LUBE YOUR DRIVE SPLINES! - How to.

Jughead · Sep 16, 2016

With the number of driveshafts giving in at the moment, maybe it's a good time to check yours!

Due to the design of the rear suspension of the shaft drive bikes, the rear of the driveshaft needs to be able to slide smoothly on the final drive splines as the FD flexes on the swingarm during the up/down travel of the rear wheel.

The older R1100 and R1150 had fixed splines on the gearbox and Final Drive, but had a 2 part drive shaft with a spline joining the 2 halves. The same applies to those shafts. Regular lubrication is essential!

So, on the R1200 this is how: (and by the way, the older models had no drain plug on the FD, so you could also use this opportunity to drain and replace the FD oil. For the purpose of this exercise though we will be assuming that this is just a spline lube.)

Remove the rear wheel. Not going to explain how to do that, it's elementary.

Here is what you will be looking at with the wheel removed.

This is a typical example of what happens to exacerbate the problem. The rubber boot between the FD and the swingarm is not seated correctly, allowing dirt and water to enter. Check it regularly and make sure the clips are in place. If it won't stay in place, replace it.

First remove the 2 bolts holding the caliper on. Move the caliper to the right and place a rag between the FD and the caliper to prevent it scratching the paintwork. There is no need to remove the brade pads, (these just come along with the caliper) but this is a good opportunity to check them properly. Also a good opportunity to check that the caliper is floating as it should.

Now move around to the LHS. Remove these 2 small screws ...

And carefully remove the wheelspeed sensor, taking care not to lose the O-ring and any shims that may be present.

This is also your opportunity to check for metal bits on the end of the sensor which would indicate the imminent failure of a bearing internal to the FD.

Carefully release the cable from the retaining clip here, and add it to the caliper.

I have made this little plug to assist with this job. Large side is for the FD with Gen2 ABS, small side for Gen1 ABS.

Simply place the o-ring back in the hole if it came out with the sensor, and plug the hole with the appropriate side of the plug, like so.

If you do not do this, you are about to lose a large portion of the FD oil in a minute.

Now support the FD and remove this bolt on the torsion bar ...

and if all is well, your FD will swing into a vertical position smoothly. (And if you didn't plug the sensor hole, you would now be losing the oil)

Check the UJ for any "notchyness". If it doesn't swivel smoothly, replace it. Lube the splines and reassemble.

Here the wear on the spline can be clearly seen.

Also use this oportunity to check for oil leaks, firstly here:

... which would be the pinion seal leaking. These normally start leaking when the main pinion bearing has play in it, which is found in conjunction with the metal bits on the wheelspeed sensor mentioned earlier.

Another place to check is here:

and this is another classic example. See the little puddle of oil in the swingarm? That is from the gearbox output shaft.

So now the swingarm comes out and that gets replaced as well, before you lose the gearbox oil.