Too much transmission input spline lubing hype?

[suecanada]

My old mechanic for the R65LS is of the opinion that the tranny input splines don't need to be lubed every 18-20K on our old airheads! He thinks owners are way too obsessed with the need for lubing. He obviously thinks that we could actually leave the lubing to many more miles unless we're inside there for some other reason. He says he has never seen one give out or found one in his work that was on the verge of 'going west'. My friend Stew would disagree as he was stranded in Ca. after he had them go on a '90's R100GS. and was left at a stoplight going "wrrrrr".

Anyone one want to relate a story or opinion on the old guru's opinion.
BTW he did lube the spline and throwout bearing when he did my rear main seal. I asked to be sure!

[Bob_Roller]

It all really depends on how long the lubricant that is applied to the splines lasts .

I think the latest grease available probably could go longer than some people of knowledge of the subject suggest .

Honda Moly 60, even when the oily part of the grease is degraded, you still have some protection with the moly component of the grease .

BMW has a grease specifically for the transmission input spline .

It's a very sticky/stiff grease .

I think its called Microlube GL 261 .

I've got it on two of the bikes so far .

With the incessant heat here in the suburb of hell that I call home, I'm going to stay with a 5 year interval, seeing as I don't put a lot of miles (kilometers) on the bikes .

If I see that the grease is still doing it's job, I may increase the interval for re-greasing .

[wilcom]

I have owned probably 30 cars with standard transmission over the years. I can't remember ever running out to the garage and yanking the tranny out to grease their lil' splines. ...... and I'm not going to do it to my motorcycle.

If the tranny was out would I grease it , sure!!!  It's pretty well documented that BMW had a spline problem and lubing them is a good way to head off any trouble.

I'll just roll the dice and hope the previous owner was anal enough to do it for me. It isn't going to happen on my watch, that's for sure LOL

Just a "opinion" form an old curmudgeon

[Justin B.]

Until the advent of internet paranoia I never lubed a spline in my life!  I have had 7 or 8 Beemers over the past 35 years and had never lubed a spline until about 6 years ago!  Maybe I've just been lucky...

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

I would never "depend on a P.O."!
If I had a new-to-me airhead, that is one of the first things I would do!  Especially if I had plans to take the bike further than the State line.

[donbmw]

I had over 40,000 miles on my 82 R65 before I found out that the splines needed lube. When I was always riding I would lube every 10 to 15,000 miles. Now I will lube every 2 years. I know of a 82 R65LS that the splines went a 4000 miles.

Don

[montmil]

Follow Sue's "old mechanic's advice" only if said mechanic is willing to pay for the repairs. It ain't difficult to do.

The internet is full of photos of input splines with former 'squared' splines now looking like razor blades.

Up to you, folks. Do it or don't. It's your bike, your choice and your money.

Monte

[nhmaf]

I'm a first hand experience follower of "lube it or lose it".   I think many have seen and read my story.   My bike only had 13.5K original miles on it when I bought it, but it had been sitting in storage for quite a few years, and likely had never had its plines serviced prior to that.   There was absolutely no evidence of remaining grease when I took the bike apart after my friction disk splines and transmission input shaft splines ground themselves down to nubbins, leaving me to push the ol girl 3 miles back home.  At least she had the decency to let go before I started down a 2 mile long hill!

If someone is a high-miler each year, maybe one can go for more than 15-20K miles between lubes.  But if you're more "average", or if it has been 5 or more years - I'd recommend it to avoid the grease drying out.

The Moly-60 PASTE is good stuff, but I've recently observed that it does dry out much faster than the more liquid, sticky grease.   I'm now an advocate of mixing MOLY-60 in with a good sticky grease (Red-N-Tacky at tractor supply, for instance) to get the benefits of both.

[Red_Hen]

I knew my K75 needed a spline lube when it became difficult downshifting.  

Now for the R65 - I did what NHMAF did by mixing the Honda Moly Lube with some sticky trailer grease - Paul Glaves, who writes technical articles suggests a product called Guard Dog (they're located in Houston, TX).

Before doing the spline lube on the K75 I was really gunshy about doing it. But I got a lot of coaxing from the guys on the forum and successfully did it myself - just took my time.

From what I've read, lubing the splines is cheap insurance - a lot less costly than having to buy new splines or getting them repaired or even worse, getting stranded in tim buck too.

Similar story to my R65 with the staked threaded sleeve on the right exhaust header - the previous owners RX may work for awhile but I don't want to be in the middle of noplace and get stuck for no good reason - besides, there's an exhaust leak which affects the way the bike runs.

Anyway, I've learned a lot from the forums and spline lube is important to me.

[wilcom]

I'll just roll the dice and hope the previous owner was anal enough to do it for me. It isn't going to happen on my watch, that's for sure LOL

Now you have me second guessing and peaking out in the garage to see if my splines are laying under the bike in a pile of rust

Never mind that I put on a 100K on airheads when I was blissfully ignorant of spline lubing. Ya got me......I'll lube them b4 I start any extended trek.

When BMW found out that folks were having to jerk their lil trannys out on the ground to grease them, THEY SHOULD HAVE FIXED THE PROBLEM. Pulling or separating a transmission from a motor is not what I would call NORMAL maintenance. If you had to grease the splines on your Ford, ya would throw it away like a broken toaster.

There's going to be Hell to pay if I get in there and find them all warm and greasy!!!        LOL

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

There's going to be Hell to pay if I get in there and find them all warm and greasy!!!        LOL

Follow the directions in this article and just slide the gear box back an inch to inspect.
If they are dry, however, I really recommend removing the box to get it done right.
You have to remove the box to get the dab of lube on the tip of the throwout rod, anyway.
Ever since I saw that article on WebBikeWorld, I seriously question their advice on anything.

[Bob_Roller]

I've got a BMW cage ('01 Z-3), in the maintenance manual it states that any time the manual transmission is removed, clean and lubricate the transmission input splines as well as the mating splines on the clutch .

So, it's not just the bikes .

[Barry]

Joe,  I can relate to your point of view on this. what other example is there of a vehicle that needs the gearbox removing for routine maintenance. It shouldn't be necessary.

On the other hand when I did it the gear change improved. I'm not likely to be doing it every year though as recommended in the attached BMW service bulletin.

[Crossrodes]

I'm a believer in lubing the splines.  I used to lube the shaft splines on my !500 Goldwing every couple of years...But I won't use Honda Moly.  They charge over $32 a tube up here (It was $8 at Honda Direct Line in the US last time I checked...plus the tube is only half full).  So I use a Chevron Moly grease.  It has never let me down.  I used to put on about 60 thousand Kilometers (40,000 miles) every two years and the Moly was still working when I re-did the splines.   I just did the R65 for the first time when I tore it down.  I don't understand how Honda can justify those prices up here in Canada so I asked them in a letter to the Chairman...he passed it on to a VP who told me Customer Service would get back to me...That was about 9 months ago...still waiting.

[wilcom]

On the other hand when I did it the gear change improved.

I had to be dragged kicking and screaming from Windows 3.0 to 95. I guess this spline business is just another hurtle on the path to better things.