2008 ST1300 rear wheel maintenace

[Kevcules]

After reading some posts of a rear wheel being destroyed for lack of maintenance, I was wondering what needs to be done and how often. I am going to remove my rear wheel soon and would like to know what to do while in there. I hear I should use Moly60 grease on my gear and splines?
Also, is there any damping adjustment on the front springs? They don't sag at all when I mount the steed!

thanks

 

[Kevcules]

wow! Thanks for the info!

So the splines are all visible with the rear rim off the bike? I don't have to remove the shaft to access the front part? Is it just the u joint up there farther?

thanks

 

[dduelin]

The U-joint is out of sight in the hollow swing arm and requires no maintenance for many tens of thousands of miles, well over 100,000 miles. A few have failed at less than that but it's rare to have a problem at less than 100 or even 200,000 miles. There are two sistered bearings inside the splined hub, the so-called driven flange, that sometimes fail at less than 50,000 miles. These are not the wheel bearings - these two small bearings only support the driven flange loads. A large circlip retains the splined hub in the rear wheel. With the splined hub removed you can check the condition of these two bearings by removing a collar spacer that sits pressed inside these two bearings. Also at this time you can check the RH wheel bearing. Otherwise the RH wheel bearing is hidden under the driven flange and can't be checked. The two wheel bearings in the wheel are very long lived - 100,000 miles or more.

A stock suspended ST1300 has a lot of sag under normal rider weight. It's typical to have 45 to 50 mm of rider sag or up to 46% of travel. Maybe yours has had the springs replaced with stiffer aftermarket ones if you have little sag. Sag should be in the area of 36 mm.

The driven spline is installed as part of the wheel so when the wheel is removed the spline is accessible for cleaning and regreasing with Moly 60 paste. The service interval is commonly the length of the rear tire life but on a new used bike it's worth pulling the wheel to check for moly grease on the splines.

This tech article will be helpful to ascertain the position and condition of the two small flange bearings:

https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?55014-ST1300-Rear-Flange-Bearing-Replacement

 

[SMSW]

Not mentioned yet - when you pull the wheel, clean all the old moly paste off both the driving and driven splines. This is a bit of a chore - use q-tips and rags and some solvent. Then use new moly paste. I usually put in new O-rings as well - supposed to be three but I have only seen two. They cost a couple of bucks each on the discount parts websites. I recently bought 10 O-rings from the oringstore online. These are supposed to be made of Buna-N and were recommended for contact w gasoline. I wanted them for my Oberon screw in gas cap (no lock). After two weeks the bottom ring stretched and is oversized for the groove into which it fits. The original never stretched like this (it simply fell out of the groove which I took to be a sign it should be replaced). So, this experience has reinforced for me the wisdom of using OEM parts whenever I can. Especially cheap gaskets and O-rings.

I've read in other threads that the Loctite moly paste is ok to use, but John is the first person to point out that the consistency of this product is NOT the same as the OEM goo.

 

[SMSW]

P.S. I just bought some of the original Moly 60 Paste from boats.net. Picture on their website shows the original tube. Cost was $15+ and 7+ shipping for a total of $23.06. Ouch - but its the real deal. Now, we will see what they ship me - worst case I throw a tantrum if its not as pictured. As an aside, Amazon shows the new tube of Honda 77 Assembly Paste with the same part number John shows above for the Moly 60 Paste, and only one reviewer caught that it is NOT 60% moly.

 

[CruSTy]

Great Comments here but I noticed there weren't any site supporters posting here. I for one would like to see the site continue for a long time so if you are enjoying the threads for free please consider making a donation.

 

[Scooter]

Great Comments here but I noticed there weren't any site supporters posting here. I for one would like to see the site continue for a long time so if you are enjoying the threads for free please consider making a donation.

I would beg to differ. Their contribution may not be monetary but the information and help that they provide is what brings most people here.

Back to our regularly scheduled thread...

 

[The Dan]

The first two answers are site supporters, they provided some great info. I use the lochtite brand of paste, it has more moly than Honda has.

 

[CruSTy]

The first two answers are site supporters, they provided some great info. I use the lochtite brand of paste, it has more moly than Honda has.

Curios as to why their site support status doesn't display on their profile. My apology for hijacking the thread. No offense intended.

 

[ibike2havefun]

there weren't any site supporters posting here

Anyone whose handle is shown in red is a supporter. If you add your own personalization statement that replaces the default "Site Supporter".

We now return to the purpose of the thread.

 

[Kevcules]

We now return to the purpose of the thread.[/QUOTE]

thank you

Thanks for all the information and links, very helpful.

 

[The Dan]

Does the Locktite stuff stay put on the splines ?

I run dakrside and after 20,000 miles it is still there and still no wear.

 

[Don B]

One item that no one has mentioned is checking the condition of the rubber dampers in the final driven flange assembly. I'm not aware of any routine replacement schedule for these, so unless you have some reason to suspect they need replacement it wouldn't be considered a routine part of rear wheel maintenance. However, if you do the disassembly required to inspect or replace the flange bearings, be sure to examine the condition of the dampers while you're there. These are shown in the fifth photo in the tech article Dave referenced in post #4. They are also referenced in the FINAL DRIVEN FLANGE DISASSEMBLY/ASSEMBLY in Chapter 16 in the Service Manual.

 

[CruSTy]

Back to the subject at hand. I am using an off the shelf CRC brake grease product. Moly content unknown. After 4 rear tire changes I see no issues with the splines or loss of coverage. The spline failures I've seen pictures of all look like they have been neglected for a long time. My question is this. Are there documented cases of failures where regular maintenance was performed using a sub standard moly product? I suspect failures are more closely related to lack on maintenance rather than the moly content. If documented failures exist I will be rethinking my approach.

 

[SMSW]

Back to the subject at hand. I am using an off the shelf CRC brake grease product. Moly content unknown. After 4 rear tire changes I see no issues with the splines or loss of coverage. The spline failures I've seen pictures of all look like they have been neglected for a long time. My question is this. Are there documented cases of failures where regular maintenance was performed using a sub standard moly product? I suspect failures are more closely related to lack on maintenance rather than the moly content. If documented failures exist I will be rethinking my approach.

I cannot answer your question, however, Honda wants a high moly content lubricant (Moly Paste - not Moly grease) for this 'joint'. Chemical engineeers can weigh in on the lubricating differences between the two, or between M Paste and brake grease; I suspect it has to do with 'film strength' and Moly's ability to provide slippery mating surfaces under high loadings.

I run dakrside and after 20,000 miles it is still there and still no wear.

I wonder what running darkside does to the splines. If we are supposed (according to Honda) to clean and lube the splines every tire change (roughly every 10K give or take), and you run car tires that go 25 to 35K miles, then darksiders are servicing the splines 1/2 to 1/3 as often as Honda suggests.

 

[Kevcules]

​

Found on another site........They are saying that the 60 paste is discontinued and the 77 is the replacement.

[FONT=&amp]
Every site I have found describes the M-77 Honda paste as the Moly 60 replacement and it seems that Honda may not make the M-60 anymore. Could not even find any on e-bay but I am sure it comes and goes.

Top​

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Tue May 19, 2015 9:43 am
[FONT=&amp]The original Honda Moly 60 paste has been discontinued - without notice - by Honda.

The stated replacement is Honda M-77 paste, and from the MSDS, it appears to fit the parameters. It's a high Moly (50-70%) lubricating paste. I would feel safe utilizing it to lubricate my splines.

Honda M-77 Paste




[/FONT]

 

[T_C]

... it seems that Honda may not make the M-60 anymore.

Honda never made, merely had their name put on someone elses tube. Probably whi yhry were getting it from wasn't selling enough to other vendors and Honda wasn't re-selling enough to warrant keeping it stocked.

 

[T_C]

If we are supposed (according to Honda) to clean and lube the splines every tire change (roughly every 10K give or take), and you run car tires that go 25 to 35K miles, then darksiders are servicing the splines 1/2 to 1/3 as often as Honda suggests.

I don't know about other DS folks but I do check mine before the tire needs replacement. Now maybe I could be making another mistake as I don't clean off the old paste, just brush on some new and mount it back up.

Same goes for my front, check the bearings and brake pads long before the tire is worn out.

 

[The Dan]

I wonder what running darkside does to the splines.

I am on my 4th darkside tire and the first 2 I checked at 10k and found everything just like I left it. If you have a good o-ring the paste won't come out and has stayed good on my splines for over 20k.

 

[Kevcules]

The tube doesn't give any information ,but I found the msds sheets.

This is what the dealership gave me so I have to assume it's what I should use. ($20 a tube)