spline lube

[bob duke]

i have the starter motor out, and from the hole a part of the splines is visible.

its dry.

I am thinking to put a smear of staburags paste with a thin painter brush.

Also there is a ''test''? to find out the shaft spline wear?

 Bike is r1100rt

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, bob duke said:

i have the starter motor out, and from the hole a part of the splines is visible.

its dry.

I am thinking to put a smear of staburags paste with a thin painter brush.

Also there is a ''test''? to find out the shaft spline wear?

 Bike is r1100rt

Morning Bob

 

Fist off, the BMW 1100RT  didn't have many spline failures like the later 1150 bikes did.

 

When it comes to spline lube just adding lube to the spline area outside of actual clutch hub to spline working interface does no good. The only place the lube could help is IF you can actually get it way in between the clutch hub & the input shaft  splines. Even then it would be a short term thing.

 

On the BMW 1100 the clutch disk can only move slightly forward at clutch release not rearward so adding any lube behind the disk is just a waste of time & effort as well as adding to possibility of lube fling off.   

 

Now the downside to trying to lubricate the splines without taking it apart is the possibility that any lube applied outside of the hub could get flung off  & contaminate your clutch disk causing it to slip. 

 

On the spline wear test, with the clutch lever zip tied in  you can use a sharp pick or sharpened wire to (gently) rotate the clutch disk on the splines (without moving the input shaft) to see how much rotational play you have at the clutch disk outer circumference. The less disk movement that you have between the disk and the input shaft the better. If you see anything over 3/32 inch rotation at the clutch disk OD then it warrants looking into.    

 

 

[bob duke]

1 hour ago, dirtrider said:

Morning Bob

 

Fist off, the BMW 1100RT  didn't have many spline failures like the later 1150 bikes did.

 

When it comes to spline lube just adding lube to the spline area outside of actual clutch hub to spline working interface does no good. The only place the lube could help is IF you can actually get it way in between the clutch hub & the input shaft  splines. Even then it would be a short term thing.

 

On the BMW 1100 the clutch disk can only move slightly forward at clutch release not rearward so adding any lube behind the disk is just a waste of time & effort as well as adding to possibility of lube fling off.   

 

Now the downside to trying to lubricate the splines without taking it apart is the possibility that any lube applied outside of the hub could get flung off  & contaminate your clutch disk causing it to slip. 

 

On the spline wear test, with the clutch lever zip tied in  you can use a sharp pick or sharpened wire to (gently) rotate the clutch disk on the splines (without moving the input shaft) to see how much rotational play you have at the clutch disk outer circumference. The less disk movement that you have between the disk and the input shaft the better. If you see anything over 3/32 inch rotation at the clutch disk OD then it warrants looking into.    

 

 

  ok..i got it.

  is there a way to measure  friction plate thickness? 

[dirtrider]

18 minutes ago, bob duke said:

  ok..i got it.

  is there a way to measure  friction plate thickness? 

Morning Bob

 

Maybe, if you can find a spot on the clutch pack that the disk OD is slightly below the OD of the housing & pressure plate then you can t-r-y to measure that gap  using different diameter drill bits, or a homemade Tee-type rod, that you keep filing/grinding on until it fits the gap between the housing & pressure plate then simply mike that rod to give you total disk thickness.

 

Or,  just make your tee-rod to have minimum disk thickness, then see if it will fit into the housing to pressure plate gap.

 

The downside to using the above methods is that will usually give you total disk thickness but can't show if the wear is even on both sides of the clutch disk or if one side is worn to the rivets & the other side is still thick enough to make up the difference.

 

If the clutch disk is nice & free moving on the input shaft with the clutch lever held in then  the disk wear is probably pretty even on both sides. 

[Jim Moore]

30 minutes ago, bob duke said:

  ok..i got it.

  is there a way to measure  friction plate thickness? 

These clutches normally last well over 100K miles. The best way to measure friction plate thickness is to wait until it starts to slip, then replace it. It won't leave you stranded. It's a very graceful failure.

[bob duke]

Its about 1/16 rotation..

And disc thickness is  5/32..even thickness both sides

[bob duke]

What about lubing rear splines on the oilhead as preventing maintenance? 

 In my old k100 I cleaned and lubed rear splines every 15k.

[dirtrider]

43 minutes ago, bob duke said:

What about lubing rear splines on the oilhead as preventing maintenance? 

 In my old k100 I cleaned and lubed rear splines every 15k.

Morning Bob 

 

You can do that but keep in mind the rear spline lube on the oilhead bikes is a not for spline wear but is mostly for rust & corrosion protection. 

 

Even then the rear final drive spline joint is the critical one as it sees the most moisture, the rear of transmission one is usually not a problem & you will find it a REAL pain to do.

 

You can also do the drive shaft  slider splines (just keep the drive shaft phasing in mind).