Hi, just a quick query please. At the moment the rear wheel is out of the bike and the splines look bone dry and watery brown in colour. The bike has only done 10k so wear should be minimal and i do intend greasing everything thoroughly before reassembly. My query is are there any pitfalls in removing the four retaing bolts securing the shaft to the bevel box so that i can see if these splines are in a similar unlubricated condition. Is there anything to be particularly careful with when i do this and will i need a new gasket between shaft and bevel box? Seems crazy not to check it when it is stripped this far. Cheers Darryl
You shouldn’t have any problems, the most difficult bit is lining up the shaft with the input to the bevel box on reassembly.
Try to use a sticky, non centrifuge grease.
Hi Darryl,
The bevel box has an O ring seal so you won’t need a gasket, just be careful to keep the bevel box in an upright position with the four bolts in the air so the oil doesn’t run out.
John.
Many thanks
Cheers Brian
I use graphite grease on mine but one lil bit does get EVERYWHERE
Marine grease, it is like glue
That’s what I use.
the graphite stuff leaves a residue if it goes dry brill stuff but on lil bit on y hands gets everywhere
I will second marine grease. Fabulouse stuff, won’t even wash off when you want it to.
Hand up at the back of the class…
This looks very like a Tonti bevel box, is it?
I presume you mean the wheel hub splines?
For some reason it’s always brown, that must be the colour of the grease they use
You might have found out already but if it is like a Tonti bevel box, the shaft usually comes out still attached if you take the box off the swing arm.
Then it’s a case of cleaning and greasing all the splined couplings. It’s not complicated.
Only issue is ensuring the box is aligned properly when it goes back on, leave the 4 nuts loose so you can twist it until the wheel spindle goes through both sides smoothly without snagging, that’ll be the optimum position then, so do the nuts up there.
Might be an idea while you’re in there to take the cush drive apart and grease the rock hard rubber ‘biscuits’ and make sure it actually functions as a cush drive. I do mine every tyre change.You can also drill the rubbers to give them a bit more flex.If you do it be careful that the big retaining circlip goes back in the right side up. On some of the later Cali series bikes the surface next to the hub has an anti-friction coating that allows the cush assembly to move. As a couple of people have found out, if it’s replaced ar*e about face it can seize onto the cush plate and act as a grinder on the retaining slots in the alloy hub. Not so much of a problem on bikes with a continuous retaining slot that the circlip fits into - but it can be with those that only have slots machined into the hub webs.
Drilling the cush drive rubbers does help, some say every other one, some say all of them. Have done both with an 8mm drill and doing them all gives a noticeable softer pick up, also worth giving them a good coat of silicone grease.Cheers, Gerry.