[kabota]

I have an '09 Wing with MT Adventure series conversion. The other day in preparation of a long trip I jacked up the trike for purposes of inspecting everything I could see from underneath. Noticed the drive shaft's U-joints had zerk fittings so decided (for future reference) to see if I could grease both front and rear U-joints. Had no trouble greasing the rear U-joint. But, the front U-joint was another matter. Couldn't get the grease gun on it no matter what angle I tried. Guess the drive shaft has to be taken off to get to the front U-joint. Should be a pretty easy job with only four bolts to remove the drive shaft but thought I'd ask for advice anyway.

 

[waterfriendsfour]

Yeah its simple. Just remove the 4 bolts, drop the rear of the shaft down and slide it out. Be sure and lube the drive shaft splines and the joint zerks and put the shaft back in exactly as it came out.

 

[awingnut105]

The front yoke and shaft have to be aligned correctly. Even one tooth off will cause problems.

 

[KJ5IX]

Double Ditto on both :agree:

To get the drive shaft off it may take a good whack with a mallet ( hammer ) on the base of the flange to break it loose from the rear end. Just remember to keep the alignment too. An easy way to do that is of course to take it out as one piece, but it is easy to drop the front off as the spring decompresses also, and the front U joint pops off. Use some heavy cord like para cord or strong 1/8 rope and tie the front and back together through the U joint couplers. That will keep them together, and also make it a little easer to but back in, until you develop a feel for it with out the rope, but the rope/cord/wire is a good idea just to maintain the alignment.

 

[SneakySnake]

Double Ditto on both :agree:

To get the drive shaft off it may take a good whack with a mallet ( hammer ) on the base of the flange to break it loose from the rear end. Just remember to keep the alignment too. An easy way to do that is of course to take it out as one piece, but it is easy to drop the front off as the spring decompresses also, and the front U joint pops off. Use some heavy cord like para cord or strong 1/8 rope and tie the front and back together through the U joint couplers. That will keep them together, and also make it a little easer to but back in, until you develop a feel for it with out the rope, but the rope/cord/wire is a good idea just to maintain the alignment.

I did the same as George suggested except I used wire. I would suggest that once you get the driveshaft out in one assembly to punch mark the yoke and driveshaft so when it is disassembled for any reason it can be reassembled exactly as is.

 

[waterfriendsfour]

I should have been more specific with the "exactly as it came out" line. They're right on the alignment issue. If its reinstalled and not aligned as it came out you'll experience a vibration. The more its off, the worse the vibration.

 

[31261]

Yep, what they said!!!! Here is a pic taken from the MT Service Manual that a good friend of mine (how ya doing George?) includes which shows running some wire, or large, strong zip ties, through to hold it in place.

 

[Sunman]

Double Ditto on both :agree:

To get the drive shaft off it may take a good whack with a mallet ( hammer ) on the base of the flange to break it loose from the rear end. Just remember to keep the alignment too. An easy way to do that is of course to take it out as one piece, but it is easy to drop the front off as the spring decompresses also, and the front U joint pops off. Use some heavy cord like para cord or strong 1/8 rope and tie the front and back together through the U joint couplers. That will keep them together, and also make it a little easer to but back in, until you develop a feel for it with out the rope, but the rope/cord/wire is a good idea just to maintain the alignment.

OK. I have heard htis several times about keeping the yoke and the shaft aligned. I marked mine with chalk before pulling the drive shaft out and I am pretty sure I got it back in exactly where it was as I don't seem to have any vibration. Can some one tell us how to align it properly if necessary? How can we get a service manual for an Adventure kit?

Thanks Sunman

 

[KJ5IX]

From the PM section of the Maintenance Manual

1. Grease the rear universal joint easily with one to three pumps of grease every 5000 to 8000 miles, or when oil is changed. Don’t over grease.

2. Inspect, and tighten all jam nuts. Make sure a medium grade Loc-Tite is used.​

​

​

​

Inspect and tighten the ¾ inch nuts and bolts on the rear
end at the ladder bars. Loose rear end bolts will cause slight body wobble while riding, and may make a clicking noise while mounting the Trike. If this is detected, correct immediately.

3. Grease the two swing arm pins on the shoulder where Ladder bars attach to the frame every 24 months, or every 18,000 miles. Use high quality lithium grease.

4. Use a dry silicon spray to protect Heim joint from wear. Spray directly on the Heim joints. (3M makes this product and can be purchased at any Auto Supply Store.)

5. Tire pressure for general riding should be 18-24# depending on geographic locations, and road conditions. Use 22-25# for long interstate trips. Over inflation of the rear tires will prematurely wear out the center of the tire.

6. Air Bag recommendations: Use 15-20# for one up, depending on your weight. Adjust to your personal comfort. Add approximately 10-20# for every 60# of passenger weight, and luggage. You have a suspension that uses two coil over gas shocks, and two air bags. If you are pulling a trailer with two people, you would use 40# and up. The Air Bags have a maximum PSI of 120#.

7. Check the Lug Nuts periodically for tightness. The lug nut torque for the Roadhawk billet aluminum wheels is 70-85 ft. lbs. for ½ stud size.

8. If you have vibration from 0-25 MPH, your drive shaft is not lined up correctly. If the drive shaft and the front U joint do not line up perfectly (off by one tooth) make sure that the front U joint runs ahead of the rear universal. Your drive shaft runs (turns) counterclockwise.

9. Grease the forward spline of the driveshaft front and rear with high quality lithium grease every 24 month, or 20,000 to 24,000 miles. This requires the removal of the driveshaft. Be careful not to get the front and rear U joints “out of time” on reassembly.
NOTE:
To aid in installation of the driveshaft, compress spring at spline joint, and hold with wire, or heavy cord around each universal, and draw tight.

10. Fender Bras: It is OK for your fender bras to get wet. However, you must remove them when you are finished riding for the day. If you leave wet fender bras on your trike, for an extended period of time, the paint underneath could blister and peel. Dry the fender bras, and dry the body before reinstalling. The use of a good wax on the fender is recommended and good vinyl protectant on the bras.​

The manual can be found at:
http://www.junkmaster.com/kj5ix/MTServiceManual.pdf

Not for the new IRS, but most still applies, also disregard the warnings about the use of loc-tight with ny-loc nuts ( I haven't changed that yet )
Look on page 8 for the photos on the drive shaft

 

[Sunman]

From the PM section of the Maintenance Manual​

1. Grease the rear universal joint easily with one to three pumps of grease every 5000 to 8000 miles, or when oil is changed. Don’t over grease.​

2. Inspect, and tighten all jam nuts. Make sure a medium grade Loc-Tite is used.

Inspect and tighten the ¾ inch nuts and bolts on the rear

end at the ladder bars. Loose rear end bolts will cause slight body wobble while riding, and may make a clicking noise while mounting the Trike. If this is detected, correct immediately.​

3. Grease the two swing arm pins on the shoulder where Ladder bars attach to the frame every 24 months, or every 18,000 miles. Use high quality lithium grease.​

4. Use a dry silicon spray to protect Heim joint from wear. Spray directly on the H​

​

eim joints. (3M makes this product and can be purchased at any Auto Supply Store.)

5. Tire pressure for general riding should be 18-24# depending on geographic locations, and road conditions. Use 22-25# for long interstate trips. Over inflation of the rear tires will prematurely wear out the center of the tire.​

6. Air Bag recommendations: Use 15-20# for one up, depending on your weight. Adjust to your personal comfort. Add approximately 10-20# for every 60# of passenger weight, and luggage. You have a suspension that uses two coil over gas shocks, and two air bags. If you are pulling a trailer with two people, you would use 40# and up. The Air Bags have a maximum PSI of 120#.​

7. Check the Lug Nuts periodically for tightness. The lug nut torque for the Roadhawk billet aluminum wheels is 70-85 ft. lbs. for ½ stud size.​

8. If you have vibration from 0-25 MPH, your drive shaft is not lined up correctly. If the drive shaft and the front U joint do not line up perfectly (off by one tooth) make sure that the front U joint runs ahead of the rear universal. Your drive shaft runs (turns) counterclockwise.​

9. Grease the forward spline of the driveshaft front and rear with high quality lithium grease every 24 month, or 20,000 to 24,000 miles. This requires the removal of the driveshaft. Be careful not to get the front and rear U joints “out of time” on reassembly.
NOTE:
To aid in installation of the driveshaft, compress spring at spline joint, and hold with wire, or heavy cord around each universal, and draw tight.​

10. Fender Bras: It is OK for your fender bras to get wet. However, you must remove them when you are finished riding for the day. If you leave wet fender bras on your trike, for an extended period of time, the paint underneath could blister and peel. Dry the fender bras, and dry the body before reinstalling. The use of a good wax on the fender is recommended and good vinyl protectant on the bras.​

The manual can be found at:
http://www.junkmaster.com/kj5ix/MTServiceManual.pdf

Not for the new IRS, but most still applies, also disregard the warnings about the use of loc-tight with ny-loc nuts ( I haven't changed that yet )
Look on page 8 for the photos on the drive shaft
​

Thanks George!

Sunman

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