Author: Unknown.

The principle of this procedure applies to all shaft driven motorcycles of similar configuration. Virtually the same procedure is described in the Honda service manual under Final Gear Case Removal/Installation. The intent is to assure proper alignment of the rotational axis of the final drive to the swingarm axle clamp. Misalignment will cause excessive wear on the final drive components.

1. Remove rear wheel.
2. Loosen the 4 nuts, that fasten the final drive housing to the swingarm, 1 turn.
3. Install the rear wheel completely leaving all fasteners loose.
4. Torque the axle nut to 80 ft-lb.
5. Torque the axle pinch bolt to 20 ft-lb.
6. Torque the final gear case mounting nuts to 43 ft-lb.
7. Torque the caliper stop bolt to 51 ft-lb.

On the ST1100 I find that I am not able to properly torque the inner 2 nuts with the wheel installed. So I torque the outside 2, then remove the wheel again and torque the inner ones. On some models, this won't be necessary. You'll notice that when you loosen the nuts, the final drive is free to move about the studs. That is why you must snug up everything else first. This procedure does not account for the rare occurrence of manufacturing defects in the swingarm or final drive housing. If you believe you have problems of this nature, a more in depth analysis is needed.

This is also an excellent opportunity to clean/inspect/lube all the mating parts. If you pull the fuel tank, the inner nuts are then quite easily accessible. Pulling the tank isn't a big deal; four small bolts, a couple of wires (watch out for the one on the left side that connects to the level sender) and the fuel line. Probably wouldn't take any longer to do than pulling the wheel again. I myself have intuitively been using this exact method for many years and when I got to the torquing of the inner bolts, I faced the same problem. My solution was to step back a pace or two and come to the realization that the exact torque on these bolts is not absolutely necessary and from a bit of experience I can get it quite close using the white knuckle method. The important thing is not to torque under the spec because these bolts are holding the rear end housing in alignment.

I have no trouble getting a standard wrench into the inner bolts and with a mildly experienced hand, tighten the bolts to at least equal but not under the exact spec by first getting the feel of a properly torqued bolt with the torque wrench and then using a standard wrench in the tight spot. Remember, in reality there is a torque range and just frictional differences between bolts and miscalibration between wrenches could easily make a 10 or more pound difference (in those ranges) that the user doesn't even know about. The attempt is of course to at least meet the spec and get all the bolts in the same tightness area. Nothing beats the exact torque and if you can't bring yourself around to doing it the way I suggested then nothing beats Jeff's "absolute" method by removing the gas tank. If one want's to be extra sure about the alignment he can afterwards remove the wheel, insert the axle alone and check if it's sliding in/out the f/drive-housing bore freely.