confused on U joint problem

[Kymbo]

Im getting a little confused reading the recent posts on U joint availability.All the pictures Ive seen posted and on the parts catalogue show the yoke with a universal joint .Question is are people looking to replace the complete item and is it because of the u jount failing or are the splines in the yoke wearing.If its the uni joint why cant it be pressed out and replaced the same way we do it for car tail shafts instead of replacing the entire yoke .If so surely a company specialising in this type of work i.e. drive shaft manufacturers,could machine the yoke to take a different uni joint .Or am I missing something ?

[Sodbuster]

It's the u-joint it self that fails and sometimes destroys the yoke along with it.  I believe the problem lies in the fact that the joint is not assembled like a car in that it is "staked" into place rather that retained with clips. Also, the yoke design doesn't lend itself to accepting retaining clips although there is recent talk of a few that are attempting to machine in grooves to accept the retaining clips.  there have been some that have tack welded the caps in place after replacing the "joint" with success as well.

I think Honda designed the U-Joint the way they did to minimize the overall size of the knuckles and to minimize any chance of retaining clips coming off ?!?!

[BigMac (SoCal)]

I also believe that the U joint was designed for a Goldwing and not the Valk. Since the Valk has more torque it puts more strain on the u joint. I've talked to a goldwing mechanic and he said that he has replace maybe 3 u joints in all the years he's worked on 1500 goldwings. Also I think Valk riders are a little more aggressive with burn outs and wheelies than goldwing riders.

Dave

[Kymbo]

Cheers for the replies, clears it up a bit

[Valkpilot]

I also believe that the U joint was designed for a Goldwing and not the Valk. Since the Valk has more torque it puts more strain on the u joint. I've talked to a goldwing mechanic and he said that he has replace maybe 3 u joints in all the years he's worked on 1500 goldwings. Also I think Valk riders are a little more aggressive with burn outs and wheelies than goldwing riders.

Dave

Some of the other posts on this subject say otherwise: That the Goldwing u-joint was beefed up after the introduction of the Valk so they could use the same part.

Maybe someone who knows for sure will chime in.

[Sodbuster]

The U-Joint was "beefed up" to meet the needs of the Valk .... and because they share the same splines (GW & Valk) it was made a common part. The thing to take note is on a Goldwing you need to also replace the "boot" with a Valkyrie one because the knuckles are a little bigger and will rub on inside.