K11 Owners Group

jpberens1994K1100RS · Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 1:59 pm Post subject: Moly lube / splines

Lot's of good advise out there on what to use on the splines and output shafts.
I used Honda Moly 60 for a long time. I just ran out of my mix of heavy grease & HM60 so I bought some of this. The GD-750 Moly paste.

http://www.guarddogmolylubricants.com/prod-moto.shtml

I know it's less expensive to mix up your own, but I like how this product adheres to a metal surface. Especially if it's rubbed in. Hard to do if you don't drop the transmission when lubing the splines, but well worth it if you do. It'll LAST a long time.

All IMHO of course, but thought if your wondering WTH to use, this might help. Some other good products out there too.
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1993 K1100RS that I'd rather be riding FAST!
2014 Moto Guzzi Norge

heatmizr · Joined: 25 Jan 2010 Posts: 16 Location: Charlotte NC

I am assuming you meant GD-570?
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Todd Glasier in Charlotte, NC
1996 k1100rs (on loan)
2002 RC1
2000 VFR

jpberens1994K1100RS · Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 5:22 pm Post subject: moly

oops.

yes. GD-570
_________________
1993 K1100RS that I'd rather be riding FAST!
2014 Moto Guzzi Norge

Ernie-NH · Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:02 pm Post subject:

Hey "jpberens"..... ( name?)

If you go to Jeff Trapp's website " Northwoods BMW" you can get all the PROPER spline grease mix (ie: Moly plus ) you can use in a lifetime for less than $10 USD !! Jeff is in Madison, and I see you're in Wisconsin too, so maybe you could just ride over. Northwoods will ship however to wherever you are. Jeff is primarily and Airhead 'guy' bit spline grease is NOT BMW model sensitive.

Here is his site: << http://www.northwoodsairheads.com/Tools.html >>

Regards............// Ernie-NH
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Airhead Beemers Club
'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

Mystic Red · Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:41 pm Post subject:

Ernie, link doesn't work for me.
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Scott Hespelt, '94 K11LT
K11 OG #466

drikko · Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:53 pm Post subject:

http://www.northwoodsairheads.com then click on the tools link.
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K1100RS '97
Laverda RGS 1000 '84
Jim Young Trailer Sailer 5.7M WB

DISCLAIMER:- Anything I say may have been when I was drunk so please don't take it personally.

'Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same.'
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jpberens1994K1100RS · Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 9:59 pm Post subject: Moly

Name / Jim Berens

That looks like good stuff too from Northwoods BMW.
Grease threads & oil threads, lot in common I guess.

Thanks Ernie for the tip on the Madison guy, just an hour away from me.

I gotta work on my 81 R100RS too!

Later....
_________________
1993 K1100RS that I'd rather be riding FAST!
2014 Moto Guzzi Norge

Ernie-NH · Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 10:37 pm Post subject:

Hi Jim...

Jeff Trapp ( Northwoods Motor ) is also the Wisconsin Air-marshall, which means that he coordinates events and tech days for the Airhead Beemer Club members in Wisconsin.. He is a long long time BMW Airhead guy, and is extremely knowledgeable about these early twins for BMW.

As an Airhead myself, ( owner and rider of a '76 R100/7 ) I have to lube 'engine output' and 'transmission input' splines every 12 to 15k miles so I know this "grease" pretty well, believe me a little of Jeffs 'moly mix' goes a very long way. (use it sparingly ) When I do the spline lube on the "K" its the only grease I'll trust, since lubing the splines on the "K" is so much more difficult !

Best regards and good luck.......// Ernie-NH
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AMA,, American Deaf Bikers
Airhead Beemers Club
'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

Phil Marvin · Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 1:42 am Post subject:

Hi, Jim,
Based on past recommendations and experience, I would NOT use ANYTHING recommended (and sold) by BMW for spline lube. I would use Honda Moly 60 Paste, Guard Dog Moly 570, or a 50/50 mix of Honda Moly 60 Paste and Wurth Sig 3000 grease. This is based on my own experience and recommendations of people I know and trust - Tom Cutter, Paul Glaves and Matt Parkhouse.
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Ride Safe,
Phil Marvin in El Paso, TX
'94 K75A/3
'95 K75RTP

6899 · Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 5:50 pm Post subject: Moly Lubes / Splines

Gang,

I ordered the Guard Dog 525 and its the correct type for BMW Splines, although the Guard Dog 570 Paste will also work according to Ben Mathes of Guard Dog.

I am going to use the 525 on my K1100 and hope I will not have to do another spline lube for a long time.
_________________
1996 K1100LT, 73K (bought at 61K on 2006)
1977 R100/7, bought new, rode 97K in 29 yrs before parting out
1970 R50/5, bought used, rode 40K & sold

BMWMOA #6899 since 1976
Indy BMW Club since 1975

jpberens1994K1100RS · Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:27 pm Post subject: Guard Dog moly

You will not regret it.

I've gone over 50,000 miles on my 81 R100RS, on the out put splines, still good to go.

When I need to do the K, GD moly will be used on all splines.
_________________
1993 K1100RS that I'd rather be riding FAST!
2014 Moto Guzzi Norge

Flying Duck · Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 10:54 pm Post subject:

BobZ(IL) · Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 12:34 am Post subject:

Are you really going to slide that in with that much on it?
_________________
'93 K1100LT
'78 R100S
'05 R1200GS
BMWMOA, CRBMWOA, ABC, K11OG #997

Live well, do good work, enjoy the ride.

Jim · Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:32 am Post subject:

drikko · Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 6:43 am Post subject:

Not necessarily, I'm thinking the excess may even cause havoc to the seal right behind the spline, and even may end up on the clutch?
_________________
K1100RS '97
Laverda RGS 1000 '84
Jim Young Trailer Sailer 5.7M WB

DISCLAIMER:- Anything I say may have been when I was drunk so please don't take it personally.

'Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same.'
Oscar Wilde

Flying Duck · Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 7:58 am Post subject:

Flying Duck · Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:15 am Post subject:

Ernie-NH · Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 9:24 am Post subject:

Good morning Duck....

Well even though I believe your "Spline slather" is excessive, the "rubbah' input seal is a fluropolymer and impervious to petroleum based greases as well as intermittent temperature up to 275 degC. Normal operating temp at the seal lip should not exceed 170 degC, which as the moly 'back flows' slightly under the sealing lip, will prevent this from happening due to friction factors alone.

With reference to the "slather", as an Airhead as well as a "K" bike guy, I use a mixture of Honda Moly-60 and Wuerth-3000 ( as reccomended by T. Cutter and others as Phil mentioned ) which I purchased from Northwoods MC quite some time ago in a small one once 'clamshell' container. I have done at least eight lubes from this container and can barely notice that any is missing,,,, that is all that is required by an 'ol Airhead with NO surface enhancement on the bearing surfaces of the spline teeth. Since 1985 these input splines as well as the female clutch slider spline have all been deep hardened ( 20 to 30 micro-inches ) to discourage wear. If I use moly-60/Wuerth mix sparingly on an old soft spline, an equally sparse amount on my new hadened/plated "K" spline should be more than adequate..... you know far more than I'll ever know about these "K" bikes, BUT what I see in your photo I believe would do ten splines given the size and function of the moly crystal doing the actual lubrication ! OR are you just pulling our legs in a Duck sort of way ??

Best regards as always, and THANKS again for the tranni removal tips!

Ernie-NH
_________________
AMA,, American Deaf Bikers
Airhead Beemers Club
'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

Flying Duck · Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:37 am Post subject:

Not pulling legs. I'd just as soon have too much as too little and don't really see any risk in how I've done it. And it certainly doesn't cost too much.

I honestly don't know of that many people who have actually had input splines fail on a K. However, I happen to be one of those people. My 1990 37k K75RT crapped out on me 1,600 miles from home and, though I was lucky to have a cousin with a pickup a few hours away who rescued me, I'd rather not experience that again. Maybe I'm paranoid?

(I'd lubed the splines with Honda Moly 60 8k before the failure but suspect that the root cause may have been my tweaking the bellhousing alignment when I took the bike offroad in Alaska and bottomed it out once or twice. Laughing

)

On the other hand, I'm not really that paranoid. Since input spline failures are relatively rare and I've owned quite a few Ks, I've somewhat come to the opinion that the only time a K REALLY needs a spline lube is when it starts to get sticky on downshifting. But of course also believe that it's an important part of routine maintenance just to be on the safe side.

Not to mention that it also helps quite a bit when selling a bike to knowledgeable buyers if you've recently lubed the splines given the general paranoia about the topic.
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6899 · Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 3:24 pm Post subject:

Duck,

I'm following the advice of Guard Dog to have enough lube to fill in the grooves. My thinking is this:
Clean out the clutch input with Q tips (Dry). Then use Q tips soaked in carb cleaner to get the grooves clean. Clean the shaft with a rag + clean toothbrush. Then lightly grease the clutch spline with a Q tip. Add enough grease to the shaft to cover the slots and put it together.

That should do it, IMHO.

Of course. what the hell do I know? This is my 1st ever K lube so I'm an novice.

Smile

Cheers!
_________________
1996 K1100LT, 73K (bought at 61K on 2006)
1977 R100/7, bought new, rode 97K in 29 yrs before parting out
1970 R50/5, bought used, rode 40K & sold

BMWMOA #6899 since 1976
Indy BMW Club since 1975