Honda California Side Car drive line failure help!

[travis.l.rider]

My dad has a 2006 Honda GL1800 with a California Side Car conversion. He bought it used and at this point I do not know what year it was converted. The u-joint on the front of the driveline failed and the driveline came apart. I am going to post pictures of what we removed. The front yolk that fits onto the splines of the engine side is MIA. Can anyone tell me where to track down a new driveline? Thank you all for the help!

 

[travis.l.rider]

 

[ROAD DOG]

My dad has a 2006 Honda GL1800 with a California Side Car conversion. He bought it used and at this point I do not know what year it was converted. The u-joint on the front of the driveline failed and the driveline came apart. I am going to post pictures of what we removed. The front yolk that fits onto the splines of the engine side is MIA. Can anyone tell me where to track down a new driveline? Thank you all for the help!

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Does the front part with the bad u joint come off the drive shaft ? I might have one I will have to go take a look in the barn, I will look Sunday & let you know.

 

[travis.l.rider]

Does the front part with the bad u joint come off the drive shaft ? I might have one I will have to go take a look in the barn, I will look Sunday & let you know.

I am not saying it will not but I haven't seen a way to get it off. It seems solid to me. There are splines on the shaft but I have no idea how the u joint yolk is held on the driveline but hasn't budged yet.

 

[trike lady]

The front yoke looks like it hasn't seen any maintenance in a long time.

Is it just me or does that look like a drive shaft from a GL1500 Goldwing?

 

[travis.l.rider]

The front yoke looks like it hasn't seen any maintenance in a long time.

I agree. He bought it just a few weeks before this happened. He hasn't even got to put 100 miles on it.

 

[ROAD DOG]

The front yoke looks like it hasn't seen any maintenance in a long time.

Is it just me or does that look like a drive shaft from a GL1500 Goldwing?

To me it looks weird I have a 1500 at the shop now & a 05 1800 we just rebuilt the front end on today I will look Sunday to see what it looks like ?

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I agree. He bought it just a few weeks before this happened. He hasn't even got to put 100 miles on it.

Post a picture of the trike

 

[trike lady]

Can you post a pic of the trike? I pulled up the CSC installation manual for the GL1800 and something looks off.

I'm wondering if someone retrofit a 1500 kit to an 1800 or if its a home made construction with a CSC body.

 

[Vulcanscott]

Just called CSC, they are very good about helping .

 

[cScjhb]

The standard CSC drive system for that year GL1800 goes into a big, heavy transfer case located at the rear end. That system had a 2 piece drive shaft that was very prone to failure. A partial and sometimes temporary fix was to weld the two shafts together.

CSC came up with a better and ultimate fix by providing a completely new drive line system. That totally eliminated the transfer case. You can see the drive shaft upgrade kit by going to CSC's web site. Looks to me like what you have is someone's failed attempt to address the old (and poor) original CSC driveline.

The "fix" is not inexpensive but worth it. Once done correctly, it's bullet proof. When I did mine, I gained 4 MPG! Good luck..... Jim

 

[travis.l.rider]

 

[travis.l.rider]

 

[trike lady]

Now we'll establish the serial number location. Then you will know how old it is.

https://youtu.be/4Zjo4QR05mw?si=oTYnvmGkyPDN-_wr

Thanks for posting pics.

 

[cScjhb]

The trike kit you have is definitely the same one that I had. Mine was a 2008 model. But the drive shaft does not look like the original. I'd look under the rear end to see if that shaft was attached to a big square boxy thing.....instead of being attached directly to the differential. If the bike has that additional box, then someone had done "custom" repair of the old drive line.

Then you have a decision to make, trailer the bike to a specialized drive line shop and have a new one made. Or, go with the upgraded drive shaft system from CSC. CSC has a very good and informative web site. They are also VERY responsive to customer issues both on the phone and through emails. The good news is you have a trike kit from a company that is still in business and can get you taken care of.

If you do need and decide to upgrade with the CSC driveline, know that the trike body must be removed. This is not a job for an inexperienced person or shop. I'd opt for trailering the trike several hundred or even a thousand miles to a place that knows what they're doing and HAS DONE THIS BEFORE. Good luck..... Jim

 

[ROAD DOG]

I have not seen a driveshaft like that on a csc, I have two csc driveshafts they look nothing like that ?

 

[trike lady]

If it is indeed a GL1500 drive shaft, it depends upon if the end piece is press fit and can be pressed out and a new one pressed in and the spring and u-joint for a GL1500 put in its place. Pictures of the underside of the trike would help us see what's there and maybe emailing the pic to CSC would shed light on what this is. I did find this document and it does mention an 'Inline Gear Box'

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/19...Driveshaft Retro 5-2021.pdf?ver=1706806576477

 

[trike lady]

I have not seen a driveshaft like that on a csc, I have two csc driveshafts they look nothing like that ?

I still think it's the drive shaft from a two wheel Goldwing 1500 and those can be found at salvage yards and in trike shops.

 

[Marc H]

Is that the Mountain Man shaft?I remember it using a cv style joint at the back.

 

[Marc H]

Here is the thread where I did mine.There are pics of what the original driveshaft should have looked like. https://www.triketalk.com/forum/thr...eshaft-update-and-auxiliary-fuel-tank-install

 

[Marc H]

If the shaft is still straight the easy thing if it can be matched to a 1500 or valkyrie front joint is replace that. The long term fix is the upgrade driveshaft but depending on how mechanically inclined and patient you are is intensive.