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Color of Final Drive Splines?

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I'm changing tires and when researching rear spline grease options I read a few mentions of three different color splines. Gold, Black, Silver. This is an '83 GS 850GL but who knows if the drive assembly is original. I can't decide if these splines are silver or gold. Opinions? They look good despite having almost no lubricant. It was hardly ridden so that might explain it.

Also, has anyone found any appropriate high % Molybdenum paste at an auto parts store like Napa? I'm having zero luck and mail order is taking forever to get to me.


100_4694.jpg
 
It's actually the opposing splines you should be looking at, bolted to the wheel not the drive :)
 
What about Oggy's 2nd question? There's got to be a suitable moly out there, but I haven't found it either. When I do find some, it's either Honda or Suzuki, & it's way up there like $30.00 for 4oz. Got'ta be something suitable & easy to get hold of.
 
here's a pic of the wheel splines...still trying to seat the bead of the rear tire. going on 3 days of attempting to get it seated. 'bout ready to give up.
100_4699.jpg

as far as the high % molybdenum grease, I don't think it's an item autozone stocks. some bike shops don't even use it. many videos seem to show experienced people improperly using red lithium grease that is designed for steering linkage grease points. it's a little puzzling how much variation there is on what to use on drive splines. I even hesitated to ask because it's generated tons of arguments online, but then what doesn't start an argument online?:surprise: When Honda discontinued the Moly 60 and it became Moly 77 they started a chain reaction of problems, there's even disagreement about the quality of moly 77, though I would use it if I could find it because Honda must know what they are talking about.

The grease that I'm seeing in this wheel looks like generic bearing grease. there's no moly in it from what I can tell. it's just generic grease that easily wipes off my finger. But Suzuki makes a $35 tube of molybdenum paste. I'm hesitant to order stuff due to the time it's taking to arrive and some of these online parts stores look shady. Molybdenum is similar to anti-seize paste, which is almost impossible to get off your skin. But that's definitely not what I'm seeing in this wheel. I do have some anti-seize paste but I think it is aluminum based. I have some 1% moly extreme pressure black moly grease that is the closest I own, but about 50% too low percentage of Moly, but it's probably better than what's in it now. it's the price of owning a drive shaft bike and doing your own maintenance.
 
It's real hard to see any wear with grease on the splines. They may look good on the outside edge, but inside they're worn.

i used the Moly grease from Auto Zone for a few years and reapplied regularly at tire changes. My '83 850's wheel joint wore badly and the final drive on the pumpkin showed significant wear too.

Here's the gold joint on the wheel

20200307_140831 by Roger, on Flickr

And the final drive on the pumpkin, driven unit or whatever the real term is...



And the final drive on the pumpkin, driven unit or whatever the real term is...



I bought a wheel from a breaker on Ebay for $35 with a black joint in it and all is well. Oh, I'm using the Honda 77 stuff now and I have a couple extra joints in my stash.
 
good pics. my rear wheel probably has the original 7000 miles on it but hardly any grease. I see what you mean. the grease hides wear marks.
I'm thinking this is a gold color spline since we both have '83 850G
I think the Honda 77 moly is the way I will go too. Honda definitely considers it a replacement for the moly 60 that got discontinued and was used for the same purpose.
I've heard the pumpkin term, final drive splines. shaft drive interlocking teeth, drive mesh gear. The manual calls the one on the wheel a "driven joint" and the teeth on pumpkin thing a "final drive gear". I want to call it a differential but that's probably wrong. The only advice I can give to anyone is to order that moly 77 paste along with the tires and they should arrive at the same time. Napa told me to go online.
100_4702.jpg
 
I use Loctite Moly Paste 8012 part # 51048 and am pleased with it. An 8 oz container (enough to last me a lifetime at the recommended application rate and I have 4 bikes)) is just over 28 Bux at your US walmarts. Or shop elsewhere online.
 
yes, the loctite moly paste looks like a very good option for driven gears.

both the moly 77 paste and the loctite moly paste are definitely available online and are the best two options I saw too. I've never seen them in a store. I'll order some for the next time I revisit the rear wheel. getting the wheel off wasn't too hard after I took the torque link off one end, took the top shock mount off and was able to drop the swingarm so the axle bolt was below the muffler. I can re-grease that driven gear with Moly paste any time I have 2 hours. I used the moly EP grease I already owned after two shops told me that's what they use. It's not the right stuff but it's better than it was.


I got the tire bead seated at a tire shop because it was too aggravating to deal with after 3 days of failure. taking the tire off was simple, putting the tire on was simple. Getting the bead to seat was impossible. They used WD40 on the bead but they also had a 4 point claw to compress the tire while it was being inflated with a 150PSI high volume 1/2'' hose, which I also don't have. I don't know what more I could've done with the tools I have. It was too difficult to get that bead to stretch to the rim no matter what I did. I had three ratchet straps on it but it always leaked through some gap. man, that was frustrating. then I used some tire balancing beads which were also a nightmare to deal with. more ended up on the ground than in the tire. That whole tire operation was pretty unpleasant from start to finish. glad it's over.


thanks all.
 
If they actually inflated that tire to 150 psi, I think I would look into having them replace that tire for you.

Seriously.

.
 
Lube is your friend as well as soft new tyres and a hot day (or artificial heat) :)
 
Surely not WD-40 on a tire, there is special tire lube soap stuff to keep you from using WD-40 or oil or grease. 150psi. in a tire??? Noooo, I think many air tanks are rated only 120 max., I know the gauges hit RED at 120. Hope it didn't stretch, break or distort any cords or anything.
 
Oggy, maybe you were referring to the high volume output of that air line, and not necessarily the pressure they inflated the tire to. Hoping that's the case anyway.

After struggling with setting a bead on my tire, someone here suggested Ru-glyde. That stuff is a game changer for doing your own tires. Thin and slippery but doesn't run off or dry right away like the dish soap I had been using. It reminds me of antifreeze actually. (Probably not good to use antifreeze) W-d 40 may stay slippery and let the wheel spin in the bead. I saw a tire shop use PB Blaster on a friend's KZ1300 while on a long road trip. Nothing came of it, but certainly wouldn't recommend that.

I found that one ratchet strap on the center of the tire wrapped around squeezes it enough to do the trick. Mainly I struggled with some really old tires my buddy had on his KZ. The newer warmed up tires, as mentioned, coupled with Ru-glyde and a decent compressor and you'll be amazed. Get a balancing stand (Harbour Freight) and some sticky weights (cycle gear) to finish the job. Just my $.02

We're fortunate enough to have Honda dealership that sells the moly 77 stuff, Napa had tire Lube, weights and balancing stand, all in stock stuff. Could have saved a few bucks by ordering stuff from Amazon or whatever, but I hate waiting for stuff too.
 
Putting a ratchet strap or even a piece of rope around the diameter of the tire and tightening it down will often help force the edges of the tire to be closer to the rim allowing you to get the tire seated.
 
Yes, my description was vague. the volume of their compressor was higher due to larger hose. It was a 7 ft tall compressor with a gauge that went to 150. The bead set at 30 psi. They were not inflated more than 40psi. I now have them at 25 psi per the manual recommended psi.
I cringed when I saw them use wd40 after I spent $20 on a ruglyde gallon. I had 3 ratchet straps, heated the tire in the sun, but could only get the front tire seated myself. I definitely admit defeat on that rear tire. It was more difficult than docking at the international space station. Bring it to a border tire shop and they immediately use wd40 which is why i tried to do it myself. But it was done in 5 minutes.
 
Last edited:
Oggy said:
Yes, my description was vague. the volume of their compressor was higher due to larger hose. It was a 7 ft tall compressor with a gauge that went to 150. The bead set at 30 psi. They were not inflated more than 40psi.

I now have them at 25 psi per the manual recommended psi.

I cringed when I saw them use wd40 after I spent $20 on a ruglyde gallon. I had 3 ratchet straps, heated the tire in the sun, but could only get the front tire seated myself. I definitely admit defeat on that rear tire. It was more difficult than docking at the international space station. Bring it to a border tire shop and they immediately use wd40 which is why i tried to do it myself. But it was done in 5 minutes.
Click to expand...


That seems pretty low to me - 25 PSI in a REAR tire ?

I suggest re-reading your specs (or check the tire sidewall) ;)

[TABLE="class: table table-striped table-md mb-0, width: 226"]
[TR]
[TH="align: left"]Inflation pressure[/TH]
[TD]42 psi[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
Last edited:
Wingsconsin said:
... (or check the tire sidewall) ;)

[TABLE="class: table table-striped table-md mb-0, width: 226"]
[TR]
[TH="align: left"]Inflation pressure[/TH]
[TD]42 psi[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Click to expand...
Carl, I think you missed a word there. :-k

MAXIMUM inflation pressure = 42 psi. However, if your bike is not loaded near the maximum allowable weight, you don't need the MAXIMUM inflation pressure.

It's also important to note that "back in the day", the maximum pressure on the tires was about 36 psi. Today's tires need to go to 42 for their maximum load, so the 25 psi recommended in the manual might translate to about 30-32 psi for the same load.

.
 
WD40 is a good “on the road” lube for tires.... ru-glyde is sold by the gallon at Napa :)
 
Back to the hub ("joint assembly") in the rear wheel.
To inspect for wear, you really need to remove it from the wheel, especaily if you are not real familiar with the wear pattern. THe end of the spines that you see when it is still mounted in the wheel are not effected by the wear pattern.

ppYLz9s.jpg

A worn "gold colored" '82, compared to a current replacement new one (although turned the other way).

On the worn one, you can see the wear is not all the way across the spline, the unworn end is what you see when the hub is still in the wheel.
 
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