How much fore and aft movement is there on the splines?
When did you last get your shaft out?
- Thread starter beaver
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Not sure.. but there must be some as the pivot points are not central to the UJ's... The front one is held by the clip so you'd expect any movement to be in the rear...
I cannot see the extent of any movements from those spline pictures - I suspect the splines don’t require any lubrication which is why BMW don’t add any significant amount. Would need to ask an expert mechanical design engineer the pros and cons of this.
Thats what we do! ... I've Designed in Aerospace, Mediacal and now Processing.. so lots of splines over the years.. and metal to metal is not good.. we even put grease on missile guidance and that does have a limited life LOL.
But as said above.. I'm sure BMW will put some on.. and it will cold plate the splines with Moly which will last, but.. .what happens when it wears through or comes off.. Maybe whats pictured above I guess.
If greasing is part of the service schedule then it should be done, if it isn’t then I wonder why not and would like to understand the theory.
MrMcNamara
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& my answer is yes, there is some forward / aft movement in the splines & yes, these will be better running if a good quality, anti fling grease is applied the like of a molly / Stabarag. at one point in production of the 1150 bikes, the male splines were coated with something resembling a Teflon style coating - my 1150R was one of them - I still chose to check grease it anyway
You would not ride anal bareback? a bit of lube is always needed to prevent damage
I'm guessing they think what they apply at the factory will last?
Been doing a bit of Googling and it seems as though cleaning and greasing splines can be a good thing if done regularly - if not debris held in the grease can actually do a lot of damage - so maybe the BMW metallurgists have determined that for the materials they use it’s best not to grease them??
I will leave my shaft well alone for now - I am on my 5th 1200GS and have put lots of all year round miles on all of them, never had splines fail yet
Been doing a bit of Googling and it seems as though cleaning and greasing splines can be a good thing if done regularly - if not debris held in the grease can actually do a lot of damage - so maybe the BMW metallurgists have determined that for the materials they use it’s best not to grease them??
I will leave my shaft well alone for now - I am on my 5th 1200GS and have put lots of all year round miles on all of them, never had splines fail yet
They will grease it.. but just lightly.. I'd also sugest that one side (prop) is sacrificial... so if wear does take place its the prop that goes... I don't hold to the idea of the grease becoming detrimental and holding contaminant in there... greased or not, if it was to get in there and crushed it would do the damage once impregnated into the surface.
Having experianced the prop going on the last bike, I'm more than happy to clean the splines out and re-grease every year if thats what it takes
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Could someone please advise of a specific grease to use on the splines?
What does the Service manual say to use?
Ask 'Timeandtide' what happened to his GS splines on the way home from the Black Forest tour: Failure, recovery, hire care home. Damned inconvenient, and if out of warranty, bloody expensive too.
I lube mine with moly paste. The first time I dropped the final drive on both my GS and GSA, the splines were bone dry and had never seen any lube. I also keep a pound of butter in the fridge to ward off elephants before anybody starts!
The cardan shaft isn't even painted from new and rusts like a pig. A light coat of frosts chassis black paint sorts it.
I lube mine with moly paste. The first time I dropped the final drive on both my GS and GSA, the splines were bone dry and had never seen any lube. I also keep a pound of butter in the fridge to ward off elephants before anybody starts!
The cardan shaft isn't even painted from new and rusts like a pig. A light coat of frosts chassis black paint sorts it.
Just playing devils advocate here, but if one has to frequently grease/lubricate a drive shaft then one might as well have a chain drive if BMW have a recommended lubrication interval for the drive shaft/splines then follow that, if they haven't then don't bother.
if BMW have a recommended lubrication interval for the drive shaft/splines then follow that, if they haven't then don't bother.Deleted account 250319001
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I have purchased a tin of silicon spray and a tin moly grease. £10.99 from Halfords.
Are you saying i do not need it now?
Are you saying i do not need it now?
It is completely un-necessary, seeing as BMW don't bother to lube them.
But I did mine as I like to maintain my bike better than the BMW dealership will. I had it apart anyway to change my clutch so a bit of lube won't hurt during reassembly.
It's down to individual choice.
But I did mine as I like to maintain my bike better than the BMW dealership will. I had it apart anyway to change my clutch so a bit of lube won't hurt during reassembly.
It's down to individual choice.
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Of course you dont need it, However, If you're pulling it apart anyway, Like Pukmeister whack sum shite in it. Init.
If not. No, leave it alone.
Bit of info from Jim on the US site... regarded as a top guy on there and knows what he's on about... quite interesting
https://advrider.com/index.php?thre...ive-change-and-spline-lube-pictorial.1129815/
https://advrider.com/index.php?thre...ive-change-and-spline-lube-pictorial.1129815/
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