onlinecycleparts.com/oemparts/p/suzuki/64680-45113/joint-assy-driven

It's also worth replacing the lock washers and thrust plates, or at least flipping the old ones over and using a dab of moly paste on them.

And make sure you reinstall the bolts with Loctite. Even with the lock washers, they can back out without Loctite.

[growler]

Well that sucks. I'll take a closer look tomorrow at the actual ridges on the wheel side spline and see the damage. Thanks for the advice.

[growler]

Thanks for the input. I'll check it out and post results of looking closer....

Agreed -- I'm about 95% sure that driven spline (the one in the wheel) is toast. Can't really see in these pics, but you can see that the teeth are pretty worn. Once they start to wear, they deteriorate quickly from there.

Take it out and take a better look.

The teeth on the drive spline (the one on the bike's final drive) are somewhat damaged but I've seen worse. You'll be fine with a new driven spline in the wheel and a thin coat of moly paste on both.

It's very hard to judge color balance in digital photos, but it does look like your bike is wearing one of the "soft" gold splines found in 82-84 shafties. The new part is more of a silver color and has a smoother finish. The new driven spline (Suzuki calls it "JOINT ASSY DRIVEN") is still in production and used on Suzuki's Boulevard C50 cruiser, so it's easiest to just order a new one from your favorite source for Suzuki bits.

You can also haunt fleaBay for a rear wheel and/or driven spline from any 1990+ Suzuki shaftie 800-1200cc -- Intruder, C50, GSX1100G, VX800, Madura, etc. Obviously that takes longer, and shipping a rear wheel is crazy expensive (although sellers are sometimes willing to remove the spline and hardware and just send that to you).

$140, but it'll basically be bulletproof from now on:

http://www.onlinecycleparts.com/oemparts/p/suzuki/64680-45113/joint-assy-driven

It's also worth replacing the lock washers and thrust plates, or at least flipping the old ones over and using a dab of moly paste on them.

And make sure you reinstall the bolts with Loctite. Even with the lock washers, they can back out without Loctite.

[growler]

Would this work as a replacement? I believe the part numbers are the same.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUZUKI-BOULEVARD-M50-VZ800-VZ-800-2014-14-05-15-HUB-DRIVEN-GEAR-64680-45113-/261919011481?hash=item3cfb96f299&vxp=mtr

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d401dbf8700230d8b4e5b8/rear-wheel

[jsandidge]

That one will work. If you keep looking, you might find one a little cheaper. Post in parts wanted here on GSR too. I bought one from a member here and several members had them for sale as well.

Would this work as a replacement? I believe the part numbers are the same.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUZUKI-BOULEVARD-M50-VZ800-VZ-800-2014-14-05-15-HUB-DRIVEN-GEAR-64680-45113-/261919011481?hash=item3cfb96f299&vxp=mtr

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/...5b8/rear-wheel

[growler]

Just to recap on cleaners...I can use brake clean or diesel with a stiff brush? I have some kerosene on hand too.

[growler]

All my local dealers have gone from moly 60 to m-77. I'm assuming that's safe to use?

Sorry for all the questions, first time messing around this part of the bike.

[storm 64]

I had to replace my wheel spline just this year, it had 36,000 miles on it. It gave me very little notice it was going bad. I was just pulling away from a stop then Zing. I knew immediately what it was. I pick one up from a GSR member. I got the black one from a 1980 or 81. If you get the earlier one, ask for the clips. There different that the 82 clips.

[growler]

I just sent chef a message about one mentioned for sale in this thread (off a 1980 GS1000G)

http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?230318-Final-Drive&highlight=spline+paste

Can you tell me what clips you are talking about? Here is the parts diagram for the donor:

http://www.partsoutlaw.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d40331f8700230d8b4ea0b/rear-wheel