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Robert
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« on: April 22, 2012, 05:43:52 PM » |
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Noticed what looked like dark soft crumbs on the back wheel and coupled with the play I was feeling lately I didn't want to let this go. Took the air hose and blew into the hub and sure enough more came out. I dont know why it happened but had a bit of play in the drive train and thought it was the the u joint. Have to change the front tire and really didn't want to pull the back wheel but now I'm glad I did. They totally disintegrated and came out in pieces like dried clay. I really liked them when I put them in but I wanted to warn others. It almost wore into the pegs that go into the bushings against the retaining plate. Just be aware that if you purchased these from Gary and you have play check it out. I hope for whatever reason it was only me but it pays to check.   |
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“Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that.”
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Canuck
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« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2012, 05:49:09 PM » |
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Wow! Good thing you checked. I just replaced mine with OEM. Mine had considerably less play than yours  |
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Valkyrie ~ "chooser of the slain"
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art
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Grants Pass,Or
Grants Pass,Or
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« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2012, 05:56:53 PM » |
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Damm! I just took up the slack in my OEMs at 135000 miles with a piece of rubber .So far so good,I will be checking them when I replace my c/t in another week.
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SPOFF
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« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2012, 07:03:34 PM » |
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Damm! I just took up the slack in my OEMs at 135000 miles with a piece of rubber .So far so good,I will be checking them when I replace my c/t in another week.
I replaced the originals with new OEM when I installed a new (used) pumpkin at about 45,000 miles. They're not too expensive, but in my case it wasn't really necessary. |
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gordonv
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Posts: 5763
VRCC # 31419
Richmond BC
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« Reply #4 on: April 22, 2012, 09:02:41 PM » |
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Since Gary is gone, do you have any more information on those dampeners? Like which batch did you buy, time/date/year?
I have 2 sets on the shelf, one from 2010 and one from 2011, both around early summer. He didn't do these often the last few years, so it might help identify if this is a one of, or a bad batch.
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1999 Black with custom paint IS   |
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BonS
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« Reply #5 on: April 22, 2012, 09:26:16 PM » |
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Robert, how long or how many miles do you think you had on those? I recently installed my bushings from Gary on my supercharged valk. I'm afraid that my time table might be accelerated. (Please ignore the pun).
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Bone
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« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2012, 02:53:49 AM » |
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The last few rides I noticed excessive play thinking U-Joint. I serviced the final drive 5k ago. Then I checked my file and noticed the Dampers were installed 30k ago and considered doing an early final drive check while the weather struggles to become warmer.
Thanks for the post Robert I will let you guys know what I find if I do the check.
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salty1
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"Flyka"
Spokane, WA or Tucson, AZ
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« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2012, 03:05:41 AM » |
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Scary!   |
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My rides: 1998 GL1500C, 2000 GL 1500CF,2006 GL 1800 3A   |
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Robert
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« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2012, 04:16:34 AM » |
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I dont think you have to pull the whole thing apart to check there is a hole in the bottom of the black cover that covers the space between the wheel and the rear. If you dont have that much play in the drive line and there are none of these pieces that look and feel like soft dirt in there you should be ok. Went back through my old posts and it looks like 07 and I would say about 25k miles. Man I didnt think it was that long ago. |
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« Last Edit: April 23, 2012, 04:44:38 AM by Robert »
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“Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that.”
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Patrick
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Posts: 15433
VRCC 4474
Largo Florida
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« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2012, 05:51:03 AM » |
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good post, thats good info that I would have never expected.. I have a set that I guess will now never be used..
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judd
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VRCC# 13453
B.C. Canada
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« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2012, 06:22:09 AM » |
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Thanx for the heads up, I am about to do a rear tire change this weekend and have a set of those dampers to install as well ........ Are you going to try and contact Gary about the matter ?
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98valk
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« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2012, 07:41:17 AM » |
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Noticed what looked like dark soft crumbs on the back wheel and coupled with the play I was feeling lately I didn't want to let this go. Took the air hose and blew into the hub and sure enough more came out. I dont know why it happened but had a bit of play in the drive train and thought it was the the u joint. Have to change the front tire and really didn't want to pull the back wheel but now I'm glad I did. They totally disintegrated and came out in pieces like dried clay. I really liked them when I put them in but I wanted to warn others. It almost wore into the pegs that go into the bushings against the retaining plate. Just be aware that if you purchased these from Gary and you have play check it out. I hope for whatever reason it was only me but it pays to check. looks like damage from toooo many holeshots with a CT.  all joking aside, I tend to remember that Gary had a bad batch at one time, one of his early runs, and actually was replacing those ones free of charge. a search might still bring up the timeline. |
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1998 Std/Tourer, 2007 DR200SE, 1981 CB900C 10speed
1973 Duster 340 4-speed rare A/C, 2001 F250 4x4 7.3L, 6sp
"Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the goverment of any other."
John Adams 10/11/1798
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eric in md
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Posts: 2495
ride hard now we all can rest when were gone !!!
in the mountains .......cumberland md
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« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2012, 07:54:57 AM » |
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Thanx for the heads up, I am about to do a rear tire change this weekend and have a set of those dampers to install as well ........ Are you going to try and contact Gary about the matter ?
fyi ,, gary passed away couple months ago . really dont think he cares anymore . rip gary he was a great person . |
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Robert
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« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2012, 08:08:13 AM » |
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When I see Gary I will tell him the problems that I had as long as that is not to soon. As for all those that have them now I wouldn't worry about them. As long as you are aware of the potential problem and like was said by CA he may have had a bad batch then I would use them. Gary made good products and stood by them if I could buy another set I would. There are many riding around with his shock bushings also that have never failed. |
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“Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that.”
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Bone
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« Reply #14 on: April 23, 2012, 08:58:28 AM » |
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We have real windy conditions here in Mich. today. Thought I would check out the play in my drive. Well that won't happen my Craftsman jack won't lift to the first locking point. Burped it and checked the oil level, no problems I could see.
The drive train will have to wait.
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alph
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« Reply #15 on: April 23, 2012, 11:24:49 AM » |
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thanks for the info Rob. i've got one of the last sets Gary made. ordered 'em and installed 'em last year. i paid $85 for the set, hope they don't end up like yours. i've got 7k miles on 'em already, don't feel any play at all. i'll probably be buying a set of OEM's just to be on the safe side.....
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Promote world peace, ban all religion. Ride Safe, Ride Often!!   |
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judd
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Posts: 265
VRCC# 13453
B.C. Canada
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« Reply #16 on: April 23, 2012, 07:37:24 PM » |
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Thanx for the heads up, I am about to do a rear tire change this weekend and have a set of those dampers to install as well ........ Are you going to try and contact Gary about the matter ?
fyi ,, gary passed away couple months ago . really dont think he cares anymore . rip gary he was a great person . Wow sorry, I didn't know that,  I have delt with him a couple of times for his shock bushings some years ago now and the dampners more recently, he was a great guy to deal with. I thought that the original poster should contact him intially, because my dampners have obviously not failed at this point, just sittin' there on the shelf. There might of been some explaination or fault with a particular batch as someone has already mentioned. I guess we'll never know for sure. I may just install mine now and change 'em out for OEM next tire change, should last that long. R.I.P. Gary |
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PAVALKER
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Posts: 4435
Retired Navy 22YOS, 2014 Valkyrie , VRCC# 27213
Pittsburgh, Pa
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« Reply #17 on: April 24, 2012, 05:41:41 AM » |
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Similar breakdown of some shock bushings has occurred as well, so be alert for that. I assume it was a random batch failure, not widespread.
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Bone
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« Reply #18 on: April 24, 2012, 10:15:27 AM » |
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The drive line inspection didn't happen. I did get my Craftsman Jack working. Did lift the bike and rotated the drive train. There is 1.5 inches of slack measured on the tire sidewall. That was in first gear so includes everything. I did check out the opening in the dust collar nothing crumbly or wet.
I'll pull everything in 5k miles maybe sooner.
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Bone
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« Reply #19 on: May 01, 2012, 04:53:21 AM » |
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Well if you saw my thread about the Yoke failure you know I pulled the drive-train. The U-joint was letting go. That part is on order from HDL about half the price of my local bike shop. I always give them a chance to match or come close to the On-line prices. Usually they can with the high shipping charges. Happy to report Gary's Dampers look real good after 30k miles. The drive-line slack was the failing u-joint. It was ready to disintegrate  |
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Tundra
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2014 Valkyrie 1800
Seminole, Florida
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« Reply #20 on: May 01, 2012, 02:21:42 PM » |
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I had some real slack and just replaced them with Gary's last Friday. The bike does not feel any better, still the same slack. Maybe I should have pulled and inspected that u-joint?
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If you can't be a good example: be a WARNING!!
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Bone
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« Reply #21 on: May 01, 2012, 02:46:40 PM » |
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Wasn't sure of the vibration very light. But the amount of slack got my attention. I don't know if it gradually increased until I noticed or it increased quickly. No noise from the drive and I'm not a hole-shot rider. Tearing it down checking each possible problem was all I could do. Glad I did I was relieved to find it still together when I saw it's condition.
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Robert
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« Reply #22 on: June 30, 2012, 04:19:14 PM » |
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Noticed what looked like dark soft crumbs on the back wheel and coupled with the play I was feeling lately I didn't want to let this go. Took the air hose and blew into the hub and sure enough more came out. I dont know why it happened but had a bit of play in the drive train and thought it was the the u joint. Have to change the front tire and really didn't want to pull the back wheel but now I'm glad I did. They totally disintegrated and came out in pieces like dried clay. I really liked them when I put them in but I wanted to warn others. It almost wore into the pegs that go into the bushings against the retaining plate. Just be aware that if you purchased these from Gary and you have play check it out. I hope for whatever reason it was only me but it pays to check. |
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“Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don’t have time for all that.”
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JaysGone
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« Reply #25 on: June 30, 2012, 10:44:42 PM » |
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Im glad I did notice the date.
Being new here I was all ready to order up a set......
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 1999 Valk - SOLD 2005 Yamaha RoadStar 2010 GoldWing with Motor Trike Kit |
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