Drive shaft splines.

On my previous GS 1200 I would normally drop the final drive to change the oil every year as part of this I lubed the splines both front and rear, the LC is more difficult to remove the shaft because of the spring clip so make do on the front end with spray greece and greece the rear as normal.
Their have been issues with splines corroding causing drive shafts to fail and as bikes can sit for long periods of time there have also been accounts of seizing. This can cause damage to the rear swing arm, a pal of mine had his shaft make an attempted escape through the swing arm not an inexpensive repair.
The geometry changes as the suspension rises and falls this requires the shaft to move on the splines.
Like all preventative maintenance you make your choice and take your chances. I'm happy to spend the half hour extra while carrying out my annual service and give the shaft a lube and spray some anti corrosion up the inside of the swing arm while I'm there.

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On my previous GS 1200 I would normally drop the final drive to change the oil every year as part of this I lubed the splines both front and rear, the LC is more difficult to remove the shaft because of the spring clip so make do on the front end with spray greece and greece the rear as normal.
Their have been issues with splines corroding causing drive shafts to fail and as bikes can sit for long periods of time there have also been accounts of seizing. This can cause damage to the rear swing arm, a pal of mine had his shaft make an attempted escape through the swing arm not an inexpensive repair.
The geometry changes as the suspension rises and falls this requires the shaft to move on the splines.
Like all preventative maintenance you make your choice and take your chances. I'm happy to spend the half hour extra while carrying out my annual service and give the shaft a lube and spray some anti corrosion up the inside of the swing arm while I'm there.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6010 using Tapatalk

Very wise and if you keep bike long time not credit heads, it is best to be safe.
 
Very wise and if you keep bike long time not credit heads, it is best to be safe.

yeah my 14 year old GS exploded every other tank full.
Those Darn splines.....
 
If you make this work, and not want to change or lose oil from rear sensor hole, ask BMW if have old defeckt sensor with O ring cut cable and use.
 
Surely if the shaft is sliding in and out of the female section everytime the bike is ridden then it isn't still long enough to sieze in it? Or am I being too logical here, I thought that for something to sieze together it has to be left static for a long time for the rust to act and fuse the two elements together.

Sounds sexual to me Lord Snooty :jes
 
If the splines sieze at the FD end the lateral movement will then happen at the gearbox end, this is held in place with a circlip to stop this happening, so something will have to give.
I am guessing here but continued movement of the shaft in and out of the retaining clip is not a good thing, surely the clip would have a short life. The shaft retaining clip keeps the UJs in line with the shaft housing pivots, if the shaft is now being thrown for and aft out of alignment with the pivot points does it create some strange effects?.
The not inconsiderable weight of the shaft is now being thrown back and forth against the FD spline carrying bearing with each wheel movement, not something it is designed to do.
At the geabox end you now have a moving part that wasn't meant to, and so it goes on.
Back in 2014 when my GS started to develop the 4th gear thrumming my dealer greased the FD splines in the hope of reducing the vibration, did they know something back then?

Hi All, just an observation but is the drive shaft not splined in the middle of the shaft? to allow for lengthening & shortening of the shaft, similar to a prop shaft on a car? If so this would mean that cleaning and greasing the end splines would not be critical, however I do agree that if you wanted piece of mind it wouldn’t do any harm and prevent seizure. What’s your thoughts on this?
 
See realoem.....?
 

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Stop press, BMW says that shaft drive is maintenance free and paralever keeps drive shaft same length, no spline sliding.
https://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/en/d...detail/motor-drivetrain/paralever-cardan.html

This is not disputed. Benefit of lubing the splines saves cost/time if you have to change the rubber bellows or have any work done of the FD.
No one is saying there is a major problem with failure. This is preventative maintenance only. For what it costs and has the benefit of giving the area a very good clean why would you not if you are competent to do so?
 
This is not disputed. Benefit of lubing the splines saves cost/time if you have to change the rubber bellows or have any work done of the FD.
No one is saying there is a major problem with failure. This is preventative maintenance only. For what it costs and has the benefit of giving the area a very good clean why would you not if you are competent to do so?

unnecessary:nenau
The same reason i don't do it to my cars and vans:nenau
 
unnecessary:nenau
The same reason i don't do it to my cars and vans:nenau

Hmmm,
An old school rwd car ,the sliding part of the prop is inside the gearbox and running in oil.
Drive shaft cv joints are in a sealed rubber bellow which is fully packed with molybdenum grease.
I guess even if you only do it once just to make sure it’s not been assembled dry,it’s no bad thing.
The gaiters are not 100% fail safe waterproof and bikes have been know to have been assembled dry,
I’ve certainly seen my fair share of seized props
I realise your views differ on this,but I have a looksee on every service,
I’d rather spot an issue on a service than have a serious problem on holiday.
 
Hmmm,
An old school rwd car ,the sliding part of the prop is inside the gearbox and running in oil.
Drive shaft cv joints are in a sealed rubber bellow which is fully packed with molybdenum grease.
I guess even if you only do it once just to make sure it’s not been assembled dry,it’s no bad thing.
The gaiters are not 100% fail safe waterproof and bikes have been know to have been assembled dry,
I’ve certainly seen my fair share of seized props
I realise your views differ on this,but I have a looksee on every service,
I’d rather spot an issue on a service than have a serious problem on holiday.

I don't doubt the shaft may seize, but does that matter ?
 


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