Hello everyone,

I have been working on getting my K75RT back on the road and its not been easy. This bike has been a pain!!!  ....
After all the pain of a rounded alan bolt on the final drive, 
Had a few other painful moments along the way.

The current issue is getting the drive  shaft back in. It does not want to play ball and slide over the transmission end splines! 

Does anyone have a spare drive shaft in the Dublin area???

Hi mate
before you go getting a spare, be aware these things do not "slide" back on. There is an ingenious and infuriating
self engaging clip on the transmission end that needs a bit of force to engage.
I slide the shaft in as far as it will go, make sure it has engaged over the end of the transmission shaft, then have a flat piece of wood placed over the final drive end and give it a couple of whacks with a rubber mallet' (I have seen someone push hard with their hand, but I'm an old arthritic). It'll clip on and with a small tug you can't pull it off. 
There will be more suggestions I'm sure. Don't forget to lube both ends with spline lube before you put it back in.
And remember to always look for the cheaper, easier solution before you go thinking the worst. When it's back on the road it will be all worth the aggro.
Cheers, RT.

Thanks for the advice RT. The probke is, I can't even get the shaft to slide in even a little bit let alone till it gets to the point it needs to click. Seems like something is stopping it. Will have to clean out the lube and check for damage. Would be good to test with another shaft.

Your description sounds like crap in the drive coupler. Either that, or you've put so much grease in that you're causing a hydraulic lock.

Thanks Dai. I have removed the lube from both ends and still no luck. I am just touted at this stage. Been a nightmare. Noble ideas of getting another K back on the road, had not been easy. Very testing!

Okay, one more from the 'been-there-and-seen-that' in the Guzzi stable. Very carefully check the edges of the splines on both the male and female shafts. There is a possibility that one of the splines has been very slightly deformed (smacked on at the wrong angle and raised a bruise) so that the coupler and shaft will only fit in that one position. Rotate and try, rotate and try until you've checked all 12 (??) positions.

If that fails and nothing is obvious, clean all of the grease off and degrease both. Now very carefully dress the leading edge of all of the splines with a diamond needle file or similar - don't use a bigger file because all you are doing is trimming down any invisible bruising. Dress and test - it's more difficult with the K than with a Guzzi because of the weight of the swingarm but it is necessary to find just where it all slides back together.

Thanks Dai. Will give that a try tomorrow. Good sleep usually helps too!

Put the shaft on the spline before puting the swing arm on.

Damn. Why didn't I think of the obvious? I assumed the bevel drive was still attached.

I don't have the swing arm on

Curley - have a poke around with a screw driver at the retaining spring in the Shaft socket to make sure it's not crudded up or seized. Wash it out well with WD40/Parafin/Kero Robbed form your home heating tank or just something to liquify the dirt, glean internally with a tootbrush/wire brush/paint brush and clean the gearbox end with a wire brush (Brass or copper for these jobs) once it's clean and dry re-lube the splines then with the socket on the shaft give it a good old thump. Mine goes on with the heel of my hand (in a glove). You can't whack it too hard as the socket is only deep enough!.

Ring me if you need to.
W.

The clip should be mounted in the grove inside the uni-joint, and not on the shaft.
The clip should expand in to the grove in the uni-joint, and not be compressed
around the shaft.

Latest update.... I got the bleeding yoke in. There was a slight lip on one or two of the grooves on the drive shaft end. Got a small file and smoothed it out and it went in easy and clicked.

Bike had been assembled and started up. Now for the next problem.....

Only getting 4th & 5th gears. I followed the clymer manual to adjust the clutch. What did I do wrong?

For anyone NOT in Ireland  - 'yoke' means 'that thing'. Sort of. It has lots of meanings depending what you're talking about but it does not mean the metal thing that holds your forks in!!! Well, depending what you're talking about, it might...

You must have bruised the splines on your first attempt Curley. Easy done - I've dressed out a few Guzzi shafts that have been damaged in that way. Are you sure you're only getting 4th and 5th? If you're relying on the GPI in the instrument panel then I'll lay a substantial bet that it's lying. Physically count them while rotating the back wheel and shifting gear by hand.

Good luck Curley.I had a catastrophic drive shaft failure recently.My 1990 rs is a bit different from yours but the 'ears' on the front u joint separated and clunk clunk.Was lucky to get a good one from James Sherlock and didn't have too much trouble sorting it.
+1 on bruising on a spline shaft.Easy enough to give it a little rub.Seen some felt tip markings and wondered what they were for.Now I know what driveshaft phasing is-matching "ear" to "ear" but that may not be the case with your model if there is only one u joint.Funny I have done the odd car in my younger days and never heard of it.

Dai wrote:For anyone NOT in Ireland  - 'yoke' means 'that thing'. Sort of. It has lots of meanings depending what you're talking about but it does not mean the metal thing that holds your forks in!!! Well, depending what you're talking about, it might...

You must have bruised the splines on your first attempt Curley. Easy done - I've dressed out a few Guzzi shafts that have been damaged in that way. Are you sure you're only getting 4th and 5th? If you're relying on the GPI in the instrument panel then I'll lay a substantial bet that it's lying. Physically count them while rotating the back wheel and shifting gear by hand.

Hi Dai, thanks for clarifying the term "yoke" 

I am going by the GPI and can only seem to show 4th and 5th. I will readjust the cable and see if it helps. Also will try physically counting em later this evening

I think all the advice helped.

As I drove into work today I spied a Blue K75RT in the bike spaces.

Myself and Curley work in the same place.

Ringfad wrote:I think all the advice helped.

As I drove into work today I spied a Blue K75RT in the bike spaces.

Myself and Curley work in the same place.

Curley is a tour guide too?



Bill

Big thank you to everyone who helped get this K back on the road..... especially Ringfad & 88KE. Pictures to follow!

indian036 wrote:

Ringfad wrote:I think all the advice helped.

As I drove into work today I spied a Blue K75RT in the bike spaces.

Myself and Curley work in the same place.

Curley is a tour guide too?



Bill

Why not Bill....!!! Happy to get you lost!!!! -o:

Just some pics of the K75RT before and after.

very nice