Thanks for the feedback. What about synthetic greases like Green Grease (https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/green-grease/green-grease-14-ounce-waterproof-synthetic-polymer-waterproof-grease/grg0/101/v/a/109935/motorcycle-scooter-street-bike-2006-honda-st1300-abs?q=grease&pos=11)? I happen to have 14oz of that stuff too.
I confess to not understanding why we all (I'm including myself here) think we can do better than what the manufacturer has recommended regarding oils, greases and other more or less commodity type components*. You can use anything on those splines, but we have hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles with splines on hundreds of ST's over a number of years using the original Honda moly paste. When Honda changed the formulation, reports of wear started cropping up. We do have some guys here who have used nothing but high pressure grease on their splines, but I suspect their lack of trouble is due more to regular maintenance/lubing than the specific grease they use (however, using a generic chassis grease in this application is asking for trouble). That said, a few anecdotal reports of using a non standard lubricant does not mean that is safe for all of us.
Which product are you having problems with it balling up and falling off?
Yes, who knows best and who has the most skin in the game? Honda superseded Moly60 with M-77 years ago. Honda says use M-77 in this application. There’s been a few undocumented reports of spline wear but the ST1300’s robust record of drive train reliability and long service life with M-77 or Loctite remains as strong as ever. There’s a lot of thought put into the manufacturer’s recommended lubricants for good reason.
I'm currently using the Loctite lube. I do stir it up before I apply it. The last time I really stirred it up extra. I clean the old stuff out of the splines and apply the new lube with a tooth brush. I will be replacing the rear tire shortly and I'll report back.
Even if the claim is true a sample of 1 with no test methodology does not constitute documentation. I’m not trained in test methods and barely passed Statistics 101 but I know Honda did not supersede M60 without careful test methods. There are thousands of Honda shaft drive bikes from 600 to 1800 ccs out there using M-77 without history of premature spline wear or failure.The spline plate in the picture was a brand new part, installed by a certified Honda dealership, Honda M77 Grease was applied at said dealership, who installed the part, assembled the bike, sold the bike to the owner, who rode it only a few hundred miles, then brought it to me.
So I guess I do know when it was applied, who applied it, the history of the part installed, and observed the damage upon disassembly.
Feel free to take another jab at me, since that's all you seem to be doing lately.
I'm sure I put too much on. I tend to do that. I'll try the acid brush next time. ThanksWhen you stir it up, are you using the brush? I sometimes find the brush will not dig deep enough, to mix everything, so I use a small screwdriver to mix it, for me, this seems to work really well.
You may want to try using a small acid brush instead of a tooth brush. This makes it a little easier to paint the paste on the splines, without having it all over the place.
You only want to paint the surface, not fill the splines up. If you put too much on, it will just force it out of the splines and pack it up against the inner dust seal, and throw it around the black ring on the inside of the pumpkin making a mess.
Thanks for replying, let us know what you find when you report back.
Ride safe.
Better too much than too little, from the perspective of your splines' needs. That being said, the loctite stuff is expensive.
