Driveshaft life and refurb?

[ThreeDawg]

97 1100GS, 80K miles. Been feeling like I've got a little wear in a UJ, (very) slightly graunchy anyway somewhere between the engine and the back wheel. FD rebuilt recently so probably not that.

Anyway, I've got a biggish trip coming up (Santiago, Chile to San Diego, CA) beginning November and I'm wondering about the normal lifespan of a driveshaft. Second hand might be risky, presume new NLA. Gonna take the shaft out to check it, but can they be refurbished if needed or should I be looking now for a decent s/h one just in case?

 

[squibb34]

You'd best talk to @mikeyboy at Overland & Classic Motorcycles.

 

[Udders]

You'd best talk to @mikeyboy at Overland & Classic Motorcycles.

Correct. He completely rebuilt the drive train on my 1150. Perfect job he made of it as well.

 

[ThreeDawg]

It feels OK when I rotate the wheel by hand, but yeah, Mike did say he detected a little wear in the short part of the shaft when he rebuilt my FD a little while ago. Have bought one with less than 50% of the miles for not a lot of money so that's one less thing to worry about hopefully.

 

[ThreeDawg]

Got the FD off, definitely notchiness in the UJ at that end of the shaft. Quite loose on the splines of the FD input shaft too - will be interesting to see how the replacement one feels.