Lost My Final Drive Last Night.

[Breeze]

My '05 M50 quit on me about 2 miles from home last night. I was returnining from an indoor R/C car race about 45 miles away, when I stopped at the last red light waiting to turn right. I put her in gear and let out the clutch and she didn't want to go. It sounded like grinding and marbles in the rear end. No warning it just let go. I was thankful that I was only 2 miles from home. I called the wife and she came and picked me up. Went back to the house, Hooked up my utility trailer and went and retreived my poor broken down old girl. I have an extended warranty and the M is at the dealer now. The service writer thinks it may be a drive shaft coupling that has worn down it's splines. I fear there may be more to it than that. I just returned from a 2300 mi road trip to see family in Louisiana. I am so glad she didn't break on the trip. She has 14500 miles on her now and I am seriously concerned. It is probably one of the higher mileage M's out there. I will keep y'all posted.

[Rockhead]

O-man that sucks, at least you were just a short distance away, keep us posted. That’s the first time IV heard about the m's final drive giving out. Allot of us around here have that kind of mileage I certainly hope it’s an isolated incident.

[Apertureguy]

Yes, please keep us updated!!

I depend on mine for commuting....and I sure as heck don't want to hear that my final is going to go at around 15k.

[TrOjAnUK]

Holy Cow!! I dont want to hear that again this year, or next for that matter.

Thats low milage for a serious component failure.. my warranty is finnished now.. i have done too much to the bike and the dealership wont continue who cares.. got some big plans for mine but if the drive shaft goes.. the M goes too.

TrOjAn

[J.Sam]

At about 7K miles I noticed a slight clunking sound when I would back mine out of the garage. I removed the back wheel and found the rubber splines that actually connect to the rear wheel very dry of grease. I greased the splines and no trouble since. The differential is geared and lubed by the differential fluid but the splines are just a rubber composite material and needs to be greased from time to time. I hope that is all that the dealer finds wrong with your ride.

[Oldgoat]

Originally Posted by J.Sam

At about 7K miles I noticed a slight clunking sound when I would back mine out of the garage. I removed the back wheel and found the rubber splines that actually connect to the rear wheel very dry of grease. I greased the splines and no trouble since. The differential is geared and lubed by the differential fluid but the splines are just a rubber composite material and needs to be greased from time to time. I hope that is all that the dealer finds wrong with your ride.

Are you talking about rubber as part of the actual drive shaft splines OR the rubber cush drive segments that are in a cavity in the rear wheel & absorb the shock as the throttle is opened/closed?

I find it hard to believe the drive shaft splines are anything but steel.

[Don M50limited]

So, this leads me to a question. Are these drive shafts "no" maintenance or "low" maintenance? I mean I've heard them referred to as both. The manual only mentions changing gear oil and being careful not to run too low of a level of oil or it could cause the final drive to lock up. Is changing the gear oil considered the "low" maintenance.
Sorry to hear this happened, and will be checking to see the results.

[Rockhead]

Originally Posted by Don M50limited

Is changing the gear oil considered the "low" maintenance.

Maintenance is as easy as draining it and filling it back up to the fill hole. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

I replace the final gear oil once a year before the freezing weather comes around on both my outboard motors and motorcycle. The SM for the m50 only suggests replacing it at 600 miles and then inspecting it at 7500 & 14,500 right where Breeze broke at.

[outlaw]

i'm at 13900 on mine so i'm coming up on my next change. i depend on mine too for commuting (although i have a bronco) since it saves gas. i had mine apart about 6 weeks ago oldgoat and the splines are steel. as you stated the "pucks" are rubber. just for informational purposes and because it was stated earlier, grease should not be used on any type of rubber as petroleum breaks down rubber. keep in mind folks the rubber pucks should be checked every so often to ensure they are not dry rotted. there are several m50s out there with close to 20,000 on them so i don't think this is reason for mass histeria folks. one incident does not constitute a trend. i am, however, anxious to hear what they find breeze.

[TrOjAnUK]

Originally Posted by J.Sam

At about 7K miles I noticed a slight clunking sound when I would back mine out of the garage. I removed the back wheel and found the rubber splines that actually connect to the rear wheel very dry of grease. I greased the splines and no trouble since. The differential is geared and lubed by the differential fluid but the splines are just a rubber composite material and needs to be greased from time to time. I hope that is all that the dealer finds wrong with your ride.

Well thats exactly what I had, pushing it backwards there was a thud sorto noise, I stripped backwheel down and resrpead the grease that was there.. seems ok since.
The Manual says to grease in there now and then and NOT to let it run dry.. grease dry not the oil dry.

TrOjAn

[outlaw]

exactly. grease the stainless steel splines, but not the rubber pucks....

[v0lusia]

If the dealer/warranty doesn't take care of you (THEY SHOULD!) contact Lehman Trikes they make C50s into trikes and do not use the rear drive assembly. You can get one for less than $100 shipped - brand new. I think the C50 and M50 share the same final drive

call lehman trikes speak with travis (605)642-2111

[jmelvin]

Hmmm... I'm just under 26,000 miles on mine with no troubles whatsoever. I'll let you know if I see anything like what you guys may be. Good luck getting your M repaired!

[Breeze]

I just spoke with the service writer and he said the final drive assymbley did not have enough lubricant and just wore out. They are getting a parts list together now and will call Suzuki when that is done. I have a service manual and I have checked it pretty thouroughly. There is no provision in the maintenance section for inspecting and lubricating the final drive other than draining and refilling the rear end differential case. I am going to persue this matter with Suzuki and will try to get them to post a bulletin on this and I beleive a recall may be in order as well. There really isn't any way to tell if there is a lubrication problem unless you take the unit apart and inspect it. I hope this is an isolated incident. I will keep y'all posted.

[gar4mayor]

thanks for keeping us posted. whatever Suzuki tells you, please let us know.

[Breeze]

Just returned from the dealer. They were having trouble verifying my SEP warranty so I brought them a copy. I got a look at the damage. It seems that the propeller shaft had absolutely no grease on it whatsoever. Both ends were rusted and corroded real bad as were the U-joint at the motor and the coupling at the diff case. There was never any grease on there at all. Fortunately the internals are OK. The parts are $281 for the shaft, seals couplings etc. Attached is a pic from the service manual showing an exploded view of the final drive.

[outlaw]

that is exactly what i referred to in this thread....

http://www.motorcycle-journal.com/fo...-assembly.html

[techgesture]

Breeze,

Is the dealer giving you any problems or are they being understanding with you? Where are you having it serviced at in Charlotte? I usually go to Excel Motorsports in Concord.

If you take the bike to the dealer for an oil change, will they make sure everything is lubricated properly as well?

[texrider]

From this and other postings about lack of assembly lube or tight u-joints, it would seem prudent to take the shaft loose at least once to check it...

Some of the 1600 bikes suffer the same fate at low miles. (Mean Streaks, Nomads, etc.)

[Breeze]

Originally Posted by techgesture

Breeze,

Is the dealer giving you any problems or are they being understanding with you? Where are you having it serviced at in Charlotte? I usually go to Excel Motorsports in Concord.

If you take the bike to the dealer for an oil change, will they make sure everything is lubricated properly as well?

Hey Tech, Team Charlotte Motorsports. Nice showroom but I'm not too impressed with the service facility. They are being understanding though so far. Matthews fun machines is an affiliate of theirs and I am impressed with their srevice facility (new and clean) but they won't do Suzuki warranty work.