U-JOINT question

[Old Geezer Richard]

 I have a riding buddy with a 98 Valk tourer and he is hear sounds and feels something in his rt foot peg .... he going to drop the rear wheel this weekend to check the rear drive train ... I'm curious what will a u-joint sound like or feel like if its on the verge of going out .... he has about 30,000  +  -  miles on his Valk .... I can pass it on to him so in case he needs to order a new u-joint ....

[Daniel Meyer]

I have a riding buddy with a 98 Valk tourer and he is hear sounds and feels something in his rt foot peg .... he going to drop the rear wheel this weekend to check the rear drive train ... I'm curious what will a u-joint sound like or feel like if its on the verge of going out .... he has about 50,000 miles on his Valk .... I can pass it on to him so in case he needs to order a new u-joint ....

Could be a u-joint, pinion cup/joint, or possibly the rear splines or a rear bearing. All make some crunchy or popping noises and add vibration that I've always felt best on the right highway peg (if ya got 'em).

[Old Geezer Richard]

Hey Daniel , I'm just going what my friend describes to me ..... I'm kinda curious myself with my Valk and the miles I have..... my friends has fewer miles than I have for the same year ..... it seems the only way to be sure is dropping the rear tire and see how much play he has in the joint and what condition his splines are in at the other end ..... I'll be doing the same thing here real soon when I do my 12,000 mile C/T rear-end check up ....

[Thunderbolt]

I had that strange vibration when I would say top a small hill (I was in W. Virginia at the time, we don't have many here in Fl.)  I felt it in the floorboard when topping the hill under very light throttle, sorta the sweet spot if you will between a little throttle and backing off a little.  I changed the u-joint which had a small amount of play and the dampers with some of Gary's neoprene units.  All play and vibration is gone now.

[NCGhostrider]

When mine went out at 39k or so miles, it was  tough diagnosis.  I thought it was the rear wheel bearings, and, in fact,  they were bad.... replaced them. 

Asked the Honda shop to figure it out the vibration when it remained, they said it was the front tire, it was nearing time to change it so we replaced it.   

The vibration was still there!  I came home from the shop and tore my bike down that night myself, the u-joint came out with pieces hitting the floor.  Mine was subtle, most noticeable on dips or things that would make the back end flex and change the angle of the drive line. 

It wasn't a hard repair, and BTW, after I had a few words at the Honda shop, and reminded them about their quote "let a professional find it," and me laying u-joint parts on the service manager's desk in front of a few customers, I got a real nice discount on parts...  I will do my stuff myself from now on..

My vibration was most noticeable in the right peg, but like I said very subtle.. I just knew something had changed. 

see ya,

Craig
NCGhostrider
99 I/S

[Ricky-D]

It's possible to remove the brake pedal assembly and pull back the rubber boot to inspect the u-joint.

[Old Geezer Richard]

Now it seems to me when you replace the factory joint the new car u-joints comes with a zerk fitting on them to grease from time to time , this I would assume allow the Valk u-joint to last a little longer , but I wonder if the weight of the zerk fitting would throw off the balancing or if theres even any room for such a fitting .... wondering !

[Ricky-D]

Factory Honda u-joints come without a zerk fitting.

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

Chet at rattlebars.com has a good  write-up with photos how to remove and replace a u joint without removing the swingarm. Hardest part to me was getting  the rubber boot re-seated, after  I raised the swingarm up to almost straight level boot justed popped on.

[Old Geezer Richard]

Hey Ricky D , my question to you is .... why do you think the Valk u-joint did not come with  a zerk fitting to begin with ? because on the car replacements u-joints , they have the zerk fitting  nipple for greasing ..... now would the added weight of the small nipple throw off the balance you think ? from my experience dealing with sealed bearing , it a crap shoot as to how long they will last and under what kind of conditions their under and the big killer I have found is the water aspect .... like car washes ... anyway I'm just thinking out loud .....

[Grandpot]

There are several reasons Zerk fittings don't get installed in some U joints:

1. On a unit with a Zerk fitting you must drill and tap for the fitting, then cross drill the U joint body to allow grease to travel to all four bearings.  Money!

2. You have to install the fitting during assembly.  Money!

3. All that drilling makes the body weak.

4. On a small U joint like on a Valk, there is not much room for a Zerk fitting.  When you want to apply grease, the U joint will need to be bent open as much as possible to allow the grease gun nozzle to access the Zerk fitting.  I don't think you can gain this access while the U joint is on the bike.

   Just an opinion.

[Old Geezer Richard]

Doctor J , point well made ...  clearance issues in those cramped quarters and of course didn't think about the MONEY aspect ..... thanks again