Drivetrain lack of lubrication

[Allen_C]

Well...I had to remove the rear wheel today to get the tire changed for the first time...it now has 7,500 miles on it but the front OEM tire still has about 2,000 miles left. As Rayzerman and Yamafitter suggested, I pulled the pumpkin and drive shaft to check for proper grease and this is what I found:

The gear in the pumpkin and on the rear wheel are not too bad but they are a bit under-greased, as expected. I will correct that tomorrow.

More concerning is the oxidation already started on both ends of the drive shaft. This situation is documented in the fjrtech maintenance section. The shaft was completely dry, allowing the surface metal to begin corroding. I have applied a thin layer of final drive oil to the shaft to keep it free of corrosive air and will reassemble everything tomorrow afternoon after I get the new 023GT rear back from the dealer.

I'm curious to know if anyone else with a Gen 3 has checked out these items yet and what you have found. BTW, it was very easy to get the wheel off and the drive shaft out!

 

[FJRBluesman]

It's well documented that all Gen punkins and drive shafts are under lubed. Many have corrosion many don't. It's hit and miss. None of it is worrisome, just lube it at least once per year or each tire change which ever suits your driving and weather needs in your area.

Good luck, ride safe.

 

[SoCalFJR1300]

Every time this is found though people should call Yamaha corp and complain.

Its ******** that many come from the factory with little or NO lube.

I don't think its called for in the manual to check it so many riders are probably unaware and the corrosion could cause a problem over time.

Its not just YAMAHA though, I used to have a Kawi Vulcan 750 with shaft drive and its a known problem on their forum also.

What is it with manufacturers that they cant properly lube a moving part??

 

[supertankerm60a3]

Actually, to me that looks like a light coat of grease. You, on the other hand, will overgrease it. Then, in the future, after some 'spirited riding' you (or the next owner) will find this grease splattered on your rear wheel and post questions about a possible leak.

I maintain that this is proper lube. The FJR failure rate backs me up. If, OTOH, it was a BMW things would be different.

 

[Queensland Ken]

Just imagine how nice the bike's suspension relay arm is ...........NOT

Here is my story. a new FJR

Also just recently serviced a bike @50K kms, the drive shaft was rusted into the universal and linkages the same.

Never been touched by a mechanic.

 

[Bounce]

Also noted here: https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/spline/SkooterG/coupling101.html

With links to here:

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/spline/spline.html

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/ujoint/uj.html

and more from here:

https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/maint.html

 

[Fred W]

Rust formed on the drive shaft itself makes absolutely no difference in the world. It's a solid steel shaft for crying out loud. It's not going to weaken and break. Ever look at the drive shaft on the underside of a car? At least the FJR shaft runs inside a housing to protect it from road spray (and your leg, no doubt)

The splines on the forward end of the shaft require only a light coat of greasing upon assembly, strictly for anti-corrosion. There is no lateral motion or friction in that spline joint during use. All of that lateral motion is taken up in the spring loaded rear joint, which is inside the final drive and lubed in gear oil.

The splines that couple to the rear wheel hub already had plenty of grease on them in your original picture. Again, this grease is merely anti-corrosive. There is no motion of that spline coupling either (other than rotational) You do not want to globber a lot grease on that joint or it will migrate out and onto your rear wheel via centripetal force.

Neither of these locations require anything as fancy as Honda Moly Paste lube, as is often recommended, but it does have the unique advantage of sticking rather tenaciously to surfaces (and your fingers) when applied in a thin layer. So, I would say that you could do that if it makes you feel better (keep the grease coating thin!) but certainly not to worry the least bit about the shaft being a little corroded.

If you were to complain to Yamaha corporation about their heinous oversight, they'd tell you that you are just another internet kook making up problems. The FJR has among the most reliable final drives in the industry. And the vast majority of owners never apply grease on either of these parts since it is not called for in the Factory Service Manuals.

 

[Bustanut joker]

As Rayzerman and Yamafitter suggested, I pulled the pumpkin and drive shaft to check for proper grease

. This situation is documented in the fjrtech maintenance section. The shaft was completely dry, allowing the surface metal to begin corroding. I have applied a thin layer of final drive oil to the shaft to keep it free of corrosive air and will reassemble everything tomorrow afternoon after I get the new 023GT rear back from the dealer.

I'm curious to know if anyone else with a Gen 3 has checked out these items yet and what you have found.

Reading comprehension isn't some of you guys strong suit.. As you can see by cutting away the chafe, Alan was well aware and well informed prior to doing this.

The highlighted question is the meat of his post.

Personally I find it disturbing that after 11 years of production this still happens.

 

[Fred W]

I find it more disturbing that people think this is particularly important.

 

[Pterodactyl]

Does not pass the "so what" test.

 

[Intech]

Hey Allen,

I have never looked at my drive shaft. Passed the 80K mark last weekend. I have had no issues and last weekend was typical of my riding, so you know what that is after following me. Bought all the fluids to work on it this weekend. I will take it apart as I want to check my wheel bearings, so I will have the wheels off. I will let the collective know what I find.

 

[Top_Speed1]

Well...I had to remove the rear wheel today to get the tire changed for the first time...it now has 7,500 miles on it but the front OEM tire still has about 2,000 miles left. As Rayzerman and Yamafitter suggested, I pulled the pumpkin and drive shaft to check for proper grease and this is what I found:

The gear in the pumpkin and on the rear wheel are not too bad but they are a bit under-greased, as expected. I will correct that tomorrow.

More concerning is the oxidation already started on both ends of the drive shaft. This situation is documented in the fjrtech maintenance section. The shaft was completely dry, allowing the surface metal to begin corroding. I have applied a thin layer of final drive oil to the shaft to keep it free of corrosive air and will reassemble everything tomorrow afternoon after I get the new 023GT rear back from the dealer.

I'm curious to know if anyone else with a Gen 3 has checked out these items yet and what you have found. BTW, it was very easy to get the wheel off and the drive shaft out!

You are a very nice person Allen!

I know guys on my Beemer Forum that would demand a full refund on their bike if they saw this as you did. Not kidding!

In the real world, yours being new, I think this is pretty normal and have seen/heard this before.

 

[Bounce]

Some recently reported that their forward shaft/u-joint splines were seized to their output shaft.

PM isn't something to be ignored. It may take a while but there's plenty of cases of shaft driven bikes needing costly repairs when simple, inexpensive PM would have avoided it completely.

 

[Intech]

Some recently reported that their forward shaft/u-joint splines were seized to their output shaft.
PM isn't something to be ignored. It may take a while but there's plenty of cases of shaft driven bikes needing costly repairs when simple, inexpensive PM would have avoided it completely.

Yeah, but, why isn't it included in the recommended maintenance in the manual?

 

[Enn]

Rust formed on the drive shaft itself makes absolutely no difference in the world. It's a solid steel shaft for crying out loud. It's not going to weaken and break. Ever look at the drive shaft on the underside of a car? At least the FJR shaft runs inside a housing to protect it from road spray (and your leg, no doubt)
The splines on the forward end of the shaft require only a light coat of greasing upon assembly, strictly for anti-corrosion. There is no lateral motion or friction in that spline joint during use. All of that lateral motion is taken up in the spring loaded rear joint, which is inside the final drive and lubed in gear oil.

The splines that couple to the rear wheel hub already had plenty of grease on them in your original picture. Again, this grease is merely anti-corrosive. There is no motion of that spline coupling either (other than rotational) You do not want to globber a lot grease on that joint or it will migrate out and onto your rear wheel via centripetal force.

Neither of these locations require anything as fancy as Honda Moly Paste lube, as is often recommended, but it does have the unique advantage of sticking rather tenaciously to surfaces (and your fingers) when applied in a thin layer. So, I would say that you could do that if it makes you feel better (keep the grease coating thin!) but certainly not to worry the least bit about the shaft being a little corroded.

If you were to complain to Yamaha corporation about their heinous oversight, they'd tell you that you are just another internet kook making up problems. The FJR has among the most reliable final drives in the industry. And the vast majority of owners never apply grease on either of these parts since it is not called for in the Factory Service Manuals.

Bravo, exactly my thought! Why would anyone be worried about the rust on the drive shaft? It would take couple of hundred of years until it really makes any serious harm to the forged steel ...

 

[rbentnail]

Some recently reported that their forward shaft/u-joint splines were seized to their output shaft.
PM isn't something to be ignored. It may take a while but there's plenty of cases of shaft driven bikes needing costly repairs when simple, inexpensive PM would have avoided it completely.

Yep, my first thought was, "why didn't he pull the universal joint, too?". To each his own I guess but it's not something I ignore.

 

[bwv]

My 2012 was absolutely overgreased from the factory at the ujoint, grease was flung all over the place inside of the covers.

The hub splines had a light, but complete coverage of grease, similar to the above image.

I tore into mine thinking it would be so dry there'd be dust in there.. not the case. I think they fixed it... maybe over-fixed it...at least in 2012.

My shaft did have some staining as above.. but no real rust...no worries about that here.

 

[Allen_C]

Wow, some varied responses. As Bust noted, I am aware of the issue, no it's not that bad, I haven't heard of any other Gen 3 owner indicate what they found when opening up the pumpkin - hence my question to other owners.

In any case, I feel it is a shame that Yamaha still seems to be inconsistent in lubricating these parts.

Carry on...

 

[Bustanut joker]

Was I the only one to see corrosion on the spline? Somebody please tell me that is a good thing.