U-joint went out today...

I guess that this is the proper place to post; if not, I'm sure the Mods will find the appropriate area.

I'd been feeling some rumbling through the footpegs, and suspected that it was time to check the u-joint on the driveshaft. On the way home from Arkansas today, it finally gave up the ghost. I was able to get back to Wichita without everything completely coming apart, but the clunking and clanking had me watching the remaining miles on the GPS. (I had Desmo Steve on standby, in case the ST1300 didn't make it home.)

I got home in time to watch the MotoGP races this afternoon, and we rolled the ST onto the lift afterwards. Tomorrow I'll start reading the shop manual and checking previous posts on the subject. I think I'll go through the entire rear end while I'm at it, and replace the driven flange and wheel bearings (already in stock in the garage) at the same time. The bike had just rolled past 109K; I guess 100K would have been a good time for preventative maintenance...

Looks like the KLR and XR1200X will be getting a bit more road time while the ST is down for repairs.

Glad you made it home safe. I bet the XR and KLR won't mind the attention

Jeff said he ran into you at a rest area. Said you had some drivetrain problems but didn't say what. Glad you made it home without needing assistance.

Yeah I keep wondering when mine will give up the ghost, the mileage is all over the place when they go out. Good luck on the repair.

How long had you noticed the rumbling or vibration in the pegs?

My U-joint was doing the same thing as yours around 86K. Wasn't too bad a job removing and replacing. Run's very smooth again after the replacement.

Glad you were able to make it home!

Glad you made it back!

I don't have to replace the u-joint on one of my bike ('04#1), but I have to go through the same procedure to replace all of the seals to the back engine. Please document your adventure while you're working on it for us!

Glad you made it home safe Rodger.

Rodger glad you were able to ride it home , great meeting you this weekend also.


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Ditto on making it home! At 108k on mine, I'll be watching your repair.

dduelin said:

How long had you noticed the rumbling or vibration in the pegs?

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There had been some minor vibrations for several hundred miles; sometimes it seemed to vary with road surface, so I wasn't sure that it was the u-joint. I guess the lesson is to jump on it right away when something seems out of kilter. I was planning to do the cush drives, bearings, and a bunch of other stuff this winter - just waited too long on this item. In hindsight, I probably should have started the project when I rolled past 100K. It's probably time to send the suspension back to Race Tech while I'm tearing into things. Not sure if I should have the OEM rear shock rebuilt again, or bite the bullet and buy the G3 shock.

glad you made it back safely, by the way--what is a G3 shock?

Glad to hear you made it home in one piece. Good luck with the repairs.

John

jonjonboo said:

glad you made it back safely, by the way--what is a G3 shock?

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I guess they're actually G3S shocks now (http://www.racetech.com/page/id/98)

My current shock already has the gold valve installed, so rebuilding it is going to be even less than converting and OEM. I guess I'll call Race Tech and get the particulars.

Naked and Dirty

Stay away from the delete button, Joe; I'm talking about the bike.



It's been a little over a week since I started tearing the ST1300 down. It was definitely the u-joint; you can see in the photos where it was actually rubbing on the inside of the swingarm toward the end. The other photos show the splined shaft the u-joint engages at the rear of the engine/transmission, the sealing boot from the front of the swingarm, and the Honda tool for removing the swingarm. (It'll be available for loan once the bike's back together.)

Fortunately, nothing appears to be irreparably damaged except the u-joint and possible the sealing boot. I have replacements for both, along with a new driveshaft seal. The old one looks OK, but I might as well replace it while I'm at it.

There's a lot of stuff that has to come off to remove the swingarm, some of which I don't recall seeing in the shop manual. The O2 sensors have to be removed, or the wiring from them unplugged from the harness; I found the latter to be easier, although it required removing the left side bodywork. I didn't want to drain the rear brake system and disconnect the lines from the master cylinder, so we unbolted the master cylinder from the casting that holds the footpegs.

I had planned several maintenance items for this winter, so I've decided to do them now while the bike is down. This includes valve clearances (re-shimming will probably be necessary this time; it was close last time,) rebuilding the front and rear suspension (forks and shock are on their way to Race Tech,) and replacement of the swingarm bearings. The wheel bearings and rear driven flange bearings seem OK, but I have replacements on hand (including the roller bearing to replace the ball bearings in the driven flange.) I'll replace the line from rear master cylinder to the reservoir while it's exposed, and probably replace the coolant hoses and replace the coolant while the bodywork is off.











I might even get the BMW grips and grip heaters installed, along with the G2 throttle tamer that's been sitting around.

On the positive side, it's going to be easier to see the timing marks with the forks out of the way. The rebuilt rear shock will be easier to install before replacing the swingarm.

Any other recommendations for preventative maintenance at 100K+?

Good to hear no major damage to the surrounding components from the failure of the U-joint.

Are you going to get a Duc?

Coop said:

Are you going to get a Duc?

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As soon as they start making big and tall sizes...

Wow that thing is shot. The oil seal you are talking about replacing is at the output shaft?