Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech CushDrive rubbers

Greetings,
Has anyone found rubbers for our cush drives other than the dealer. I've heard they're around $70.00, so that means my dealer will be getting $115.00 for them.
The last time I had my rear tire off, I noticed a couple small splits and the rubber looked generally worn. I found a fix on a Kawasaki Z forum that said you can use auto windshield rubber sealant/adhesive to patch them up.
Thanks,
Dennis

Hey Dennis, I can't help you with your cushdrive rubber but i was wondering, just how many miles do you have on your bike and how hard do you push her? RIDE SAFE RIDE OFTEN AND GOD BLESS

Hi Alan,
Right now the clock reads 37,200 miles. I ride year round and do push her a bit harder than I should when I am alone. I love to feel the torque on acceleration. Joe Ball at Bogarts Motorsports think I am more of a Thruxton kinda guy. I don't care for that seating position. When my bride is with me, I take it a little easier.
To give you an idea, I get 150 miles to reserve with Raynea on board and about 130 miles riding solo. When I fill up right after switching to reserve, I can get 3.2 gallons in the tank.
Vera is not my only mode of transportation, just my favorite. I have a '94 GMC Sonoma somewhere in the back yard.
Blessings,
Dennis

Alan,
By the way, when are we gonna meet up at Barber's Museum one Saturday. I need to go join 29 Dreams, so I can have a place to stay. We've got lotsa family and friends in Birmingham, but a biker campground has family too. I work the next two weekends, but am off for a week starting July 15th. Maybe we can contact TomV, NiceTri, Bonnybeemer and Gaspipe to get a ride together then. I'll bring my battery devouring digital camera.
God's Blessings,
Dennis

Hi Dennis,

The rubbers can be repaired? Looky here at the old v the new...



PS: Say hi to Vera for Vera! hehe
PSS: I got some for around $73 from Big4Cycles. Free Shipping. Also try Bob at Palm Beach Triumph.

Ok so where do those go? In the rear wheel hub?

What's a CushDrive?

how do we check it? i ride mine pretty hard, too.

almost 40,000. that's good news...

cat

Hey Jim,
What's the inspection criteria and what is it about your old ones that causes them to be replaced? They don't look too bad in the picture.

Hi Angus,
The cush drive is and assembly at the rear hub consisting of metal "teeth" for lack of a better word - that sticks into those slots in the rubbers you see in above photo. The rubbers are inserted into the main hub and the teeth or lugs I mentioned are in the part of hub that the rear sprocket mounts to. Next time you remove your rear wheel, give the sprocket a good tug, that part comes out and you can see the rubbers. All they do is soften the delivery of torque to the rear wheel and keep it quiet. All chain and belt drives have them as far as I know. They wear and tear on hard excelleration and decelleration. If they ever fail completely, the lugs will strip through the rubber and slam into the metal parts in the hub and probably break through those. I hope this didn't complicate your understanding. They get weak and make the drive system feel sloppy, like your chain is too loose - Noisy too.
Maybe someone else cares to elaborate on this description.
Ride Safe,
Dennis

Good explanation. Just to be clear, on belt drive Harleys, the cush drive is part of the counter sprocket assembly on the engine, not the rear hub. But it serves the same purpose.

Ok I thought so... Back when I worked for a hydraulics company, we used something called a "spider" that looked very similar, it went in the coupling between the motor and the pump. Same purpose.

Benny and Warren,

Click on the picture above to see the rest of the story...

And as Dennis seems to suggest, grab holt of the rear chainring and move it fore and aft. You will notice some play. How much is too much? That’s your call, but when you whack the throttle and you feel/hear the chain/drive-train and can’t stand it, then change out the rubbers. (given that the chain and sprockets are OK)

Moe those are some great pics!

Count me in on ANY ride and ANY trip to Barber. Check 29 Dreams website for lodging info. Let me know if I can help with arrangements. I live about 15 miles from Dreams.

Let me know when you guys are riding down to the Barber museum, we've been planning on making that ride for awhile and we just might meet you there. In fact maybe you should post it over in the events section, maybe some other folks will be interested.

SKILLET & Bama Riders..
Would love to meet up for a ride over to Barber's & 29 Dreams. I work on Saturday's, but with enough notice, I could swap a couple of days around!!