Driveshaft Blunder by Yamaha??

[AussiXS11G]

I am feeling pretty chuffed now....
when I had the diff off to replace that oil seal I packed this area with lithium grease.....

[excess.11]

Here s a short reference ..............

http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/tech-tips/maintenance/oil---lubrication/62-greasing-the-driveshaft-splines.html

[Eveready1100]

maybe with the grease nipple where it is now, sort of in the middle of nothing going  nowhere, does the excess grease spill onto the drive shaft at a point on the bevel that would syntrifically force the grease into the spline and teeth?

Sorry, Geoff. All the reports I've read about the grease nipple is that it applies the grease directly onto the smooth outer body of the female drive socket. many owners have stated that despite the swingarm being full of grease, the joint itself was dry and worn.

But I've been doing some more search on the web trying to find out why the triples use a longer driveshaft than the 11's. The swingarm appears to be the same, or very close cousins. The swingarm bearings are the same parts as the 11's. I just can't find details of the drive flange and the axle for some reason?

I'm thinking that the swingarm end where the drive bolts to must be the same because the drives can be interchanged, so if you were to get one of the 750 seals and fit it into the swingarm (must be a tight fit to keep oil in there as per the original design) then grease up the 11's driveshaft as per normal practice and fit it through the seal and into its normal position. Bolt the drive on, then use the grease fitting to pump gear oil into the swingarm. The seal should hold most of it back in the flange area due to the angle of the swingarm then you'd have the best of both worlds. Heavy lithium grease and oil mixed. It'd have to keep it lubed then, wouldn't you think?

[steptoe]

this has been playing on my mind since being put up,,

maybe with the grease nipple where it is now, sort of in the middle of nothing going  nowhere, does the excess grease spill onto the drive shaft at a point on the bevel that would syntrifically force the grease into the spline and teeth?

the reason I say this is I gave mine a good dose this morning, and within 200 mtrs a small vibration I,ve had for some time dissolved

any thoughts?

[Aussiexs11]

Just a thought , but would  seal create any pressure buildup in this area? Could that create a proble and this be why they didnt do it?? Just a thought..
and Ive had no issues since with the driveshafts after replacing it all. Thanks god, it is a horrible thing to just have a failure like that, and as Everyready said, even if you grease etc regularly , it still wears out after 30 plus years of use (and abuse).
I think its an area any owner should check out after all these years, real preventative maintenance.

[steptoe]

the only way to tell would be line both an 11 and a 750 shaft together to see what sort of step if any holds the seal, and does the 11 have the same close to the location of the latter,, also checking the diameter of the shafts at the that point,

if they're the same maybe a retro fit of the seal would be a saving move

my memory says there is no seat for a seal, but maybe if the diameters are the same a seal could be "glued" on,,

just musing here ,,,,that won't work either because the shaft has to turn inside the seal,, maybe "glue" the seal to the swing arm housing

this could end up in the "mod" threads

[Eveready1100]

Was having another one of those days, rereading older posts when I came upon Grants tale of woes regarding his driveshaft failure - Click

Shortly after reading his story originally, I had the rear wheel off mine for a tyre change and decided to have a really good look at my shaft.

This is what it looked like -




This was despite regular regreasing (not cleaning) of the splines.
Now after going back over the original thread of Grants, I saw a link listed as an XS1100 final drive shaft manual - CLICK
This time, I actually opened it and had a bit of a look around. It's actually a link to an XS750 maual but it was an interesting read just the same. Imagine my surprise when I found this pic of an XS750 driveshaft with a rubber seal just in front of the splines!



Subsequently went for a browse to get a proper photo and Viola!



Picture clearly shows the rubber seal that only the XS750 - 850's all have. I do realise that they were originally to hold the oil in from the diff but the later models shared the same setup as the 11's.
I wonder why they didn't bother with the XS1100? Obviously must have been on the cards originally because of the grease fitting on the swingarm, which does nothing to grease the splines cos it goes onto the outer body of the flange,......................................but.........................if there was a seal there to trap the grease, like on the smaller models, wouldn't it work its way into the splines eventually?

Just thought I'd pose the question as it's got me mystified.