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Fear And Loathing on The Way To Red River (or, My Tales from the Red River Rally)

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheCafeKid
  • Start date Start date
Nanner, Nanner, Nanner...........No spline problems for me yet (knock on wood, aluminum and anything else available.....) mine's an '80 model. BTW, I'm abot 2/3 of the way to NC now, visited with Skreemer this morning,rode down the Great River road, half on the Iowa side, the other one is on the Illinois side, passed through a town that belongs to IA, but in the middle of the river;t was a great ride so far. I also went throught Iowa's only island town
It was another one of those sh1tty mid 81 and up splines. Stripped it clean. Let that be a lesson to you shaftie owners, if you have a doubt in the world, and ride with any aggression at all, buy a new one, or find an old old one.
 
Nanner, Nanner, Nanner...........No spline problems for me yet (knock on wood, aluminum and anything else available.....) mine's an '80 model. BTW, I'm abot 2/3 of the way to NC now, visited with Skreemer this morning,rode down the Great River road, half on the Iowa side, the other one is on the Illinois side, passed through a town that belongs to IA, but in the middle of the river;t was a great ride so far. I also went throught Iowa's only island town

Your splines should be fine, assuming you lube them properly (60% moly paste, NOT 3% moly grease). '79-'80 shafties and a few '81 examples had the earlier, properly hardened spline units. They are matte black in color.

Most '81 and all '82-'83 shafties had the next generation spline couplers, which are the crappy soft ones that leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere. They are a shiny, sort of gold color.

The next iteration of the spline coupler part number is a shiny silver and doesn't have any known problems. Not sure when it entered service, but these types of failures are rare or unknown on later shafties, even the mighty GSX1100G. It is still available new from Suzuki for around $100, and I believe it is still in use in a few new models.

So a new one or a '79-'80 coupler will solve this problem. If you're riding an '81-'83 shaftie with the original spline coupler, you ARE riding on borrowed time. Replace this coupler pronto, but take a good look at yours first just in case some PO already saved you the trouble.

Now, back to the story...
 
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Your splines should be fine, assuming you lube them properly (60% moly paste, NOT 3% moly grease). '79-'80 shafties and a few '81 examples had the earlier, properly hardened spline units. They are matte black in color.

Most '81 and all '82-'83 shafties had the next generation spline couplers, which are the crappy soft ones that leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere. They are a shiny, sort of gold color.

The next iteration of the spline coupler part number is a shiny silver and doesn't have any known problems. Not sure when it entered service, but these types of failures are rare or unknown on later shafties, even the mighty GSX1100G. It is still available new from Suzuki for around $100, and I believe it is still in use in a few new models.

So a new one or a '79-'80 coupler will solve this problem. If you're riding an '81-'83 shaftie with the original spline coupler, you ARE riding on borrowed time. Replace this coupler pronto, but take a good look at yours first just in case some PO already saved you the trouble.

Now, back to the story...
wow. good to know. i have no idea, i'll have to check that.can you remove what you need to to check it without dumping the final drive gear oil? couple someone show me a picture or point it out on a prats fisch?
 
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If You are having no symptoms, check it the next time You are installing or having a rear tire installed. The Honda Moly Lube sold at Honda shops is the Best and the splines should be lubed at each tire change.
 
If You are having no symptoms, check it the next time You are installing or having a rear tire installed. The Honda Moly Lube sold at Honda shops is the Best and the splines should be lubed at each tire change.
ok, i'm gettign ready to do the tires.. i'd be happy to lube them with moly.. but i don't know what part it is :P
 
I'm sure someone will post a Pic. soon but the Splines are the "Teeth" found on the Rear wheel and the mating Drive unit "some call the Pumpkin"
 
THESE are splines. Or were anyway.
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And THIS is what it hooks up to.
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Sorry for the delay in the story, so much time, so little to do. Wait, strike that, reverse it....On we go.....


The night drew on, and it occured to us that Brian and Al and crew were much later than had been expected. There was some worry, but at about 1am, they finally rolled in. Turned out, Brian had some troubles of his own, with his brand spankin new, gold embossed, triple platinum, one of a kind, you wont find one anywhere else in the world, much less the back woods of Kentucky at god knows what hour on a Friday night Yusa AGM (I do believe) battery, or Bahtree, as they would likely call it in most places one might look for one, for his VX800. Once they were somewhat settled in, Brian gave me the inner spline, some molly60 and some tools, and I set to work on the picnic table in the light from the porch. He even gave me some brand spankin new shiney phillips head screws to replace the crappy chewed up ones currently in use. I have to say folks, I have proclaimed numerous times in my year on this board that the people here are top notch, first rate individuals. I cant begin to thank Brian, his wife Marge, Mike, Jeff, Scott and everyone else who came to my aid in this time of near crisis. Without them, I could possibly still be trapped in a hut somewhere in the hollers of Kentucky, likely being sodomized by Cletus, while his missing link of a son played the banjo... So, Again, Thanks you guys, from the bottom of my heart. My other bottom thanks you too...

We all BSed around for a bit more after that, and soon, it was time to turn in. My brain was fried from the days events, the unrelenting sun, which im sure is at least a light year closer to this part of Kentucky than anywhere else in the world. I was soon fast asleep, only to be woken seemingly minutes later by Mike, telling me it was time to get up to go back to my bike to fix it. He and I piled the wheel and ourselves into his Passat, and back toward "FLAMINGSburg" we went. Some choice roads followed, and even in a cage, they were quite amusing. We stopped for breakfast, and then at the place my bike was being stored at. I set to work getting the wheel back on the pumpkin, and Mike assisted me in getting the axle back thru whilst I held the spacers in place, and voila, she was road worthy again. While I was tightening things up, Mike had disappeared, only to return with my $20 rental fee for the shed in hand. He had simply mentioned to the lady inside that I wouldnt be needing the storage unit any longer, as the bike was fixed and we'd be on our way. She went to the register, and fished out a 20 and handed it to him. There ARE some good people out there after all.

Plan Two was to return to the cabin, where Mike's son Chris was waiting. A brief phone call to him where we stopped for a cool drink revealed that Chris was not feeling well. Apparently he had a touch of a stomach bug, or a bit of a hangover, not really sure which, but he was sick, and that sucked. However, by the time we returned, he was doing better, thanks in large part to Brians wife playing nurse. Shortly after our arrival back at the cabin, he was feeling well enough to go get his bike and return Mikes car.
On our way out, we simply HAD to stop at a wonderfull photo opertunity....
100_0546.jpg

Ahhh, to be young and insane again...hehehehe. Its weekends like this that make being alive worth it most times :)

After returning to Morehead to fetch Chris's bike and drop off the car, we headed back to the cabins, this time OUR cabin, as we werent able to check in till 3 on Friday. Luckily, Adam had been gracious enough to allow us to cop some floor at Cabin 2 on Thursday night, again, fantastic people on here!

We arrived at our cabin to find a few from Cabin 2 there, and shortly after, Jim (RageZro) and Scott (MarvinSC) and Victor (BlokV1100) returned from a grocery run. Everyone was present and accounted for now, and the group milled around for a bit, chatting and razzing back and forth. I immediately cussed Jim a blue streak for "RZing" my bike, even though he had nothing to do with it, but he needed cussed anyway. I also found out that Cole (N1Elkyfan) had dropped a chain on the way down with Jim and Victor in almost the exact same spot *I* had broken down, only a day later. From this, combined with the deliciously evil heat in that area, Jim took to calling Flemingsburg, PURGATORY. Truely and apt name for the place, because the time that I spent there was worse than Hell I am quite sure...

Everyone conveined at Cabin 2, where a MASSIVE meal was being prepared by Brian and Al. I cant recall seeing that much food being made in such a small kitchen in all my years in the food service biz. It really was quite amazing. Even more amazing was the food itself! It was delicious! Pasta with a chicken and mushroom marinara, a broccoli and carrots and something else slaw type salad. GRILLED garlic bread. I was stuffed, and now pretty beat. Cabin 1 clan bid Cabin 2 goodnight, and we all retired to our place to watch the moon come up over the gorge from our deck. I dont think I got any pictures of THIS unfortunately...
 
I awoke Saturday morning well before the sun had come up. This was not because I was eager to do so, nor because anyone had woken me up, but because my feet now felt like two blocks of ice. I couldnt feel them anymore. I attempted for a while to get them warm again to go back to sleep, but eventually, I gave up and got out of bed to go out to the deck where I was pretty sure it would be MUCH warmer than it was inside the cabin. A few of the guys were already up, and coffee was hot. I poured myself a cup, and BSed, albeit half awake, with Victor and Jim. We watched the sun break over the gorge line, and I DID get a couple snaps of this, it was unspeakably gorgeous.
100_0555.jpg

100_0556.jpg

100_0557.jpg

100_0558.jpg
 
Mike and Vic set out on an early run, much earlier than the rest of us were ready for. They had apparently had LOTS of coffee...lol. They were gone from about 7am till about 9, and just about the time the rest of us had our gear on, and the bikes warmed up, they returned, ready to go some more. I had heard earlier both they and Adam mention a road called 2016, so I had broken out the KY atlas, and started plotting a route starting with that road, and heading 60 or so miles south, before coming around, heading back toward our location, and then another 60 or so mile loop north, before returning to the cabin. Everyone seemed to agree that the route looked pretty damn good, and when we stopped by to pick up Cole from Cabin 2, I showed it to Adam. He seemed to dig it too, and wrote it down so Group 2 (the fast guys) could take that one as well.

We gassed up at the Marathon station a bit up the road from the cabin, and it was off to 2016, with Mike in the lead, Chris behind him, Victor, Cole, myself and Jim playin sweeper.

2016 has to be one of the more fantastic roads in Kentucky to ride, and just in that area we found PLEANTY. So many so, that I doubt we'll ride them all in the next 2 or 3 Red River Rallys (there will be more, right guys?? LOL) It was a one and a half laner, with no marking, but the pavement was pretty damn fresh, and traffic was light, if any at all. We were going at a pretty good clip, not horendously fast, as both Chris and Cole didnt have a whole lot of riding time under them, and Mike didnt want anyone to feel pressured to go faster than they were comfortable. He did a FINE job leading, and the pace was comfortable for everyone, and enjoyable to even the ones that may have wanted to go a bit faster. But none of us really knew these roads, so safety first.

The only rough part of that particular road was at one point we came around a pretty blind curve, to have a dog run out into the road and acaust some of us. Cole almost hit it, and then after it dodged him, he turned toward me. I had pleanty of time to slow, but he came right after me. I stuck my leg out, if it got close enough, it was getting booted. Luckily, he backed off and let the rest of us pass. We picked up speed again and shortly thereafter, the sign came from up front that there was a hazard in the road. I saw the signal, and immediately after, saw the hazzard. A greater than 90 degree turn was coming up, and gravel was strewn all the way across the road. I slowed and tried in vain to pick a line thru it. It was inevitable that I was going to have to run thru some of it, so I tried to pick the path of least resistance. I swung out wide in the turn, thinking that I had cleared the lot of it, only to have my front wheel step out, and then when i corrected it, the rear wheel stepped out behind it. It made for a puckering experience, but I regained controll. After all, it was that, or the grassy field on the other side of the road about 10 feet down. That was about the only real scare that I had all weekend, and it was pretty minimal. Of course, when you're on the bike, the wheel stepping out a 1/4 inch feels like a foot, and likely, thats all it was. We pressed on, hitting a few other roads that were similar to 2016, meandering thru hazy valleys surrounded on both sides by tree covered ridges. This part of the ride reminded me much of West Virginia. It was beautiful and we were running at a pretty good clip. We stopped for a butt break and a cool drink just as we turned back North. Everyone was enjoying themselves immensely, and this was all that I could have hoped for. I had had worries that some of the more seasoned rally guys would not have found this place enjoyable, esspecially after Jim, Mike and myself had found very little on our one day scouting expedition early on in the spring as far as good roads went. But Mike scoring that KY road atlas when we were at Natural bridge a couple weekends before was a stroke of genius. It showed ANY road that was paved. Four number roads, Invisible roads, as Grandpa likes to call them. My other worry was of somone getting hurt. There are pleanty of roads throughout the rallys that could get someone hurt, but MOST of the roads down here, if you miss, you WILL die. A 30 foot ravine on one side of the road, if not both, was par for the course on most of them. Hell, the road back to the cabins was trecherous enough! But everyone here were experienced riders, and most importantly everyone here knew thier limitations, and that eased my mind quite a bit. We jumped back on the bikes, and headed up 399 to the North...the fun, and an impossibly frustrating day for me, had really just begun...
 
NICE writing skills......I am REALLY enjoying reading this story.....good job!
 
thanks for the pic, and the pictures tck, i'll definitally have to check that out on my bike.
 
Hey!! It's been a week.....time to finish what ya started!! :)

Chris
 
Hey!! It's been a week.....time to finish what ya started!! :)

Chris

yeah, i hope this isnt another "my first long ride and suzi's last" scenario....i dont know if i could stand the disappointment......:(:(
 
Tell ya what boys, I shall do my best to finish the story tonight :)
 
Josh, Don't forget how much it costs to fill up a Corolla in East Kentucky either!:p
 
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