My '98 Tourer was ready for a new rear tire, so I finally replaced it yesterday. It's been over 5 years since I last changed that tire as I don't ride this bike as much as the others. The bike also will reach the 175K mark in less than 100 miles. So I was very interested in seeing how the parts were holding up.
As you can see in the photo below, everything looked fine. I'm sure these parts can last another 175,000 miles. You might ask, do I use some special expensive grease on those drive splines? Nope, just some wheel bearing grease from a can that's been in my garage for decades. I like the sticky properties of that grease as it stays put, and also keeps the thrust washer where it belongs. BTW that's the same thrust washer Honda installed in Marysville over 22 years ago. The O-ring is original too. The most important thing to keep the drive splines from failing is TORQUE THE AXLE NUT FIRST, before you tighten the 4 nuts holding the final drive to the swingarm. If you do that, you could probably use WD-40 instead of grease and the splines would still last for a long time.
The only parts I worry about are the pinion and cup connecting the driveshaft to the final drive. If your U-joint boot leaks, water can get in the cup and do severe damage. Years ago, the service manager at a good Honda dealership showed me their method of keeping these parts lubricated. Rather than trust that little oil hole in the pinion cup, they packed the cup with as much grease as they could get in there, intentionally clogging the hole and providing the parts with more dependable, superior lubrication. The grease was nothing fancy, just a good multi purpose brand. I've been using Mobil 1. I've been following their advice ever since and it seems to be working.
