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Aggh! Those dratted splines got me today!

bwringer

bwringer

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The drive splines on my rear wheel (83 GS850GD) went kerblooey today.

The classic symptoms -- pulling out onto a highway, suddenly no go-power and horrible noises.

Dang, shucks, and other comments.

And I just fixed the leaky airbox that was causing a lean problem in the midrange, too. The bike was running great. Drat and double-drat.

I know exactly what to do -- I'm just having a pity party. Anyone who wants to join in and/or offer up parts cheap is welcome to join. :-({|= :-({|=

I just saw an NOS wheel spline dealy on eBay about a month ago, too. Guess I should have grabbed it.

The sad part is that I've always kept my splines nice 'n greasy, including the last time I replaced a rear tire four weeks and a little over 2,000 miles ago. So grease your splines, people. And stock up on new spline adaptors, anyway.

Oh yeah -- email me at bw@bwringer.com if you have any spline adaptors (or whatever you call them) lying around and you want to make me a deal.
 
They do come up on ebay. I have a complete spare wheel for my GS
 
They do come up on ebay. I have a complete spare wheel for my GS

So do I. I have the stock 16-in GK wheel, and the wheel off my old 1979 GS850G, a 17-incher. I have a set of splines installed in each, so the splines get to alternate service, as does the rear disc.

For what it's worth: the rear splines off early 850's (79 and 80) seem to be more durable than the splines off the later 850's (82 and 83). My first and only spline failure took place back in 1987, after a little over a year of ownership on my 82 GS850. The splines I replaced them with showed quite a bit of wear after just a couple of years.

Then in 1996 I bought a 1979 GS850GN. The splines on that model are interchangeable with those on the 82, but they're made of a harder material, and they're of a different color (black).

So, the wheel splines I use are those off a 1979 GS850 and also those off my old 1980 GS850. They work just fine on my 1984 GS1100GK.

Nick
 
I sold a friend an 82 850 and when we put a new rear tire on the splines looked bad. The reason was the wheel was not properly centered in the swingarm so the splines were not fully engaged. I just changed the tire on my Intruder Volusia with 15000 mls and the splines looked ok. Hope they improved the design over the years.
 
The sad part (maybe not the saddest) is that I've been aware of this potential problem for a while, and my splines looked just fine a month ago. Phooey.

I'm just glad it didn't happen on the interstate 300 miles from home at 3:00 a.m.

Nick, thanks for the tip about the earlier splines -- I had forgotten about that. I also searched the forum and found some info.

The part on Bike Bandit is $114.74. It's listed as "JOINT ASSY RR H" and has BB part number 513520-001.

The same part number is listed for the 1980 and 1983 models, so I bet the new replacements are made of the same, less durable metal as the later models.

There are a few possibilities on eBay and in the for sale forum here, so hopefully I can find a lightly used part from an earlier model.

One question I have is about the drive splines on the gearbox -- don't they wear out, too, or are the driven splines made to be the sacrificial part? I guess it makes sense that the easy-to-replace part is the more vulnerable of the two. I'd hate to have to tear into that hub.

At least we don't have it as bad as BMW owners -- they have problems with the driveshaft splines that can easily end up costing $1000 in parts to fix: http://jass.org/splines/
 
I don't know about those expensive BMW splines, I bought a poorly maintained 1979 R100RS in 1992 with over 100,000 miles on it, and the splines were still in very good condition when I sold the bike last year.

BMW's parts are expensive, but so well engineered, are rarely replaced. They weren't called "The Rolls Royce of Motorcycles" for nothing. (in fact I think BMW owns Rolls Royce now doesn't it?)

Now if you had mentioned expensive poor quality Moto Guzzi splines, I'd agree whole-heartedly. My best mate had a low mileage T3 and a near new (just out of warranty) MK5 Lemon (and that's how it should have been spelled) and had the splines replaced on both, last time it was well over 2000 bucks!

I think I'll stick with chains and sprockets.................. :twisted:
 
You guys scared the bejesus out of me. I just pulled my rear wheel 82' 1100glz, 15K miles. They look perfect. "relief" But, do you think regular wheel bearing grease will do, or something with more body, like NeverSeize?
 
That part appears to be discontinued and replaced with 64680-45113 (Suzuki part number). It's $96.39 at Ron Ayers.
 
The BMW splines can go too if you dont grease them as specified. It is interesting that the quality of the GS ones got worse...were they cost cutting later in the models life??
 
I'm wondering if they went to a softer set of wheel splines to minimize wear on the much more difficult-to-replace hub splines.

In any case, even if I had to buy a new part, I'd still be way ahead of the chain guys.

With 56,000 miles on my bike, driveline maintenance expenses and time spent have totaled one bottle of gear lube and 15 minutes each year, plus a few dabs of grease and an extra 30 seconds at each tire change.

With a chain, I would have had to replace chain and sprockets at least three times by now ($$$), along with umpteen cans of chain lube and untold hours spent applying chain lube, cleaning chain lube off the wheel and fender, and adjusting the chain.

Let the shaft vs. chain wars begin anew... :twisted:

Also, I just won an eBay auction for an entire rear wheel from an early model GS850, which should get me back on the road in a few days with the more durable early splines. Thanks for all the advice and support!
 
Just a follow-up that I hope will be helpful to someone.

I scored a rear wheel with good splines on eBay, so I have a backup ready to go. They are in great shape, but the splines appear to be the later, softer type, even though they came from a 1980 model. The spline unit may have been replaced at some point on that bike, because it looks a lot shinier and newer than the rest of the parts, and the retainers look like they've been re-used.

I also scored an entire rear drive unit on eBay, and the seller was also willing to sell me the wheel splines from the same bike. They are the earlier type, made of a darker colored metal, and are absolutely perfect -- the donor bike had only 22,000 miles, and you literally cannot see any wear at all on the rear drive splines or the wheel splines. I got lucky there.

It's sad to see all the GS850 parts on eBay, but it sure makes it easier to keep mine going.

And thanks to Nick for the tips about the earlier vs. later drive splines.
 
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