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ATTENTION ALL M50 OWNERS! My issue resolved! FIX YOURS NOW B4 IT'S TO LATE!

176K views 427 replies 102 participants last post by  Aussie Steve 
#1 · (Edited)
Then please call this number 714-572-1490 (SUZUKI HQ) ,and complain like I did to make the report,but be sure your stuff is rusted before you complain.

I HIGHLY suggest everyone lubes the rear drive of their 50.Do it now in 20 minutes ,or do it later ,and wait for weeks for parts.
Remove the final drive,(via my video)set your drive on the ground...shaft facing up..then take your hand and smack the end of the shaft compressing the spring somewhat fast..If rust comes out your in trouble,cut that boot off and lube that %%%% up or you will be like me ,and Spikes.
My issues is not an internal transmission issue,when in fact it was the rear drive.
I took it off,but I didnt take it apart to look inside I didn't want to cut that rubber seal off (This lesson cost me $83.14:eek:oops:) The propeller shaft,and gear were mush inside...seems odd no metal came out on the magnet when I drained the oil.But anyways....1 more week for parts,and $175.00 (overnight shipping),and I'll be on my M again.
I told my wife I can make it to the strip next Saturday!...If looks could kill lol.
SPIKES!!! DOUBLE CHECK YOUR FINAL DRIVES BRO!!!
I'm a happy camper today.:mrgreen:
Here is a parts list of what I need.
CS

MFG ITEM QTY PRICE TOTAL
SUZUKI WASHER, DRIVE SHAFT for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09160-16029 1 $2.42 $2.42
SUZUKI SEAL, FINAL DRIVEN GEAR OIL L for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09283-38009 1 $6.89 $6.89
SUZUKI NUT for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09159-10026 1 $2.87 $2.87
SUZUKI O RING (D:2.4,ID:17.8) for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09280-18004 1 $2.39 $2.39
SUZUKI .COUPLING, PROPELLER SHAFT for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
27172-38A00 1 $25.89 $25.89
SUZUKI SHAFT, PROPELLER for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
27151-41F00 1 $91.38 $91.38
SUZUKI SPRING for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09440-18019 1 $1.25 $1.25
SUZUKI OIL SEAL (28.4X48X15) for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09283-30051 1 $4.90 $4.90
SUZUKI .CIRCLIP for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09381-40003 1 $2.15 $2.15
Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $15.00
Total: $155.14
 
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#165 ·
Yesterday I finally got some time to disassemble the shaft drive and luckily it looks like new!
I had to tare apart the oil seal (I don't understand why is it called oil seal since there is no oil in there, only grease) and replace it with a new one.
The shaft was well greased at the rear wheel end and there was no sign of wear after 20.000 km. The other end (front end) was lightly greased, but in very good condition too.
The whole thing took me around 6 hours. The most difficult part was to remove the oil seal. I used a screwdriver as lever to push out the damn thing. You need a lot of patience to do this, but I think it is the only way.
The M50's toolkit was very useful! Without the 22 key I wouldn't have been able to remove the rear wheel axle nut.
The rear wheel is damn heavy so pay attention if you use a lift to balance the bike towards it so that it won't tilt to much forward when you remove the rear wheel. Just lift it high enough to remove the rear wheel and everything should be fine.

I can sleep well now and ride it again without fear! :bluethum: And strange enough, I feel I love my bike more than ever now! ;)

Thank you, burnchassis! Your videos helped me a lot! :plus1:

Here are some pictures:
View attachment 20877 View attachment 20873 View attachment 20874 View attachment 20875 View attachment 20876
 
#166 · (Edited)
There seems to be more and more evidence that the issue may only be for the 2005 and 2006 models (the latest evidence from draf above).

I'll be checking mine sometime in the next week or two. Hopefully I'll provide more evidence that Suzuki picked up the "clue phone" by the time the 2007 model was being produced.

Out of curiosity draf, with what type of grease did you repack the splines? (Sorry if that question sounds funny. I was trying not to dangle my participle :) )

And strange enough, I feel I love my bike more than ever now!
That's bound to happen the more you stroke it. :)
 
#168 ·
That sounds good draf. That's something with which I wasn't familiar (avoiding that dangle again). I may just use that grease when I disassemble my shaft next week.

Ok, you can stop snickering now. :)
 
#169 ·
I had mine all apart recently plenty of lube and no wear 14000 miles. I used a long 3/8" extension to remove the old seal, no damage to the old seal could have reused it if I wanted to.
 
#171 ·
I took the bike apart to inspect the drive shaft spline today. I found lots of grease and a little bit of water. I cleaned up both splines and repacked them with the grease that is for boat trailer bearings. Installed the new seal and put everything back together. It took about 2-3 hours. Not a very big job. Now I know that I do not have a problem. Now if it will ever quit snowing I can get the bike out for a ride. The last two days we have had lots of sunshine in North East Ohio. Hopefully spring is on the way.

Roger L
 
#172 ·
I have mine in with my repair guy, he works in a dealer shop but is checking mine in his own shop after work. I needed tires so I am having him tear down the final drive for a check he just sent me photos and it is not looking good he hasn't gotten into the actual final drive yet but the shaft is showing rust. I'll post pics as soon as I can figure out how to get them off of my phone.
 
#176 · (Edited)
I was notified last night that all was fine behind the "oil seal" and it should be back together soon. As for the mileage on the bike I only have about 9K, and yes I ride when I have to in the rain (I rode to work dry and have to come home in the rain). My mechanic says he can clean the surface rust off of the shaft so nothing needs to be replaced and he is going to contact suzuki and let them know what he found. I will be checking this again just to make sure a problem doesn't develop. Just not quite sure how often to actually do the tear down of the final drive for an inspection.
 
#177 ·
Lubing the Splines on the shaft ends should be done at every rear tire change.
 
#178 ·
thank you all

hello all from across the pond.i have been visiting your great forum for a while now and decided it was about time to say hi.in the uk my bike doesnt seem to know what its called. the log book says its a vz800 k5,the side panels say m800 and the tank says intruder.its the same as a m50 but with some horrid emmission law bits on it.its a 2005 and i just got it serviced and asked them to check the rear drive and u joints etc.dry as a bone.all molyeeed up now and a bit of peace of mind thanks to you lovely people.cheersall,russ.
 
#179 ·
hello all from across the pond.i have been visiting your great forum for a while now and decided it was about time to say hi.in the uk my bike doesnt seem to know what its called. the log book says its a vz800 k5,the side panels say m800 and the tank says intruder.its the same as a m50 but with some horrid emmission law bits on it.its a 2005 and i just got it serviced and asked them to check the rear drive and u joints etc.dry as a bone.all molyeeed up now and a bit of peace of mind thanks to you lovely people.cheersall,russ.
Good to know, did they check behind the oil seal?
 
#180 ·
I will be checking this soon. Can anyone say what the best way is to make sure no more water gets in. Someone said the entry point for the water is probably the stopper plate. I think that is the gasket that people are replacing and using liquid gasket. Also, I am hesitant to use any grease on the gears that is not made for this purpose. People are using waterproof grease, which sounds good, will it stand up to the heat and friction?
I have a theory about how water is getting past the oil seal.The shaft can move in and out past the oil seal and there is only a given amount of air space in there around the spring, so the shaft will also be pushing a small amount of air back and forth to compensate for this. So when the shaft is pushed in, a tiny bit of air will be pushed out past the oil seal, and when the shaft is pulled back again a tiny bit of air will be sucked in again. If there is any water around the edge of the oil seal it will get sucked in at that time, and this is happening whenever you go over a bump in the road, so it can be very small amounts that add up over a long time. If this is happening, it could help to smear some grease around the edge of the oil seal.
 
#182 ·
To add to that theory, water can also be getting sucked in when the bike is cooling down because the air in there is also cooling down and contracting and sucking air and water in at that time. Don't wash your bike after a ride until it has totally cooled down.
 
#183 ·
I just did the prop-shaft on my 2005 M50 today. Thankfully no rust and it was slightly lubricated, but there was a liquid component to the lube in there which I didn't like- not quite droplets of water but something not really grease either.

Somehow I got the impression that the prop shaft was part of a near-unity geartrain thru the rear geardrive assy, which it is not- the prop shaft is a spline on either end. One end to the universal joint, the other into the geardrive assembly. The spring & snap-ring permit the prop shaft to push in & out as the rear suspension moves up & down.

Anyhow, I put the purple marine grease in. As I cleaned out the old grease I packed some into the spring recess and pumped the propshaft up and down a bit, which did a nice job of flushing out the rest of the old greasy stuff. Definitely don't pack the spline assembly like a bearing, it won't allow the shaft to move freely since it prevents the air from being displaced in and out. I ended up with not much more than a grease film over the spline and some back up inside w/ the spring.

It is possible to non-destructively remove the oil seal- I ground a paint scraper to a fine edge and used it to drive the oil seal off along the prop shaft. I went ahead and installed a new one but the old seal was fine.

For kicks I wiped the shaft w/ grease and put a bit more on the u-joint end spline. Some over on volusiariders have mentioned rusty prop-shafts, mine was clean.

In addition to the value of checking out the spline drive, doing this also gives a tour of many fasteners which need to be occasionally checked for tightness, as well as an opportunity to inspect the rear brake.

From a practical standpoint, I used my shop crane to pick up the bike- straps around the bottom of the frame, then lower the frame down on some 4x4's to keep it level and steady with the rear tire off the ground. A bike lift would probably be easier though.

Regards,

Greg
 
#184 ·
I HIGHLY suggest everyone lubes the rear drive of their 50.Do it now in 20 minutes ,or do it later ,and wait for weeks for parts.
Remove the final drive,(via my video)set your drive on the ground...shaft facing up..then take your hand and smack the end of the shaft compressing the spring somewhat fast..If rust comes out your in trouble,cut that boot off and lube that %%%% up or you will be like me ,and Spikes.
My issues is not an internal transmission issue,when in fact it was the rear drive.
I took it off,but I didnt take it apart to look inside I didn't want to cut that rubber seal off (This lesson cost me $83.14:eek:oops:) The propeller shaft,and gear were mush inside...seems odd no metal came out on the magnet when I drained the oil.But anyways....1 more week for parts,and $175.00 (overnight shipping),and I'll be on my M again.
I told my wife I can make it to the strip next Saturday!...If looks could kill lol.
SPIKES!!! DOUBLE CHECK YOUR FINAL DRIVES BRO!!!
I'm a happy camper today.:mrgreen:
Here is a parts list of what I need.
CS

MFG ITEM QTY PRICE TOTAL
SUZUKI WASHER, DRIVE SHAFT for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09160-16029 1 $2.42 $2.42
SUZUKI SEAL, FINAL DRIVEN GEAR OIL L for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09283-38009 1 $6.89 $6.89
SUZUKI NUT for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09159-10026 1 $2.87 $2.87
SUZUKI O RING (D:2.4,ID:17.8) for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09280-18004 1 $2.39 $2.39
SUZUKI .COUPLING, PROPELLER SHAFT for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
27172-38A00 1 $25.89 $25.89
SUZUKI SHAFT, PROPELLER for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
27151-41F00 1 $91.38 $91.38
SUZUKI SPRING for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09440-18019 1 $1.25 $1.25
SUZUKI OIL SEAL (28.4X48X15) for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09283-30051 1 $4.90 $4.90
SUZUKI .CIRCLIP for 2005 SUZUKI VZ800
09381-40003 1 $2.15 $2.15
Tax: $0.00
Shipping: $15.00
Total: $155.14
So i was reading the manual and it doesn't call out what kind of oil to use.....Any ideas?
 
#188 ·
I think you should do it- the Volusia's have similar issues and its been extensively discussed on those forums too. Seems to be worth considering as an item of routine maintenance, done more or less when you change the rear tire; Change the tire, check gear oil, check propshaft grease. With some snap ring pliers and a putty knife to help shift the oil seal you can get the shaft out of the gear unit in a couple minutes.

Regards,

Greg
 
#190 ·
Thanks Burn for all the good info.

I was way too late in checking my drive unit with my bike being an 05 model.

Last night on way home from work in thick freeway traffic and at 110 km/h i suddenly felt a vibration, 200m later the bike suddered, i lost all drive with the rear end screaming. I pulled the clutch in and shifted lanes pretty quick to get of the road. I was 50km from home, luckily the wife was home to come pick me up, then return with trailer for the bike.

End result after watching you videos was two handfuls of dust, rust, dirt an stripped gears all together at the end of the shaft once disassembled. The parts are on order and i will pick up the complete drive unit tomorrow as i could not undo the locknut, even with a rattle gun i couldnt budge it, so the bike shop can do that and i will refit.

Lesson learnt the hard way, so everyone out there check your drive line

Tim
 
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