Swing Arm & Drive Shaft Maintenance - *Pics* UPDATED 2-22-07

[Metalman]

I bought the Nomad because I thought it would need very little regular maintenance except for oil and filter changes. After I bought it I was disappointed to see that the drive shaft needs maintenance every 7,500 miles. I waited until my second tire change to pull the gear case off and grease the splines. The splines were wet with oil and there wasn't a trace of grease on them. Nevertheless I greased them and put it back together. Now that I have a car tire on the back I will pull the gear case off every 10K miles.

[RichLockyer]

Kawi seems to think that grease is made from gold or something... they use it VERY sparingly. I think you're fine on the shaft and swingarm lube every 15k. The splines at the rear of the shaft will tend to get "washed" as some gear oil in that area seems to be normal.

I wouldn't sweat the 7500... just take care of it at every tire change (12-15k for most of us, 7500-8500 for the stock tire).

[rbentnail]

It's just me, and I know some will disagree but, I quit using grease on drive shaft splines and gears years ago.

Most mfrs say to use a high temperature, extreme pressure moly paste grease. But that stuff can be messy and, since it's grease and never dries, collects dust and grime. I work in a very dusty environment and we long ago quit using wet grease for crane and hoist drive units, chains and wire ropes. We at work and home use a dry moly spray. Same lubing properties without the lapping compound effect. And things like wheels and spokes stay alot cleaner. Here's and example Molybdenum Lubricant, Dry Lubricant, Dry Chain Lube – High Pressure Applications – Chains – Cables – Tenter Frame Screws – Industrial – Mining – Construction - Superior Industries. Over time we've found many uses for this stuff.

[bentshaft]

Can some tell me if you can take out the shaft drive hub and replace with chain drive hub? I cant find a blow up of it anywhere-----thanks