Bad Drive Sprocket Rubber

[davidsuserid]

My bike has quite a bit of play in the rubber thing inside the rear wheel, should this be a tight fit between the fins on the hub and the rubber, or should it have some play.

[mr. softie]

I have been wondering about that too. I looked at it when I had the rear wheel off, and the rubber part looked fine, but there is some play.

[Easy Rider]

My bike has quite a bit of play in the rubber thing inside the rear wheel,
Me too. I think it's normal. Does make things a bit jerky at times though.

[jonathan180iq]

Yeah. The cush drive on these bikes really allows a lot of play, more than I was used to when I first got the GZ.

It's pretty normal.

Honestly, I have never taken a look at mine, but on many bikes out in the motorcycle world a common way of stiffening them up is to shim the gaps with cut of plastic shims.

Do a little web search and you'll see what I mean.

[Sarris]

I had my Cush Drive rubber replaced @ 12k miles because my mechanic said that anything more than 1/4" play is excessive. He also said that they have a tendency to wear out at about 12k to 15k miles if the bike does a lot of stop/start low speed riding. Replacing it really makes a big difference in the feel of the clutch/shift engagement. The bike rides much smoother without any lurching or banging on clutch engagement or acceleration/deceleration. For me, it's worth the $11 ($18 shipped from Ron Ayers), and since its cheap and an easy install, I'm putting it on my 12k service list.

:2tup:

[5th_bike]

anything more than 1/4" play is excessive
Do you mean, measured at the outside of the rear sprocket i.e. if you can move the chain and teeth forward & back more than 1/4", the sprocket rubber should be replaced ?
OR 1/4" at the rubbers themselves, say at the bolts of the sprocket ?

[Sarris]

If you can move the sprocket & hub (via the chain) 1/4" or more before it hits the rubber inside, it's worn out. You'll be amazed how smooth it rides after replacement. It's also easy to replace. You don't need to fully remove the wheel, just remove the axle, drop down the wheel, slide the sprocket hub out, and replace the hub shock absorber (aka cush drive rubber) paying attention to the alignment within the wheel hub. Check out the parts manual for an exploded view.

:)