Final Drive - Irritating

[Jersey]

I thought I posted to this thread from my phone this afternoon but either I posted to the wrong thread or it never made it.

I started working on it at about 12:30 this afternoon and within 10 minutes the drive shaft slipped into the U-joint.  Things started going quickly after that and by the end of the day I had the rear together, rear brakes assembled and bled, throttle cables connected and working.  I bunged the filler neck on the tank with a rubber stopper and turned it upside down to get to the last part of the tank the Evapo-rust hadn't gotten to yet.

I've got to get the tank washed out, rinsed, dried and installed.  Then the exhaust system installed, shifter installed, shocks installed and it should be ready for a test ride.  Lots of odds and ends after that but if the test ride goes well I'll be relieved.

Great to hear!

[Tfrank59]

Yeah great. Thanks for the follow up. So apparently it was just one of those things where just taking a little breather and coming back to it did the trick.

[RustyValkry]

Yeah great. Thanks for the follow up. So apparently it was just one of those things where just taking a little breather and coming back to it did the trick.

In this case half a dozen breathers over 4 or 5 days. 

Is there any measurement or specification concerning the wheel position in relation to the differential?  I noted, when I took the wheel off and inspected the driven flange teeth, that the flange might not have been as far to the right as it could have been based on the wear pattern on the teeth.  It also doesn't look like the wheel flange goes into the differential dust flange as far as it could.  On the other hand when you torque the axle nut to 81 ft. lb.  it doesn't seem likely that anything short of a solid contact would hold the wheel out.  I don't think a few burrs would stop it from moving into the splines.  Below is a picture of the wheel position when I was done.

[RustyValkry]

I noticed when finishing up the rear end that the wheel isn't centered in the swingarm.  I'm assuming this is the way these bikes are setup.  Pictures below.

[0leman]

Rusty, you are correct.   the wheel is not centered.  Not sure why but it's not.

[Daniel Meyer]

Yeah great. Thanks for the follow up. So apparently it was just one of those things where just taking a little breather and coming back to it did the trick.

In this case half a dozen breathers over 4 or 5 days. 

Is there any measurement or specification concerning the wheel position in relation to the differential?  I noted, when I took the wheel off and inspected the driven flange teeth, that the flange might not have been as far to the right as it could have been based on the wear pattern on the teeth.  It also doesn't look like the wheel flange goes into the differential dust flange as far as it could.  On the other hand when you torque the axle nut to 81 ft. lb.  it doesn't seem likely that anything short of a solid contact would hold the wheel out.  I don't think a few burrs would stop it from moving into the splines.  Below is a picture of the wheel position when I was done.

Yep, normal. If ya can get the spacer and brake plate in, it's in position. The grooves showing is normal. The closer to driveshaft side of swing arm is normal (swing arm is not symmetric).

[RustyValkry]

Yeah great. Thanks for the follow up. So apparently it was just one of those things where just taking a little breather and coming back to it did the trick.

In this case half a dozen breathers over 4 or 5 days. 

Is there any measurement or specification concerning the wheel position in relation to the differential?  I noted, when I took the wheel off and inspected the driven flange teeth, that the flange might not have been as far to the right as it could have been based on the wear pattern on the teeth.  It also doesn't look like the wheel flange goes into the differential dust flange as far as it could.  On the other hand when you torque the axle nut to 81 ft. lb.  it doesn't seem likely that anything short of a solid contact would hold the wheel out.  I don't think a few burrs would stop it from moving into the splines.  Below is a picture of the wheel position when I was done.

Yep, normal. If ya can get the spacer and brake plate in, it's in position. The grooves showing is normal. The closer to driveshaft side of swing arm is normal (swing arm is not symmetric).

Rusty, you are correct.   the wheel is not centered.  Not sure why but it's not.

Thanks for the comfirmation. 

This is my first shaft drive bike and my first time working on the shaft drive. 

[Jess from VA]

And from the cheap seats, your plastic ring dust seal is in better shape than mine.

That's probably the only part that is though.   

[RustyValkry]

And from the cheap seats, your plastic ring dust seal is in better shape than mine.

That's probably the only part that is though.  

Yea, go ahead, pick on my ratty, RustyValkyrie.    If all goes well I'll have the rattiest looking, almost new Valkyrie around, making it the last one to be stolen.  

It is interesting though, some parts on the bike look really nasty while others, like that ring look really good.  For instance, the U-joint looked like it was right out of the box from a dealership, not even dirty or dusty, same with the drive shaft.  A direct relationship between how well a part was protected from the salt air and how it looks.

[RonW]

Rustyvalk, this is the best thing, bar none, to clean grease and dirt off the silver areas ($2.60 at Walmart). Originally contributed by Chrisj.



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[RustyValkry]

Rustyvalk, this is the best thing, bar none, to clean grease and dirt off the silver areas ($2.60 at Walmart). Originally contributed by Chrisj.



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Thanks for that RonW.  After I got everything put back together I did clean the diff.  I can't remember what I used but it looks better than in this picture.  There's so much work to be done on the surfaces of this bike I'm not even sure where to start, or even whether to bother rather just consider this to be a rat bike.

[idaida98]

I buy my mean streak at the dollar store?

[rug_burn]

Me, I saved a worn out propellor shaft (splines worn out on the other end) to align the splines on the u-joint before I put it all back together.   Just line the back part of the u-joint up as well as you can; it makes it easier to insert the new propellor shaft.

[Oss]

 

[Fastman71]

The first time I serviced my final drive I had nothing but trouble.  The single row bearing on the left side crapped out on me just enough that it growled while riding.  After reading about the double row bearing mod, I decided to do that.

The final drive had about 2 ounces gear oil, so it was drained and new oil added.  Then came the fun: putting it all back together.

The final drive and driveshaft install went perfect.  The only way that could've been easier would've been if it had installed itself.  The driveshaft fell into place, but like Daniel Meyers says, the trick is to bring the swing arm up as high as you can get it.

Getting the wheel and drive flange together drove me nuts.  I'd get it on and seated but it wouldn't rotate.  The neutral indicator light was on, but the wheel was stuck. I had the wheel in and out of the bike 5 times that day before I finally said f*** it.  I'd go back tomorrow to give me a chance to cool off.

The next day I said to myself, I have to be missing something very obvious here, something very basic.  Ignition on, neutral light STILL on, I put the bike in first gear, then popped it back into neutral to confirm the trans really was in neutral.

Proceeded to install the rear wheel again and this time it spun freely.  Apparently even though the neutral light was on, the trans was just a tiny bit in gear, enough to keep the rear wheel from spinning.

From then on, I always spin the rear wheel before I take it apart to confirm that its really in neutral!!!!

Fast Eddie

[RustyValkry]

Yea Fastman, some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed.  First time it took me 5 minutes to get the drive shaft into the U-joint.  Next day I decided I needed to take it out again to check if I had put enough grease on the U-joint splines, I had.  It was 4 or 5 days of trying to get it to go in the second time.  I fought with it for multiple long sessions over that time and on the last day, it went in in about 5 minutes.   

[indybobm]

Also be aware that if the final drive/rear wheel is installed with the shocks off and the swing arm hanging free, the ujoint will bind up and the rear wheel will not turn.  Just raise the swing arm and the whel will spin if the bike is in neutral.

[Chrisj CMA]

Also be aware that if the final drive/rear wheel is installed with the shocks off and the swing arm hanging free, the ujoint will bind up and the rear wheel will not turn.  Just raise the swing arm and the whel will spin if the bike is in neutral.

Yes, and the swingarm hanging free with wheel installed stresses the u-joint. It’s best to use a strap on the brake side of the swingarm to hold it level while you install the final drive and wheel