Tech Tips

Ural and Dnepr ---  Rear Drive-Train Lubrication

By:
Richard Maund
Rich's Cycle Upholstery
1045 Dane St.
Chesapeake, Va. 23323
(757)487-4592
 

1990 Guzzi Mille' GT, 1997 Guzzi California 1100i, 1968 Dnepr MT16.

Topic: Prevention of corrosion and wear for shafts of Ural's and Dnepr's. (NOTE!! THE FOLLOWING TECH ARTICLES ARE THE PRODUCT OF A DERANGED MECHANIC. FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY! DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! THE AUTHOR ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR THIS INFORMATION EVEN THE THOUGH THE TIPS CONTAINED WITHIN HAVE WORKED WELL FOR HIM FOR YEARS.)

The cool exposed drive shafts on the Urals and their "evil" competitor, Dnepr are an invitation to wear and tear! Running exposed like that is a good way to collect dirt, grit and wild life that doesn't belong in the system. The Ural's use a stainless steel set up that is really neat to watch spin. The Dnepr's cad plated steel shaft and hardware aren't as shiny, but are tough units also. Riding your bike like they are supposed to be used (i.e., dirt roads, gravel, drainage ditches, construction sites, and unimproved lunar landscapes.) will cover the units with all sorts of junk. The universals on both bikes have lubrication fittings for grease guns. USE THEM! This will keep fresh lube in and dirt on the outside! This is a feature I wish my Guzzi's had. The needle bearings in there will last just shy of forever with proper care! The splines on the shafts and the ends of the universal joints are another matter! The Dnepr's are fitted with tight fitting steel shrouds to keep debris out and contain any grease splatter that tries to defect. The Ural uni's and shafts are exposed. Some of the shafts have zerk fittings for keeping the splines lubed. Some models don't. They require disassembly for lubing. OMC, the outboard motor folks, make a great product for keeping the shaft splines lubed. I buy mine at a local marine store. It's called Outboard Motor Spline grease. Sometimes known as "blue" grease. Use this and your splines will stay lubed! It's water proof. won't wash off and stays put like no petroleum grease I've seen. Axle grease is still the choice for your universal joint bearings, but OMC blue spline grease will keep those shaft splines in good order.

You may wonder why I wax warmly over this stuff! I once owned a old Guzzi that was run for years by a good friend of mine. He never lubed anything. Just ran it. (Here's Murphy's Law in action....) Shortly after I bought the bike the universal joint grenaded. Sounded like a rock crusher! The old son of a gun got me home though. When I tore it down I poured out a tablespoon of powdered steel and a bunch of shrapnel! Somehow the pieces got me home! What struck me was how DRY everything was. No lube. Since then I lube all my bikes regularly. Guzzi's annually and the Dnepr every 3 months. (The Dnepr is easy to do. Zerk fittings on everything!) None of my bikes have suffered any spline wear or universal trouble since then. I've had other friends suffer spline failure on drive shafts. This is something that is $$$$$$ and will leave you stranded! Grease guns are cheap. Anyone can use them. I keep one filled with blue grease and one with regular petroleum axle grease. Cheap insurance!

Topic: Rear drive lubrication.

The rear drives in the Ural and Dnepr bikes hold very little in the way of oil! This is one sore point I have with them. I believe a larger capacity gear case would help the drives run better and last longer. But these are machines made for use in a country where supplies are scarce! So you have to make the tiny bit of oil in there do the work! NOTE!! Follow your owner manuals and tech manuals here! Overfill the drive and it will find it's way out thru the weep hole and onto your wheel. Great way to keep the spoke nipples lubed when you rotate tires regularly, but I digress! Example. The rear drive on my old 2WD MT16 Dnepr has two reservoirs! The main one has a vent/fill plug and a drain plug. It takes only 200 ml. of gear lube! The outer one has a drain plug and a inspection plate. It contains 100ml.!! That's very little oil! The outer drive to the sidecar wheel contains 200 ml. This is a great way to keep costs low, but it will wear out your lubricants fast.

Here's what I do. Check out your local shop for a high quality oil in the weight recommended for your bikes drive. I use 90w in my Dnepr. See if it contain a "moly" additive. If not, buy some and add it to it. I buy my moly from Moto International in Washington. (Super Guzzi shop!) But many shops carry these products. Use synthetic gear oil if you can. It won't break down as quickly as petroleum oil. When you come home from a romp on your machine, park it and drain the gear oils. Do this while they're warm! You may see the oil looks like liquid metallic paint! I don't believe these gears are hardened. I may be wrong here. This is the effect of having millions of tiny metal particles wearing off the faces of the gears. These are production gear drives. This isn't unusual. They'll shed some metal as they wear in. This is one reason why it's so vital to follow the break in procedures! It gives the gears time to wear in, work harden and achieve a smooth running fit! I always pour in some gear oil and let it drain to help flush the particles. Then put the drain plugs in and add the recommended amount of lube. A small graduated cylinder is good for this. I got my little plastic one at a local pharmacy!

The key to rear drive longevity is keep the oil fresh! I do mine every month. Use good oil. Change it often and don't overfill it. Take your time here. You may eventually wear the threads out of your drain holes. But helicoils are a lot cheaper than installing new gears!

My own Diner has had 6000 km put on it over the last year. It's a daily driver! If it doesn't start on the first kick, I probably forgot to do something! My buddy, Sid Pollard, has two Urals! (Now there's a enthusiast!) His bikes are beautiful and run like sewing machines! The Russian and Ukrainian bikes out there can be great fun! Simple and durable. But they do require their TLC to run well! Follow good break in procedures and do those recommended maintenance checks and you'll be rewarded with a very fun, practical and useful ride! Slow down, smell the roses! That's what these machines are made for!

Note about the author; Rich Maund is a certified motorcycle nut. He's worked in everything from Chinese restaurants and Pizza shops to submarine and aircraft carrier nuclear plants. He also does custom cycle upholstery work. Some say this show's flexibility, but he prefers to think of it as not being able to hold a job. He has suffered head injuries.