just how widespread is the 1700 transmission grenading issue?

[otter]

Have been doing a bit of poking around about my new toy and one thing that caught my attention was catastrophic output shaft failure on the 1700 being discussed here and there:

Advice I've read so far:

Keep the belt slack
Lube the shaft regularly.. will be talking to dealer mechanic about both of these

Don't use the heel shifter... too much stress

Any of this legit and is there any other advice that can be offered up?

[HwyRider]

Use your heel shifter. That's what it's there for.

[HwyRider]

Ride your bike and don't put a lot of faith in this stuff. I've been on here for a couple of years and have a 1700. I've read about 1 transmission issue in those 2 years.

[CBO Vaquero]

Lube what shaft? I wonder how the heel shifter relates to the output shaft bearings? The heel shifter should be adjusted so at full depress its even with the floorboard to keep you from bending internal shift forks, plus don't stomp it like your killing a toad. Running the belt a little looser is sound advice though.

[redjay]

3 transmission shaft bearing failures that I have heard of. 2 on this forum and one on the other forum.

[HwyRider]

On which bikes (Nomad, Voyager, Vaquero)?

[redjay]

2 Voyagers and a Vaquero I think.

[otter]

Originally Posted by CBO Vaquero

Lube what shaft? I wonder how the heel shifter relates to the output shaft bearings? The heel shifter should be adjusted so at full depress its even with the floorboard to keep you from bending internal shift forks, plus don't stomp it like your killing a toad. Running the belt a little looser is sound advice though.

Lube the output shaft?

I don't stomp . Read that heel shifting may contribute... problem has been discussed on goldwings as well.

wait a minute... I read it on the internet. It MUST be true.

[HwyRider]

On a wing that can happen as the heel shifter is not an OEM part but an aftermarket part that attaches to the shifter peg. I had a wing that I put 95k on with a heel toe shifter and never had an issue. I know Honda will not honor the warranty if there is a heel toe shifter on the bike.

On your bike just follow the recommended service schedule and you shouldn't have issues.

[CBO Vaquero]

Originally Posted by HwyRider

On a wing that can happen as the heel shifter is not an OEM part but an aftermarket part that attaches to the shifter peg. I had a wing that I put 95k on with a heel toe shifter and never had an issue. I know Honda will not honor the warranty if there is a heel toe shifter on the bike.

On your bike just follow the recommended service schedule and you shouldn't have issues.

The early years for the Goldwing 1800's had issues with the trans anyway but I also heard that about the heel shifter causing bent shift forks. The Goldwing never really had decent room for it anyway. I use mine on the Vaquero a lot more than I thought I would once I got it fine tuned to where I could shift it without lifting my toes off the board. I still think the biggest killer of the output shaft bearings is the belt tension. This puts an incredible amount of side loading on the bearings. The Can Am spyders also have issues with output shaft bearing failures because of belt tension so it's not just Kawasaki.

[gv550]

There are two issues, output shaft bearing failure and output shaft spline failure, and they are not related.
The bearing failure seems to happen at relatively low mileage and could be caused by excessive load (belt too tight) or inadequate lubrication (wrong oil viscosity or type). I personally know of only 2 bearing failures, both repaired under warranty.
The spline failure is much more common, and it happens with all belt drive Kawasakis and some other brands. In the case with Kawasaki 900, 1700, and 2000 models the cause is due to the tab washer compressing and the resulting loss of preload which allows the pulley to wobble on the shaft and this tears up the spline. To prevent this from occurring (after mine was repaired once) I remove the pulley and clean the spline and threads, reassemble with molybdenum disulphide grease on the spline, thread and seating surface of the nut, new tab washer and torque to spec. I do this every year as regular maintenance, no different than lubing the splines on a shaft drive bike. DO NOT EVER reuse the tab washer, and do not use loctite on the threads.
Bent shift forks and worn shift dogs (resulting in the transmission jumping out of gear) are caused by operator error, applying throttle before the gear is fully engaged.

[otter]

Thanks. This ^ will become part of my maintenance routine. At what mileage did you need to have it repaired?

[redjay]

Bent shift forks and worn shift dogs (resulting in the transmission jumping out of gear) are caused by operator error, applying throttle before the gear is fully engaged.[/QUOTE]

I think that by only using to the toe to shift you can "feel" the gear going into place when shifting much easier than when using the heel shifter.

My 2 cents.

[otter]

Originally Posted by redjay

Bent shift forks and worn shift dogs (resulting in the transmission jumping out of gear) are caused by operator error, applying throttle before the gear is fully engaged.

I think that by only using to the toe to shift you can "feel" the gear going into place when shifting much easier than when using the heel shifter.

My 2 cents.[/QUOTE]


I would have to agree. Do you preload your shifts?

[redjay]

Do you preload your shifts?

Not sure what is meant by that ?