Rear drive mod.

[tjmaskell]

Hi Guys, after reading countless posts on the problems associated with the ST1100 rear drive, I decided to have a go at maybe improving things somewhat. A post by Yorkie kind of got me thinking. The following is what I've done and I'm not suggesting anyone else try it but it's made a huge difference to my bike. First take the cush rubbers ,remove the aluminium insert and carefully clean the internal surface with your favorite solvent. Next coat the inside surface of the rubbers and the outside of the aluminium with hybrid polymer (I used a product called Fix All by Soudal ) (photo included) Reassemble, wipe off excess. Then place the cush rubbers back in the hub with generous polymer on the ends only. Then taking a small screwdriver coat the inside holes in the aluminium inserts with polymer. Coat the 5 posts on the drive flange as in the photo . Now do the usual o ring, grease etc. and reassemble. Place the wheel back on the bike and wait 24 hours. Go for a ride, wow I now have a virtual solid drive but retain the cush feature. No more skinny steel posts flogging around in the aluminium inserts. Its cured the '" take up"" that used to occur upon release of the clutch. Less backlash for sure. So whipped down to Philip Island and back about 4500 km in 7 days and decided to take a look . Out came the back wheel and everything was perfect. The drive flange can be removed by heating with a heat gun until its to hot to touch .The cush rubbers can be removed by cutting the polymer with a Stanley knife. Can't see any downside, so far so good and can always go back to how it was. Thanks Guys.

[johnnyYTED]

 
laST year I replaced the cush rubbers after 150,000k's and it took up any lag I may have had. I didnt have any noticeable wear on the pins.All my drive splines were also good 
 Not saying this polymer stuff  wouldnt benefit those with excessive wear though.. 

[Yorkie]

Sounds like the goods to me, I will certainly give it a try, be interesting to find out the results after 50k or so

[tjmaskell]

Hi  Yorkie, it was your post regarding the solid rear drive on your 750 that prompted my curiosity as to an alternative  means of connecting the drive flange to the wheel on the ST. The setup I've tried is as close to solid as I think possible. It's actually " glued together " with rubberised glue, making a solid but flexible unit. I forgot to mention the wheel should be spun a few times to centralise everything prior to the 24 hour cure period. Cheers Trevor

[Yorkie]

The issue is the rubbers compact, evidenced by the ease with which they can be removed however it is quite difficult to install when new, also the holes in the ali wear in an elongated fashion, all parts need to be fixed. wombat had an issue on Border Run in 2015, the nyloc on his rear axle was not holding which enabled the nut to come loose, on corners he thought a flat tyre however the movement was caused by the nut on the wheel, not the nut on the seat, his final drive flogged out, probably due to the number of times the wheel had been removed and replaced for tyres etc.

[Shiney]

Brilliant "How To" mate, thanks for sharing, I'm sure there will be a number of people benefiting from this

Please update with how it goes over time as it'll be great to hear how long it lasts compared to the original

[Greencan]

Mornin' All...

tjmaskell, I am not sure I agree, especially after observing the pedestal you used to take the pic of the product you used in question!

So here's a thought for next time...




The repair was from 6061, T6

...I am sure you can work out all the bits that go from pic 1 to pic 2

For what it's worth, I turn over the alloy inserts at each tyre replacement in order to prolong the life of the insert, generally find significant wear to warrant the refurbish at around 30-50k, especially if non OEM rubbers have been used, or the bike has been used to tow a trailer.

Cheers the can -)

Oh, and as guide for the refurb...


This insert had ground its way out the rubber and into the wheel.







   

[tjmaskell]

Hi Greencan , while the "fix" I used would certainly not win any engineering excellence awards as yours would , I was trying to eliminate this dry steel to aluminium joint. I trust you would agree it wasn't Hondas best effort as  the improved 1300 is far more conventional and trouble free. Also not everyone has access to a lathe , in which case new inserts are the way to go.

[Greencan]

Agreed Sir, agreed!

Having that 2+kg drive coupling supported with a roller brg. was something Honda ought to have incorperated to the 1100, rather than use the left over CX bits.

Interrested to hear how the soudal holds up at the next time ya have the need to remove the rear wheel for a sticky beak. 

If, for whatever reason it doesnt...I have successfully used the T6 to turn and re-flange the wheel to spec to support that 2+kg drive flange.

Cheers :-)