Driveshaft grease advice

[dank1945]

Hi

My 2003 V11 sport naked manual says for the driveshaft ujoints to use: "Saponified grease with class 2 consistency lithium and 265/295 penetration, dropping point 180C, must not contain MOS2 additives"

Does anyone know what/where to get such a magic potion?

Thanks for any and all help.

Dan

 

[sp838]

Yes, please! Also some more detailed instructions, the manual has a diagram barely larger than the size of a postage stamp with nothing in the way of explanation.

[gstallons]

Hi

My 2003 V11 sport naked manual says for the driveshaft ujoints to use: "Saponified grease with class 2 consistency lithium and 265/295 penetration, dropping point 180C, must not contain MOS2 additives"

Does anyone know what/where to get such a magic potion?

Thanks for any and all help.

Dan

Do you have a lubricant supplier / vendor in your area ? You could give them these specs. and they could (if you talk to an intelligent person ) fix you up !

 I don't know what brand lubricants you normally use or I would call some of my vendors .

[docc]

I tried to get BelRay, one of my favored brands, to address these specifications once. No response, though.

 

I really like the RedLine grease. I wish I could tell you it meets all of those specs (but I couldn't say). When we've discussed this in the past, the prevailing view came to getting some kind of grease into those u-joints from time to time is a good idea.

 

My last shot at it was a bugger. Even with the needle method, the front eluded me. I finally got a fitting on it but not before it doubled my vocabulary.

 

Post what you find about the specification. I don't think anyone has ever gotten it nailed down.

[AndyH]

I'm not sure there's anything mysterious here: this stuff is what we buy in the UK under the name 'High Melting Point Lithium Grease', common or garden variety stuff, nothing more.

The key being no MoS2 (because of its tendency to take up moisture?) and which none of the usual suspects have: it would be clearly specified on the tin anyway.

FWIW I have been using Castrol LM2 grease - seems fine. The main thing is to do it often. It's a costly part to neglect!

[dank1945]

I FOUND IT!

It took a long time, but I found someone that says their product meets and exceeds those specs:

Cost is $16 per tube, or $11.67 per tube in cases of 30 tubes. (all plus shipping)

Here's the contact info:

Mark A. Cross

Cross Oil Co., Inc.

580-762-4377 office

580-765-1307 fax

580-761-6776 cell

crossoilco@yahoo.com

 

On another topic, from what I can see, it will be necessary to remove the driveshaft to grease the u-joints, is that correct?

[earemike]

The following might help:

 

http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18139&hl=%2Bgrease+%2Bnipple&do=findComment&comment=192508

 

Some modify an existing fitting or use a needle fitting.

 

I'm not a success story when it comes to this %^&$!

[gstallons]

 

I FOUND IT!

It took a long time, but I found someone that says their product meets and exceeds those specs:

Cost is $16 per tube, or $11.67 per tube in cases of 30 tubes. (all plus shipping)

Here's the contact info:

Mark A. Cross

Cross Oil Co., Inc.

580-762-4377 office

580-765-1307 fax

580-761-6776 cell

crossoilco@yahoo.com

 

On another topic, from what I can see, it will be necessary to remove the driveshaft to grease the u-joints, is that correct?

 

To grease the rear joint , No ! To grease the front joint , another story .

[doug m]

Here's a pic of a ground down and bent fitting to access nipple with wheel removed

[The Monkey]

Use a Lithium based grease regularly on the aft two grease fittings (u-joint and cardan). Don't get all wrapped up in corporate hustle regarding saponification or drop point. That info just reflects that AGIP has a high detergent grease of particular specification they want you to use. The point is to get a lubricant that wont gum up like Molybdenum disulfide, has some shear potential and isn't so thin it flings away at ambient temperature. Your cardan shaft requires smooth operation to reduce jacking, Lithium based grease gives it this ability, Moly will collect and gum quicker than lithium potentially disturbing the flow of the cardan. Lithy is lite colored (red is fine), Moly is black colored due to its graphite content.

 

The front U-joint is an adventure requiring a decent amount of rest prior to undertaking, best left to the autumn when you remove the rear wheel to address the cush drive. (this is an annual event too). Removing the rear wheel allows the front half of the shaft to drop lower allowing you access over the top to the grease nipple, zerk, quirk, fiddle, whatever you know it as. Grease, rotate a couple revolutions, grease again and you're done.

 

Be thankful you've got a Guzzi. what the hell else were you going to do today?

[dank1945]

Thanks Monkey! That is good advice. Now, what is that about the cush drive?

Cheers,

Dan

[The Monkey]

Its a good idea to take the cush drive apart to free it up and lubricate the steel surfaces that rotate on one another. They are typically dry/rusty and not operational on a lot of bikes due to lack of maintenance. I use a high fibre wheel bearing grease here due to its tenacity, (it doesn't take much).  There is a whole lot of info on the cush drive in this section (technical topics).

 

Correction on my previous post- there is no graphite in MoS2 evidently- my bad. Stuff is dark enough on its own but is comparable to graphite as a dry lubricant. (from Wiki)

[dank1945]

hi Monkey,

I'll have to do that, certainly. I picked up this unit in February, with 6K miles from Georgia, USA. It looks like new. But of course, I don't know what maintenance has or not been done to it. It's leaps and bounds ahead of my 76 Convert, that's for sure. It handles like a toy, compared with it.

High fibre grease: is it like high fibre food? Just joking, of course. It should give more bulk at the exhaust, right? Where do you find it?

Cheers,

Dan

[The Monkey]

Fibre Wheel bearing grease is available in any parts store and some hardware stores, its about 5$ a tub and is a great lube for the cush drive, spindles, spacers, etc. wherever you want to keep water off steel. The needle bearing in your bevel drive housing can be protected from water by using the stuff during insertion of the rear spindle.(use a lighter grease for little needle bearing though).

 

Sounds like a good scoop on a great bike Dan, have fun

[dank1945]

Hi Monkey,

I will follow your advice, thanks very much.

Dan