Driveshafts 97 vs all Others

I thought I was going to clear up a mystery but it seems it just got thicker. I have my explanation which I will state at the end but at this point its just my opinion.

Ok its a fact there are two part numbers one for a '97 shaft and a different part number for all others.

Its also a fact that the all others drive shaft is around $50 depending on source and the '97 drive shaft is around $100

I made my second call to Mother Honda in California and this call was less informative than the last one a few years ago however, the validity of the information I got last time is in question now.

OK, so this is really for those of you with a '97 bike should the day come when you need a drive shaft. The question would be..."should I order the '97 or the all others and save $50" The answer is not all that clear. I think its safe to put all others drive shaft in your '97 bike at this point and I will tell you why.

I gave my all others drive shaft to a friend who had a pinion spline failure like I did. He orders replacement parts and so did I (finally) So on my table were the two drive shafts side by side. We weighed then measured the length used a caliper to measure thicknesses everywhere it could matter. We looked at them straight on, crosseyed, side by side, one in front of the other, lined up profiles and came to the determination that both were exactly alike except of course that one cost twice as much.

Ok, now the first time I called Honda about this they told me on the phone that the '97 was skinnier than all the rest right where it would make contact with the swing arm and that if you tried an all others shaft it may grind and make terrible noises. I believed that plausible explanation so I purchased the '97 one.

Some background. This is not the first time I have had one of each shaft side by side to compare. The last time (after talking to Honda) I looked and was sure I could visibly see that the '97 was skinnier than the all other shaft which is now in my friends bike. I didn't think to mic the shafts at that time because I thought the mystery was cleared up. I cant wait until the next tire change my friend needs Im going to pull that shaft and measuer it against my new '97 one.

MHO if its worth anything. I actually believe Honda that at one time there was a problem with their production driveshaft grinding the swingarm on '97 models. I also believe that they commissioned a smaller run of so called skinnier shafts to fix that problem and those shafts cost the $100. It is however, apparent to me that (at least now) their production "all others" drive shaft is made the same as the '97. So is it a scam that they haven't made the all others part the only part number and we all buy the same one? Well, kind of maybe. Really I think its totally reasonable that there was a change in later production to make one diameter shaft but that there still may be old stock available so it might be possible to order an all others drive shaft and receive one that has a thicker shaft than the one I have on my table. If that be the case, then I can understand the only way to guarantee no problem is to buy the '97 part, and they for sure would want to get rid of them as well.

Bottom line if I needed a drive shaft right now I would buy the all others shaft and just compare very carefully to what comes out of my bike and make sure no part of that drive shaft is thicker

BTW the official answer I was given today was that the '97 drive shaft is NOT compatible with other year bikes and vise verse but since its an older model there is not information available as to why.
The rep on the phone was wore out after the conversation. He tried every guess as to why its different. Different splines at the rear maybe. Ok, so I asked him to find the pinion cup and check compatibility yup, one part for all bikes. Then he says he sees there was a change in the U-Joint part number, that must be the difference. lol So I asked him again to go to the yolk part and tell me which part number is for the '97 and which is for all others. "um" its all the same part number...Yes I said, I know already that's why I want to know what the heck IS the difference. The u-joint (remember) went out of production for awhile. You could not get one. Then they started making them again, hence the new part no.

They cant say because they don't seem to know what the difference is now, so just be careful out there, compare and measure and make sure what you put in is the same as what you took out.