U-joint question

[bigbuck]

Greetings from Kansas. Recently purchased a Valkyrie with a Motrtrike conversion for my wife. Had the u-joint go out on Friday about 20 miles from home on our way to Arkansas. Made it back home ok and fixed the problem. My question is, the Honda u-joint is exposed with no way to keep it greased. Does anyone out there see a problem with slipping a piece of innertube over the u-joint and securing on the ends with zip ties to try and keep water and grime out of u-joint?

[Gorilla]

Greetings from Kansas. Recently purchased a Valkyrie with a Motrtrike conversion for my wife. Had the u-joint go out on Friday about 20 miles from home on our way to Arkansas. Made it back home ok and fixed the problem. My question is, the Honda u-joint is exposed with no way to keep it greased. Does anyone out there see a problem with slipping a piece of innertube over the u-joint and securing on the ends with zip ties to try and keep water and grime out of u-joint?

Welcome aboard. Sorry I can not help with your question though.

[jim peacock]

More then not it would not hold.
Best soultion is if you can not do it yourself take it to a machine shop and have them drill and tap it out and put a grease zert in it.
My 06 lehman kit on a 96 1500 has a grease zert on the rear u-joint which I grease every time I change oil and oil filter.
:yes::yes::yes:

[John Luciano]

Try a Boot for a Front wheel drive axle shaft .

[Papa Zook]

Greetings from Kansas. Recently purchased a Valkyrie with a Motrtrike conversion for my wife. Had the u-joint go out on Friday about 20 miles from home on our way to Arkansas. Made it back home ok and fixed the problem. My question is, the Honda u-joint is exposed with no way to keep it greased. Does anyone out there see a problem with slipping a piece of innertube over the u-joint and securing on the ends with zip ties to try and keep water and grime out of u-joint?

Typically u-joint failures are very few and far between on trikes, so I dont think I would do the innertube thing, but if you try it let us know how it works. Probably wouldn't affect the shaft balance, but I'm thinking it might disintegrate after a while.

[skuuter]

Typically u-joint failures are very few and far between on trikes, so I dont think I would do the innertube thing, but if you try it let us know how it works. Probably wouldn't affect the shaft balance, but I'm thinking it might disintegrate after a while.

Balance might depend on Clamps, Ties, etc. I don't think it's a very sound idea either, but was interested in the "Feedback Thread"....

[bigbuck]

More then not it would not hold.
Best soultion is if you can not do it yourself take it to a machine shop and have them drill and tap it out and put a grease zert in it.
My 06 lehman kit on a 96 1500 has a grease zert on the rear u-joint which I grease every time I change oil and oil filter.
:yes::yes::yes:

Yes my rear U-joint has a zerk on it also. The u-joint in question is the front one (Honda stock). Do not think there is room for a zerk in this u- joint. It is rather small. While I had it apart I went ahead and put the innertube on and secured it with zip ties on both ends of the u-joint. Went for a 200 mile ride yesterday stopping to check it out periodically. Felt no heat and saw no evidence of slipping. I think it will work. My biggest concern is throwing it off balance, but my wife says it runs smoother than it ever has since we bought it. I wouldn't know she doesn't let me ride it.

[skuuter]

Yes my rear U-joint has a zerk on it also. The u-joint in question is the front one (Honda stock). Do not think there is room for a zerk in this u- joint. It is rather small. While I had it apart I went ahead and put the innertube on and secured it with zip ties on both ends of the u-joint. Went for a 200 mile ride yesterday stopping to check it out periodically. Felt no heat and saw no evidence of slipping. I think it will work. My biggest concern is throwing it off balance, but my wife says it runs smoother than it ever has since we bought it. I wouldn't know she doesn't let me ride it.

If there was a Balance Issue on the U-Joints/Driveshaft Assembly, You would have known it durin' Your Ride.....Keep us informed...THANKS...:wtg:

[John Luciano]

What size inner tube?

[bigbuck]

what size inner tube?

325/350-17

[3W-lonerider]

Greetings from Kansas. Recently purchased a Valkyrie with a Motrtrike conversion for my wife. Had the u-joint go out on Friday about 20 miles from home on our way to Arkansas. Made it back home ok and fixed the problem. My question is, the Honda u-joint is exposed with no way to keep it greased. Does anyone out there see a problem with slipping a piece of innertube over the u-joint and securing on the ends with zip ties to try and keep water and grime out of u-joint?

i too have a valkyrie trike with 140,000 miles on it. had it triked when it had 72,000 miles. still have the original u-joint that came from the factory in it. the u-joint being exposed is not your problem, mine is exposed and shows no signs of wear or looseness. but i do remove the drive shaft every 5000 miles and grease the output splines on the tranny and driveshaft splines that are on the driveshaft. i to find there is no room for a grease fitting so i never installed one. the main thing is when you put it back in make sure your joints are lined up perfectly or it will make your front joint bind up and destroy it in a short amount of time.

[roscoe 07]

i have 07 goldwing motortrike conversion have zerks in both u joints.motortrike had recall on front u joint .i take mine out to grease

[Chumbly]

I found out yesterday that the zerk on the rear u-joint of my trike (VTX Motor Trike conversion) won't take grease... tried changing the zerks, no joy there... guess I 'll have to rip it all apart and find out why. Another thing is- on the VTX MT conversion, the input on the differential cannot be lined up, (because of linkages), with the transmission output, so the drive shaft is not straight. I am wondering how long I can expect these (there are two) u-joints to last? I am beginning to wonder if I made a mistake in my choice of kit conversion. Chumbly-

[Gorilla]

I found out yesterday that the zerk on the rear u-joint of my trike (VTX Motor Trike conversion) won't take grease... tried changing the zerks, no joy there... guess I 'll have to rip it all apart and find out why. Another thing is- on the VTX MT conversion, the input on the differential cannot be lined up, (because of linkages), with the transmission output, so the drive shaft is not straight. I am wondering how long I can expect these (there are two) u-joints to last? I am beginning to wonder if I made a mistake in my choice of kit conversion. Chumbly-

Chumbly, I would not worry about the drive shaft not being straight. Tha's the purpose of the U-Joints. Look under some of those big box trucks or school busses. Their shafts have a very big angle for the u-joints to handle.

[3W-lonerider]

I found out yesterday that the zerk on the rear u-joint of my trike (VTX Motor Trike conversion) won't take grease... tried changing the zerks, no joy there... guess I 'll have to rip it all apart and find out why. Another thing is- on the VTX MT conversion, the input on the differential cannot be lined up, (because of linkages), with the transmission output, so the drive shaft is not straight. I am wondering how long I can expect these (there are two) u-joints to last? I am beginning to wonder if I made a mistake in my choice of kit conversion. Chumbly-

if you or someone else has'nt had the drive shaft off and it was installed when they mounted the kit then your joints should be lined up and good to go.

drive shaft does'nt have to be straight..( but the u-joints do have to be in-line with each other. ) if you look at your drive shaft.. the part of the shaft between the front and rear joint is joined by the joints.. look at the u-joint bearing cups, the cups that are joining the middle section should be in-line with one another..front and rear..if they are not then your drive shaft is binding while turning..maybe someone can insert a pic for more clarity i tried but could not get it to work.

[Buggie Pilot]

U-joints not in phase on a high speed axle is the best case senareo. If they are out of phase but still balanced and have no vibration you should not have any adverse problems as long as your spline shaft moves freely.

Just for information; driveshafts with big steep angles actually bind while in phase but this can be eliminated by moving the radial orentation a few degrees out of phase. The key is that the spline shaft moves freely.

[Lonerbtw]

I have two Valks that I did the conversions myself. Thay both have the factory frount piece of the swing arm, that goes from side to side and I built the arms.back to the rear end. If you have the stock frount section then there should be a collor on the motor side of it and one on the motor that takes a factory boot that encloses the u-joint. You have to pull the shaft then pull the u-joint to put the boot on then put it back together.
Hope this helps Loner