Camhead Grease Rear Drive Splines?

Just doing my winter maintenance on by 2012RT and finished the transmission & rear drive fluid change. Bike has just over 17K miles. Do I also need to grease the rear drive splines or not?

Just doing my winter maintenance on by 2012RT and finished the transmission & rear drive fluid change. Bike has just over 17K miles. Do I also need to grease the rear drive splines or not?

Evening freetime2247

Do you NEED TO? -- NO, there is no BMW required service to grease the pinion to drive shaft splines.

Is it a good idea? -- possibly, some of those spline joints come from the factory pretty dry.

It's not a sliding joint so wear really isn't an issue but a little grease early on in life will sure make it easier to get apart 5 years in the future.

D.R. Thanks! I'll just let them be until the next time I have to remove the rear wheel. Next tire change should be in about another 9K.

Every time I change my rear tire I lube the splines and change the oil in the final drive. Might be overkill but it makes me fell better.

Roger L

Yea I thought about changing the final drive oil every time I chg the rear tire.

Why?

The bearing that typically fails - the large bearing on the crown wheel is located outside the oil lubricated part of the rear drive. Once the initial sludge is washed out with the first oil change - I really see no change in the oil going in and coming out.

I'll do mine every 24,000 miles - but that's just because I'm OCD. Actually - that's about every other tire change for me (Michelin Pilot Road IV..)