VALKYRIE U JOINT UPDATE

[T.P.]

E-MAIL From BZAR (Paul Heitzman) to me today.    Guess What U joint fans, My guess is a longer wait then Feb 2011

Hi Tom,
 
                Last week I decided to verify whether there REAALY was a backorder on the Valkyrie U-joints till Feb. 2011. I wrote Honda Motorcycle customer service with a letter that was succinct enough for them to understand my displeasure with the company.
                It took some time and effort, but I finally did hook up with a representative. HDL was correct in telling me that it was a national backorder and Feb 2011 was a viable date for delivery.
                The original manufacturer (subcontractor) went out of business, Honda drew up a contract with a new company. There was enough supply that no order was initiated for some time. When an order was made, the company found it did NOT have the equipment to actually make a part to specs. So Honda is now in negotiations with the original company to purchase the equipment and lease it to company 2.
                It's all complicated as they say, probably similar to what you see from management also. I did explain that I was fortunate to not have taken it to a dealer in Pennsylvania in June and how having you saved my riding summer.
                I bet they  are getting more and more calls over this issue, they are 150-250 units backordered.


T.P.

[alph]

i'd hate to get the first one off the machine!!  not until they know what they're doing!!!

[Sodbuster]

Thanks for the UPDATE TP !!

Good work .............

[Robert]

Just as a side note these more than likely can be rebuilt. I know that the caps are held in by the tabs being peened over but I have rebuilt these kind before with good results the problem comes in when trying to find the correct u joint. When assembling the joint a punch or even sometimes cutting a small groove and putting in a locking ring. It is very doable and even some machine shops can do the work for you. I would hate not to be riding my Valk for a back-ordered part.

[Bagger John - #3785]

This tells me that Honda is being proactive in the sourcing of parts for discontinued models and is not just abandoning its customers.

My advice to those of you who plan to keep your Valkyries for more than a few years: Actively buy spares. Show Honda that there's enough of a market for replacement parts that they'll keep building them.

[Dag]

From what I understand fits the GL1500 (all models) u-joint the Valkyrie
Two used for sale on eBay (if somone are grounded.)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Goldwing-1500-GL1500-ujoint-U-Joint-u-joint-boot-NICE-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ260672907811QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GOLDWING-GL1500-GL-1500-U-JOINT-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ260675222455QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

[sandy]

I replaced my joint at 92K as a preventative maintenance job. The old one is in decent shape and should last a long time unless you do wheelies and bunouts. $40 including shipping is a fair price. I won't gouge anybody due to a shortage. Let me know. It's not actively for sale; just available if somebody needs to get back on the road.

[Sodbuster]

From what I understand fits the GL1500 (all models) u-joint the Valkyrie
Two used for sale on eBay (if somone are grounded.)

It's my understanding that the early GL1500 Wings u-joints were not as "beefy" as the Valks and that all GL1500's were superseded with the Valk u-joint  -  anyone have any info on that ??

 

[Sodbuster]

Here's what I'm talking about ....

http://archive1.gwrra.org/discus4/messages/33947/81578.html?1113429027

http://www.goldwingfacts.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=77464&forum_id=1&highlight=valkyrie+boot

[Jay]

Just as a side note these more than likely can be rebuilt. I know that the caps are held in by the tabs being peened over but I have rebuilt these kind before with good results the problem comes in when trying to find the correct u joint. When assembling the joint a punch or even sometimes cutting a small groove and putting in a locking ring. It is very doable and even some machine shops can do the work for you. I would hate not to be riding my Valk for a back-ordered part.

I currently have a u-joint from a 2002 and newer Honda CR-V in my 99 Tourer.  The caps are tack welded into the yoke ears.  600 miles and no troubles.  Plus there is an inverted zerk fitting so it can be greased.

[Kaiser]

Like I said in the other u-joint thread a few weeks ago:

"The way I see it - there is no guarantee that the back-order will be lifted in Feb.  I sure hope so - but all they have to do is say "sorry - now it's gonna be August" and everybody waiting for one is gonna get screwed over.  And who knows how many times that cycle may repeat before they actually start shipping the u-joint....My .02 - stock up on all the parts you can find while the gettin' is good."

I hope for everybody's sake they start shipping the u-joints in Feb.  And that they make one metric ass ton so that they won't be immediately on back-order again.

[Hoser]

Just as a side note these more than likely can be rebuilt. I know that the caps are held in by the tabs being peened over but I have rebuilt these kind before with good results the problem comes in when trying to find the correct u joint. When assembling the joint a punch or even sometimes cutting a small groove and putting in a locking ring. It is very doable and even some machine shops can do the work for you. I would hate not to be riding my Valk for a back-ordered part.

I currently have a u-joint from a 2002 and newer Honda CR-V in my 99 Tourer.  The caps are tack welded into the yoke ears.  600 miles and no troubles.  Plus there is an inverted zerk fitting so it can be greased.

Does it fit out of the box?  If so this is a real break through.    Hoser

[Jay]

Just as a side note these more than likely can be rebuilt. I know that the caps are held in by the tabs being peened over but I have rebuilt these kind before with good results the problem comes in when trying to find the correct u joint. When assembling the joint a punch or even sometimes cutting a small groove and putting in a locking ring. It is very doable and even some machine shops can do the work for you. I would hate not to be riding my Valk for a back-ordered part.

I currently have a u-joint from a 2002 and newer Honda CR-V in my 99 Tourer.  The caps are tack welded into the yoke ears.  600 miles and no troubles.  Plus there is an inverted zerk fitting so it can be greased.

Does it fit out of the box?  If so this is a real break through.    Hoser

Yes.  I took my old u-joint into a local drive line service shop, he took all the measurements, pulled the new Spicer off the shelf, three hours later and about $60.00 I was good to go.

I don't recall the part number, but maybe it was 930-04?

[Jay]

Correction:  it is a Spicer 430-9A

[2qmedic]

Just got off the phone with hdlparts, the man looked and said "backordered with no ETA date"  .
Wish they would get off their duffs and get er done!!!
Just saying...

[Robert]

If you want to rebuild the joint heres how to do it and thanks to Jay for providing the number

http://www.rockforddriveline.com/replacem.htm
http://www.rockforddriveline.com/ujointinside.htm

http://www.rockforddriveline.com/Staked_Instructions.htm

[Hoser]

Correction:  it is a Spicer 430-9A

Thanks, I'll be getting one tomorrow.  Hoser

[Valk1520]

Sorry but just want to be sure, the Spicer 430-9A fits right from the box with no mods?  I'll order one as soon as you can confirm because I'm afraid my u-joint might be going bad.  Thanks!!

[NITRO]

Is this the same one? http://theujointstore.com/44310.html

[Sodbuster]

Sorry but just want to be sure, the Spicer 430-9A fits right from the box with no mods?  I'll order one as soon as you can confirm because I'm afraid my u-joint might be going bad.  Thanks!!

The only concern I would have is if the inside "B" dimension is a machined surface or not.  Also if the dimension on the u-joint is a little large how do you make up the difference to eliminate any "slop"  ??

[Jeff K]

I think some here are not clear that this is just the U-joint, not a whole part that is a direct swap out.
The OEM piece is two splined yokes, and a Universal joint, they are pre-assembled and meant to be un-rebuildable.
The caps of the joint are "staked in" So you have to do some work on the yokes to get the old joint out, and then you have to do something to keep the new caps in place. I'm not sure how much I like the spot weld idea, unless they spot the yoke and not the cap. but you have to have a method of holding the cap in. The Spicer 430-9A is meant to be held in place by C clips on the inside of the caps. Our yokes are not machined to accept that type of clip.

Back when I attempted the only joint that was available that would fit our yoke was out of a Honda Odessy  It had the same out side dimensions, but the pin dia inside the cup was smaller. I assume that the "new" CRV joint is stronger?

So, it may be a good alternative to a stock piece, but it is not an "out of the box" replacement.
It would be best to have a drive shop replace the joint if you don't have the tools or skills.

[Jeff K]

I have also read on some other boards that the replaced staked in joints (for many different vehicles) can have a short life due to improper centering, if the joint is not perfectly centered it will vibrate and cause an early failure.

[2qmedic]

The Spicer 430-9A is meant to be held in place by C clips on the inside of the caps. Our yokes are not machined to accept that type of clip.

The u joint is matched up with the dimentions of the yoke. It is how the caps and u-joint are machined to fit within the yoke dimentions that are important.

[gordonv]

Honda CR-V link.

http://www.hondasuv.com/members/showthread.php?t=21029&page=2

Haven't looked over the link they referred to yet.

[Redline +]

I think some here are not clear that this is just the U-joint, not a whole part that is a direct swap out.
The OEM piece is two splined yokes, and a Universal joint, they are pre-assembled and meant to be un-rebuildable.
The caps of the joint are "staked in" So you have to do some work on the yokes to get the old joint out, and then you have to do something to keep the new caps in place. I'm not sure how much I like the spot weld idea, unless they spot the yoke and not the cap. but you have to have a method of holding the cap in. The Spicer 430-9A is meant to be held in place by C clips on the inside of the caps. Our yokes are not machined to accept that type of clip.

Back when I attempted the only joint that was available that would fit our yoke was out of a Honda Odessy  It had the same out side dimensions, but the pin dia inside the cup was smaller. I assume that the "new" CRV joint is stronger?

So, it may be a good alternative to a stock piece, but it is not an "out of the box" replacement.
It would be best to have a drive shop replace the joint if you don't have the tools or skills.

Jeff is right, this is not a DIY operation, centering is the problem. I don't like the tack weld idea either. If the joint is of sufficient strength and quality and if the inside clip groove dimension is wider than the yokes the yokes could be machined for the clips. But this would not be cheap.

I own an automotive machine shop and have built drivelines in the past. I don't have any extra Valk yokes to look at but this may be an option. If it looks doable send me some yokes and I'll estimate cost.

Redline 

[2qmedic]

If the splines were OK, I would take it to a drive line shop or like your machine shop.
They can match up the u-joint, assemble it and then have the capibility to balance it.
The only down side of this would be no high blood pressure and no grief (lol).
Yep, had to do this once before when I ran over a rock while hunting, the rock then rolled under the truck and bent the driveshaft. The truck was dead where it was.
Just think it makes better sense.

[Sodbuster]

Well, I think I lucked out today - picked up a good used u-joint at the local trike shop for $40 - good splines and no slop.  After getting home and looking it over I have to tell ya I really don't see how the "fix-it" method mentioned earlier in this post with inside locating snap rings is going to work.  Those inside surfaces are NOT machined nor are they flat and parallel.  If you are a good machinist and have the right equipment and can do the work yourself you might be able to work out something that works for low cost but I just don't see it working out for the average Joe.

[2qmedic]

Oops, my bad, I see what your talking about with the yokes not being parallel.
Good point.

[deadwood]

so what are the symptoms of a u joint going bad?

[Sodbuster]

so what are the symptoms of a u joint going bad?

Go to the dashboard up above to the SEARCH button and type in bad u-joint and hit return .... 

[GOOSE]

it could pop, vibrate, or rattle on accel or decel.