zerk on differential?

[bikerbill]

Doing the 1k service on my '11 triglide today. noticed a zerk on the differential ;not mentioned in the owners manual and i don't have a trike service manual supplement yet; it is on order. Also i don't know how to adjust the belt on the trike. Anybody done this.?

[1550vt]

I have not kept-up with the more recent Lehman belt drive designs, but I believe they are oil filled...not sure. The early Lehman kits had grease filled diffys and there is a grease zerk on the differential and is suppose to get a shot every 2,000 miles or so. My experience with these is that they don't need to be greased that often. The more grease you put in simply squirts out past the axle where it slides through the bearing race into the diffy. I generally give mine a couple of shots every 10,000 miles or so, which has been about once a year. I have had those differentials apart and have never found one dry.

I feel like if there is a grease zerk on there....then it's there for a reason. Maybe they simply grease/lube them at assembly and don't recommend anything beyond that? I am sure some of the other TG owners will chime in with an opinion....or just ask your dealer.

Belt tension is about the same on any trike. You have to get both rear wheels off the ground (remove the wheels) and each side has 4 bolts that will have to be loosened. These bolts "clamp" the rear axle to the swing arm over some studs (for lack of a better word). Loosen those up. You should see an adjustment bolt on each side that will push the axle assembly rearward as you turn the bolt. Adjust both at the same time in very small increments and measure the exposed threads to make sure they are equal. A little goes a long way. If you need to loosen the rear to get some belt slack, the process is reversed, but you will have to "tap" the rear axle inward toward the swing arm after you loosen the adjuster bolt. Again...a little adjustment goes a long way. There are also some adjustments that move the axle left-to-right and you should not have to fool with those. It's not an easy proposition. If you get one side far enough out of whack...the belt/pulley alignment will be affected. The best way is to get it up where you can lay on your back under there and check the belt alignment after you have made the tension adjustment to make sure it is running true on both the front and rear pulleys. It can be a real PITA. When you move the adjustment bolts after you have loosened the retention bolts (clamps) and tighten those all up again...it will cause the tension adjustment to be slightly different once it's all torqued back down. The best thing to do is loosen the clamping bolts "only enough" to be able to move the axle back with the adjuster bolt.

It's like a dance....lots of things have to move together and you may have to do it a time-or-two to get it right. Get ready to spend a half-a-day to do it, or....take it to your dealer and then take your chances on whether they do it right or not.

I have done it enough to be able to perform adjustments without jacking it up, or removing the rear wheels, but you need to have performed the adjustment enough times to be able to do that.

[bikerbill]

Thanks much for the thorough write up.

[HogAir]

According to the Trike Supplement Service Manual it states to never add grease in that it is factory lubed and will last the life of the motorcycle. Where have I heard that before???

[Oldmsocko]

That is exactly what the manual states and I plan on following it.

[1550vt]

I am surprised they actually left a zerk in it as opposed to a plug. I guess it would have taken another "step" along the assembly-line to remove the zerk and install a plug. I was pretty sure they intended for these diffy's to be maintenance free. Like I said above, I have had the older ones apart and they are butt-simple. If you do grease them as often as those older service manuals say...all you do is fill your axle tube up with grease as you push it out past the seals at the inner wheel bearings.

So...bikerbill....just keep an eye on things under there. If you see some puddles, or "slung lubricant"...I guess then would be the time to worry about it. Those differentials don't work very hard and are pretty much bullet-proof.

[bikerbill]

i have my trike supplement now and i have seen the note regarding not lubing the differential as Hogair mentioned above. Thanks all for jumping in on this.

[Burnerboy]

ONE QUESTION HERE: Why leave grease jerk there if we are not supposed to RE-grease them??

I still put a shot of grease in there every season... One shot is not going to hurt it (only help) better than keeping it dry

Ronnie

4/14/24

[Jack Klarich]

Ronnie, you are good to go

[DK Custom Products]

It's sealed, it is not going to be dry unless you have a seal problem.

Putting grease in may eventually cause a seal problem.

Two reasons the factory leaves the zerk in.

1. Why spend the $ replacing it with a plug?

2. If the rear end ever needs rebuilding, the zerk is already there for new grease with the new rear end.

Kevin

[Jack Klarich]

Just like the old saying, too much of a good thing can turn into bad JUJU