Rear Wheel Spline Service

Note, that these parts are NLA (No Longer Available) from Honda. Take care of what you have to make them last. As a new owner, check this out as part of your commissioning service, so you know it's greased.

The next two pictures are what a good drive spline looks like. 800x599px

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Here is what worn splines look like. Compare the thickness of the tops of the splines in the two pictures. The spline is 1/3 worn through. These parts are case hardened. Case hardening is when regular steel is used to make the part, and one of the last manufacturing steps is to harden the outer layer of metal. After this outer layer is worn away, the part will probably only last 5000 or less miles. Also, once the case hardening is worn through, the facing the final drive will start to be damaged by wear and metal deposits from the driven flange. Keep the splines lubricated with the recommended lube. See the article below. 800x450px These pictures of splines are the same splines that's in the above picture. The wear portion of the splines has been highlighted. [viewfindpostp226241|Link to the forum]

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Although all of the worn splines above should be replaced because of the hardened part of the metal has been removed, and they will soon fail, this next picture is an example of really worn splines. File:Rrashed

Here is a article on how to service the splines on your rear wheel:

You need to grease your drive splines each time you remove your rear wheel. This is true for all shaft drive bikes, regardless of brand. This is a real issue: ask any BMW rider, or any old-time ST1100 or GL high mileage type, and you'll likely get a whole lecture about spline maintenance. The lecture may or may not be informed, but it will demonstrate real concern. The drive splines get surprisingly hot. Additionally, there's a lot of pressure on the splines and a lot of back and forth sliding motion. Any liquid type of grease will quickly be squeezed out of the splines, and leave you with no protection. The first time you remove your rear wheel, you will likely find that the factory grease has dried out completely and solidified into something which does not even remotely resemble a lubricant. Actually, if it's a good Moly grease, it's still doing its job in this form, but it's not a pretty sight.

Honda specifies a spline grease which is 60% molybdenum disulfide ("moly"). Moly is a dry lubricant which bonds to the metal surfaces, offering lubrication properties even when the parts have squeezed everything liquid out. A lot of greases now say "Moly" on the container, but you must be careful about this. Ford and Caterpillar specify moly greases for particular applications, but the requirement is for 3% moly, not even close to the 60% requirement of Honda. It's not enough to buy a moly grease, what you really want is basically dry moly in a grease-like carrier which makes it easier to apply. These days, most BMW shops seem to be using the Honda moly paste on drive splines. I have no idea what Kawasaki, Yamaha, or Suzuki dealers are doing, but if it's anything like what most Honda dealers are doing, it's simply not acceptable. My informal survey of Honda shops, backed up by observations from several other riders, has convinced me that essentially none of them use Moly-60. They use the cheapest brake and drive shaft grease they can buy.

If you let a dealer or shop change your rear tire, be certain they are using Moly-60 paste or Krytox, or you're going to be needing new drive splines in about 50,000 miles. Guaranteed. I recommend you remove and replace your own wheels, leaving the spline cleaning and lubrication up to you. If you want nothing to do with this, then I recommend you have a talk with your favorite mechanic before tires come up, and buy your own tube of lubricant if necessary.

• Honda Moly 60 paste, $9 for 3oz, pn 08734-0001 at your Honda dealer, or $8 from Kim Leong, STOC 3073, California Sport Touring.

• LocTite Moly paste, 65% molybdenum disulfide. $20 for an 8oz tube from Enco, part #505-1197, 800-873-3626

• TS-70 Moly Paste, 4 oz. ctg. $14 from TSMoly. (800) 508-5545

/C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Dan.DANS_DELL_D830/My%20Documents/Downloads/Rrashed%20splines.jpg Rrashed splines.jpg An alternative to moly is the new poly-flourinated lubricants made by DuPont called Krytox Teflon Bearing Grease. These chemicals are simply magic. They have almost no known solvents, are chemically inert, and don't burn at any temperature, even in a pure oxygen atmosphere. This is pretty clearly the only grease to use. See this article. Nascar mechanics have found that Krytox grease can reduce the temperature of spline joints on drive shafts by 150°. Also, this stuff lasts forever. It is, unfortunately, quite expensive.

Krytox is compatible with moly - in fact DuPont sells a high pressure Krytox which mixes the two. You may hear some horror story from some mechanic about mixing greases and the result turning radioactive or some such. Don't worry, it won't happen with moly or Krytox.

• DuPont XHT-AC extra high temperature anti-corrosive Krytox. $30 for a 2oz tube, pn 10195K25; $113 for an 8oz tube, from McMaster Carr.

• DuPont XHT-BDX extra high temperature extra bonding Krytox. $63 for a 2oz tube pn 10195K22; $230 for an 8oz tube pn10195K24 from McMaster Carr.

• LocTite Krytox HyperLube, pn 29711. about $35 for two ounces.

Hint: This is a quite messy job. If you get some spray shaving cream and rub it into your hands and wrists, it will seal your skin and pores with silicon lubricant. Later, when you're all done, this will make cleaning up your hands a lot easier. With your rear wheel off the bike, the drive splines will be exposed. They're the brass colored bumps in the middle of the drive ring, above right. Clean off any factory stuff with a rag. You will likely need some solvent like Kerosene or Gasoline to get them clean. Now put Moly-60 paste or Krytox on the exposed splines. The idea here is to more or less paint the splines - you're not looking for a large volume of grease, like you would use on a wheel bearing. You want an amount of grease about the size of a pea. It's helpful to use a clean popsicle stick to spread the grease. Try not to get too much on your hands, neither the Krytox nor the Moly greases clean off very easily. At the first tire change, you should also remove the rear drive system from the swing arm and clean and lubricate the splines on the drive shaft. After the first time, this should be done about every 50,000 miles or so.

• When you put the wheel and drive assemblies back together, its recommended that you follow this procedurewhich prevents spline misalignment, and premature wear. The actual procedure steps are available for download.

Here's a link to the forum about spline care. http://cx500forum.com/index.php?/topic/19775-how-deep-does-the-rabbit-hole-go/

Here is why these need to be regularly lubed. Preferably with moly 60 paste.