Rear end service

[TrapperAH1G]

Going to be chaning rear tire soon.  I've read posts, watched videos, etc.   I know I need the 3 O rings and moly paste.  Any other parts I should order to have on hand?  New to this bike but don't expect any real surprises when I disassemble.

Thanks

[The emperor has no clothes]

Wouldn't hurt to have a thrust washer on hand. You probably won't need it, but it's nice to have.

[f-Stop]

Maybe a little lithium grease to lightly coat the axle and to put a good amount on the inside of the dust seal that seals the left side spacer.

 

[The emperor has no clothes]

Going to be chaning rear tire soon.  I've read posts, watched videos, etc.   I know I need the 3 O rings and moly paste.  Any other parts I should order to have on hand?  New to this bike but don't expect any real surprises when I disassemble.

Thanks

You should also have some moly grease for the pinion cup and shaft. Moly paste for the rest.

[Bagger John - #3785]

Have a way to get the old goop out of the various splines.

If you're pulling the rear end off to the point that the final drive and drive shaft is off the bike I'd separate shaft from drive unit and replace the shaft seal too.

[hubcapsc]

New to this bike but don't expect any real surprises when I disassemble.

 

I guess I'm just thinking of myself, really... what method are you going to use
to get the axle out past the pipes? Do you have an up-front plan for what to
do with the caliper/caliper-plate once it is flying free?

The first few times I look my wheel-off/driveshaft-out I did many of the steps
along the way differently based on methods I'd read about here (and the manual)
and decided which ones I liked best. I get surprised almost every time when
some step that previously seemed easy has become hard   ...

-Mike

[da prez]

  I made a support from 1/2 inch conduit that is used when the shocks come off to support the swing arm above the exhaust . It keeps everything in a straight line. Pull the rear end and then put it in again to reinstall the wheel assembly. May think about the drive cushions.

                                                  da prez

[The emperor has no clothes]

New to this bike but don't expect any real surprises when I disassemble.

 

I guess I'm just thinking of myself, really... what method are you going to use
to get the axle out past the pipes? Do you have an up-front plan for what to
do with the caliper/caliper-plate once it is flying free?

The first few times I look my wheel-off/driveshaft-out I did many of the steps
along the way differently based on methods I'd read about here (and the manual)
and decided which ones I liked best. I get surprised almost every time when
some step that previously seemed easy has become hard   ...

-Mike

man, ain't that the truth

[SCain]

Change the gear oil while you have the diff out, just loosen the cap and drain plug before removing it from the bike.

[F6Dave]

There's one thing far more important than lubricants, o-rings, and thrust washers:  tighten the big axle nut BEFORE you tighten the 4 nuts that connect the final drive to the driveshaft tube.  That will align the drive splines between the wheel and final drive.  If they're misaligned they'll grind against each other as the wheel rotates and wear out very quickly, sometimes before the next tire change.

The lubricant doesn't matter as much.  I've been using cans of wheel bearing and multi-purpose grease that have been sitting in my garage for decades.  As the picture below shows, my driveline parts looked great when I changed the tire in August at nearly 175,000 miles.  BTW that o-ring is the same one that was installed at the Honda plant in Ohio over 22 years ago.



Now here's some more maintenance heresy.  I believe more final drive parts have been ruined by improper maintenance than if they'd been left alone.  I owned 3 shaft driven bikes before my first Valkyrie and never did more than change the FD oil.  For nearly 40,000 miles that's what I did for my Valkyrie, until I read about all the maintenance I'd been ignoring.  So I frantically pulled it all apart expecting to see badly worn out components, but to my surprise everything was in perfect condition.

I've been wondering if we're over-maintaining these components.  So recently I looked at the part diagrams for a GL-1800.  While the single sided swingarm design requires a more massive housing, the driveshaft and pinon cup look very similar to the Valkyrie parts.  So I asked members on the F6B forum if they'd ever preformed any driveshaft maintenance like we do on our Valks.  Nobody ever had.  And there haven't been any final drive problems either, except for one that developed an oil leak.  I'm thinking that in the future I may skip the shaft maintenence on every other tire change.

[Jess from VA]

But do not pull the breather unit off the top of the pumpkin (by accident), it's just staked on there and not made to be on and off.

And with the pumpkin on the bench straight and level, you can measure out the exact amount of 75-90 synthetic rear end dope per the manual, or jsut fill it slowly till it runs back out.  One or two ounces too much (but not more) is no big deal (and cause no over-pressure), and I think increases the chances of the dope getting thrown up through the small hole in the pinion cup for lubrication during the 10K service interval (which will go a few thousand longer if done correctly with plenty of good lube)

If you go in through the sidecover to get at the Ujoint for inspection, do not tear up the Ujoint boot getting it off or on (can be hours of fun getting it back on).  And a lot of guys will order a new Ujoint boot because they are much more flexible than old dried out ones, and if you do tear yours, you already have a back up on hand. (a torn boot will allow water down inside the drive train and cause BAD water damage in there if left unrepaired)

Here's a nice archived how-to on Ujoint maintenance with pictures.  Click each picture for more information detail.  https://web.archive.org/web/20160523032210/http://www.rattlebars.com/mtz/ujoint.html

And if you don't have 90 degree metal valve stems on already, put one in the back wheel when off the bike. The OE two part (stem and elbow) suck and can be unsafe and lead to a rapid loss of air pressure at speed (they can develop cracks right at the wheel if you are prone to only using one hand with the air chuck, so don't do that with rubber stems; lay down on the ground, support the stem with one hand, and put the chuck on with the other hand.  But screw all that and stick on solid metal valve stems.  (some tighten outside, and some tighten inside; outside being better)   Honda rubber stems should be changed with every tire, fore and aft.  But get metal stems.

Here's your best rear end service how-to, right on our Shoptalk.  http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/rear_end_service.pptx