Sport 1100 Driveshaft removal

[JohnO]

I bought a '96 Sport 1100 carb last October and it now has 45k miles on it. I really need to get the driveshaft out to clean it, but have no idea how to do it. I've downloaded a couple service manuals and done searches, but have not found a procedure to do the job. Will someone please point me to a thread which already discusses this or give me a pointer or two?

 

I did buy the shop stand for it from MG Cycle. It barely gets the rear wheel off my garage floor though. I hate to take it to a dealer for this as I'm sure it will cost much more than I want to spend. I also prefer to do my own work if it isn't too overwhelming.

 

Thanks.

[raz]

I see no point in taking it out to clean it, but you may want to check UJ's and bearings. My experiences are from a Sporti but most of it will be true for you too. It's a simple job:

 

Remove rear wheel. Remove reaction rod bolt from the bevelbox. When pulling that bolt, support the bevelbox so it won't fall out (from the swing) or tilt forward too much. When reaction rod is off, you can just pull the bevelbox from the swing. The shaft will separate just behind front UJ.

 

At this point you can grease the UJ's and work them around in all directions, trying to feel if there is any play or other problems with them. If not, I don't see any point in any more dismantling than this. Give them a really good greasing so you only see fresh grease coming out. It's a PITA to remove the excess grease whether you have it all dismantled or in situ.

 

Have a feel at the bevelbox input bearing too, and check for play when rotating the pinion shaft back and forth.

 

When putting the shaft together again, it's very important to line it up correctly, that is when the rear grease nipple is straight down, the two front nipples should point straight up. Failing this will cause nasty vibrations.

 

Regarding the paddock stand, as long as the rear wheel is off the ground at all you're OK. If not, just put some plywood under the stand. You can do that AFTER putting it on the stand (under one wheel at a time) but be careful not to drop the bike. Been there, got the t-shirt...

[JohnO]

Thanks for the reply.

 

There is a lot of extra grease around the shaft. Some is so old it looks crystallized. I just lubed it a couple days ago and was able to access the three nipples without too much trouble. It will probably be winter before I get to do this as it is at least 120 in my garage right now.

[SnowGoose]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I ran across this one in searches related to my '97 Sport 1100i driveshaft...

@Raz, when you said, "When putting the shaft together again, it's very important to line it up correctly, that is when the rear grease nipple is straight down, the two front nipples should point straight up. Failing this will cause nasty vibrations" where did you get that information? It is true that if you get it together wrong such that the u-joint yokes out of phase by even one spline it will definitely cause issues.

I don't know if something changed from '96 but my '97-on Centauro/Daytona/Sport 1100i Guzzi factory service manual shows the zerks (grease nipples) all pointing in the same direction, on pg 136, diagram 15-19 when assembled on the bike, which is how I put mine back together last time I had it apart. I have now pulled it back apart to inspect/lube everything because I am getting a harmonic vibration starting at 70mph that cropped up since the last reassembly. 

The u-joints all appear to be fine (36k miles on the bike/driveshaft), as they should be because I keep them well greased and am very careful when washing the bike to keep water and soap away from them. Since I just now took it apart I am going to dig deeper into possible causes but had not heard that about the zerks. 

[Chuck]

From fading and unreliable memory.. yes, that is true. Front up and rears down. Shirley someone that *knows* will be along shortly. Welcome to the V11S forum.

[Pressureangle]

The U-joint phasing is critical; that is, the front and rear yokes must be in perfect alignment. Assembling a spline off will eventually kill the joints or gears, unless it shakes your seat off first.
That said, if the spline count is even, you can align them at 0* or at 180* with no difference- except that if you put the front zerk up and the rear zerk down, you can grease both zerks without turning the wheel in between. 

[gstallons]

I don't "think" the angle of the nipples have to be opposite for the driveshaft to be balanced . 

 The concern is the coulped front/rear driveshaft phasing . This is critical so anyone that doesn't understand should watch videos , look at these driveshafts w/slip yokes to fully understand what is going on .  Historically , I have seen a lot of these in pick-ups . big trucks , etc. where the driveshaft has been removed and not reinstalled correctly . Study this until you KNOW what is right and wrong on a two-piece shaft .