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it's one of those little things that can change dramatically the feeling when riding, from "old piece of junk" to "a new bike". I did it on my 1981 XT 500 (the owner before used to do enduro races) and my 2000 Ducati 916. it was well worth it

I am so glad that I stumbled upon this channel as I begin my adventure in leaning how to ride and how to take care of my motorcycle. Thank you RevZilla and team for all the videos, reviews and gear you sell. A great group! Thank you.

I just replaced a very worn drive chain on my wife’s KTM 390 adventure with 16,000 km on the clock. The Cush drive had probably about 5 mm of play at the circumference of the sprocket so I did the plastic shim hack and now it rides like new again and my wife can’t believe the difference! Like they say, happy wife equals happy life! Great video Ari!

Don't know what kinda money you get out of SM videos.... but they are really great. Like an underpaid, inner city teacher.... you are doing God's work. I've watched dozens, and learned something, everytime.

Might be worth mentioning that in some bikes (honda rebel 500 for example) there's a thicker and thinner triangle/trapezoid on each pair of rubber cushy things. The thicker one should go between the sprocket paddle and the direction of the drive force (the 'pulling' force at the top of the chain/sprocket). I've seen people putting them in the other way. If this is confusing just think that you would want the most cushioning where the force is the highest while accelerating.

My never miss RevZilla productions, Shop Manual and Stupid Adventures of Ari & Zack. I've learned so much by watching both.

Love the Ghetto / MacGyver fixes. Just up my ally 😊

Always learning something new.👍

Great topic, no one talks about that maintenance item! Thanks for sharing that knowledge!

This is the best motorcycle playlist in yt. Id love to see more SM videos on more intensive stuff - shimming valves, pulling engine bearings etc and a video on good general engine tools eg. Bearing pullers clutch holders etc

a little top tip if you really need to shim the cush drive: you can also use cut tire tube patches if the new cushions are not available for cheap (or basically any non-sticky rubber mats). I have good experiences with them and it really helps when you cannot order them for some reason (like when the bike model is discontinued).

Great info. While I was aware of the cushions I have never really thought about them. As an owner of an older bike it looks like something else to add to the winter refresh list. Thanks!

Glad someone has finally mentioned the cush drive, they go soft with age, had an old bike with 10,000 miles on it and i changed the chain due to siezed links, if the cush drive just pushes back together with no effort then it probably needs a refresh. Just put mine back together didn't know any better at the time.

Great to see you back doing this type of videos.

Those graphics of Ari's face need to be stickers ASAP

Awesome info as usual Ari! Thank you

The Shop Manual videos are a great reference point, by our trusted source, Ari. Great.

Great video as always. I was unaware of cush drives until now.

Yes! I was just thinking about this for my KLR650. Thank you!

Another very useful video. Doing great work, Ari ! 😊👍

Thank you for another great video! You actually reminded me of an issue I had with my throttle response...something new to look into (and an excuse to work on my bike, hehe). Cheers!

Constantly amazed at how much I have yet to learn, great information, thanks!

This is great information. Everytime I watch The Shop Manual I learn something new.... And some of the comments are helpful too!!

Exactly what I was looking for! This is amazing ❤

Thanks for such simple yet effective advice.

Just looking at mine and the spacer trick is a brilliant idea

Great idea for a video. No one talks about this. I would also spray them with silicone spray as well to keep them from drying out.

Great video. Cush drive check is on my list for Winter service. With 33K on the F800, I've noticed more chain lash. Thanks

Thank you Ari for explaining the “rubber pieces” in the rear wheel!

This is a good one a lot of people would never think of checking, myself included. I kind of forgot these even existed until I was replacing the rear tire on my ADV bike this summer myself and the sprocket popped off. I had forgotten all about those little rubber guys. Took me a minute to remember what I was looking at. Last time I saw them was 10 years ago when I was replacing the chain and sprockets on my ‘01 CBR😅. Owned a fair few bikes for not long enough to do such a thing since then.

Excellent video sir.

Only found out what these were a couple of months ago when my mate changed his,thanks for making these videos used them a few times now.👍🏻

I had heard of the term "cush drive" but had no idea what it was or what it meant - once again I have learned something from you guys! Thank you for all your great videos through 2023 and here's to '24!

Great information as always

Great info and video!!

Thanks for bringing attention to this, Ari. I inspected '99 Bandit 1200's cush drive 2 years ago when I replaced the chain and sprockets. The parts seemed a little worn, so I replaced them then. Please keep the great videos coming... I love The Shop Manual!

Always look forward to your videos.

Thanks for sharing! I definitely have more than 3-5mm play, I7 year old bike, I will look for new or shim - Thanks

Thanks perfect timing. I’ve suspected mine are shot on my 1992 CBR900RR with 50000miles. Your video pretty much confirms it. I’m about due for a rear tyre, so I’ll replace them as a matter of course.

These are the best motorcycle maintenance videos out there!

I never heard of the Cush drive before it would be great to see more shop manual videos on how to fix or maintain the bike

Great content, as always! Last time I changed chain and sprockets, I cleaned and put some grease on these as well to help them last longer, I remember seeing a mechanic doing this, and thought it was a good idea.

Great video. My cush drive rubber was done, and the side loads wrecked the carrier bearing which made things so much worse. One thing I've found is that if the rubbers have worn and left powder or rubbery grime, it should be cleaned off to keep the cush drive stuck fast to the carrier and hub or will accelerate wear.

Invaluable video; thanks. To save others from having to look it up, I just checked and what is referred to as a "Damper set" for the Honda CBR1000RR costs about $105 U.S. The problem with using something like an oil container to make shims is that it does not compress like the rubber. So, while you do take up some of the slack, you are not getting the full cushioning effect of new cushions / dampers. If I was insistent on shimming, I'd use something like tire patch material or, buy some thin rubber sheet material from your local Home Depot ( I think you'll find it in the roofing supplies area.)

Fantastic info!

Great content!

Wow. I'm currently doing a restoration (My first time) on a 1982 Yamaha Seca XS400RJ. I took the rear wheel off a few days ago to replace sprockets and chain and rear brake shoes etc, and saw those rubber pieces in the hub. Had no idea what they were and made a mental note to look into it. Then Magically, This video appears in my feed. Well done Ari!! Thank you.

I'd love Ari Henning stickers sold on amazon like Fort Nine did with the neck scarfs.

One of the first things I felt when I bought a Speed Triple 1200 RS was a small clunk with changes of throttle. Then I realized when changing tires that the bike doesn't have any form of cush drive, it's metal on metal. Thanks for the excellent video and the tip about the shims!

Thanks for adding that, it's good to know more about cush drives! Recently got to look at my Cush drives when checking my rear sprocket (it was not aligned well with the hub, resulting in tightening/loosening of the chain on every rotation - not good!) with sprocket alignement, this may result in increased wear on the entire transmission line (sprocket, hub, engine, chain, cush etc) - putting the wheel on it's shaft horizontally and spinning it will confirm: bearing wear (can hear it / see it) Sprocket alignment (can see variance in the tooth radius compared to the hub center) potential issues with wheel buckling (does not necessarily tally with sprocket alignment) wheel balance (can feel it in the shaft while holding it if you spin the wheel fast enough) So a bunch of checks while the wheel is off, but mainly, if the sprocket is not aligned 100%, cush drive wear will be increased among other things, thought I might add that simple check.

Keep it up Ari!

Thank you !!

Cush drives can wear out real fast on enduro bikes. Small of amounts of dust or grit enter the hub and grind them down. It's a good idea to clean the cush drive, or add home made shims, if you have taken off the rear wheel for a tire change, puncture etc.

Thanks, I never gave the cush drive much thought. Now I know!

Thanks!

The masking tape is genius. I ordered new ones for my 2006 CBR 600rr

Ari supersets wrist curls before every Shop Manual 💯. As always, great video.

I did that on a kawasaki zr7s, improved a lot the feeling of the bike for not very much money.

Informative as always!

shop manuals are great !

Retailers are a dime a dozen. Zach and Ari videos are THE reason I exclusively use RevZilla.

No way !! I was then thinking about mine, having taken the wheel out earlier ! First time doing a shaft drive, easy

yaay for more shop manual :3

I think it's probably more important on high-torque or high-power bikes or those with very snappy throttle response. I checked cush drives on two bikes; 28,000km on a Ninja 300 and it had no free play at all. About the same mileage on a 660cc single and it was really loose to the point where I replaced them.

Good tip

Amazingly I managed to wear these things out on a pretty timid 660cc single cyclinder MT-03. Must have been within 20k kms of riding. And as it was my first bike I hardly think I was hard on it.

I think this is that last thing that I need to check to solve my driveline lash! 2009 Ninja 650R, 30k miles.

A massive thumper single cyclinder, like KTM 690, will wear a lot faster due to the thumping single cylinder nature. My cush drive was very worn after 25000km. The new one was a firm fit, it took lithium grease and a rubber mallet to get the hub back in. But the difference was so noticable!!!

Great video, as always. I would love to see a build series of some kind from Ari. LIke, next time you do something whacky for CTXP, why not film the build? would have been so cool to see the build for the Wingabego or whatever you guys called that thing (for example...)

I keep forgetting to change the ones in my NC700X, 84000 miles with a fair amount of trailer towing and they're falling apart. All the little connector bits that keep the two halves together disintegrated 20000+ miles ago on that bike. However the ones in my CB500F have 165000 miles on them and they're still fine... No towing and a bath in silicone spray at every tire change has kept them healthy. I bought the 700 around 54000 miles so I can't account for the maintenance on that bike before then

Got to add on the topic. Racing wheels (BST, Dymag, OZ, etc.) have weird circular cush drives which have smaller contact area and last waay less than stock ones. I'd say, you have to turn them around every time you change the rear tyre and change them regularly. Because if they will get destroyed, you will damage your wheel. I myself fixed my BST carbon fiber wheel hub after it has been damaged by sprocket carrier after cush was destroyed.

Wow the timing, literally changed Cush today with new sprocket

I'm currently rebuilding a 1967 Honda CL90. I can attest to the fact that these rubber bushings wear out and need to be replaced :) My 1977 Yamaha DT400 also needed a new set when I rebuilt it.

I changed cushion rubber on my Translap 650, 2001. 90.000km, at the beggining of last year (2023). It was still relatively ok, but I changed it just in case including the bearings also.... They can last really long time.

Love you Ari henning❤❤❤

I replaced a very badly worn out cush drive on my first bike, a Honda Shadow 750. While it didn't transform the bike into a supersport or anything, once the new one went in, I realized just how abysmally sloppy the drivetrain had been. Suddenly the throttle response was sharp and smooth, and rolling on and off didn't buck me around in the seat any more. Ever since, I always check the cush drive when I have the rear wheel off. It's honestly weird that owner's manuals don't include it in the maintenance schedule.

I have used bicycle used tube and cut it to fit its more rubbery.

My built 2009 Harley-Davidson Tri-Glide putting out about 140trq to rear wheels wear them out about 15,000-20,000 miles so it's a wear item like spark plugs and wires are and get changed almost annually or no more than every 2 years but i do ride it like I stole it and love smoking these newer Harley-Davidson bikes 😉

Since I'm a cheapskate, I'll probably do that oil bottle shim trick next time. That's smart!

I rode a 1988 VFR 400 that had its cush drive disintegrate while I was riding, it just turned into a green powder. When it was gone, it was liking driving an 4 speed automatic car with an unlocked torque converter, minus any smoothness. You could vary the RPMs by several hundred just by getting on and off the gas, and it had horrific lash.

I can show you a worn set... 94xr250L with 36,000 off road only miles. Never changed them. Shimmed them 20 years ago.

Zero free play/movement is the best. 👌🏼💙

Thanks for the info! TBH, I had to check the date to make sure this wasn't posted on April 1st. Cush drive?!? I thought we were about to be treated to something along the lines of how to change your "blinker fluid." 😊

I'm a mechanic in a shop, in Costa Rica and do check them on low budget hikes like 250cc and bellow, those get destroyed quite quickly 😂

IMO strips of bicycle inner tube are best for shimming

Great video. Fortunately the cush drive on my motorcycle is all metal, and inside of the transmission. No service necessary...ever. :)

Great video as usual. Shimming the Cush drive definitely a bandaid. If you cannot afford a few dollars for replacement, time to look for wage increase.

I’ve always shimmed my cush drives. I do it on new bikes too because I much prefer no play in them. Only compression allowed please.

3:00 I'd use heavy inner tubes rather, similar material, similar properties.

One more hint to learn how to run our bikes top notch

As popular as your program is I think someone would invite Zack and Arie to join them in Ice Racing outside. Hope to see it someday and thanks for the shiming tip.

Ari should do a workout video channel clearly he knows what he's doing in that arena

I recently found out the importance of cush drive when I was asked to test drive a Mark 2 Versys 650. I discovered the throttle as Ari said it felt like a chain problem. Then I had the chain removed and checked the wheel. Once removed, we discovered the cush were not in the wheel hub. Who was the last guy that remove the wheel for tire chain or whatever was just too careless and my friend should not have bought that bike

Great

Great tip! And I like how revzilla does it’s ads - straightforward and transparently ads, not disguised as unbiased product reviews.

Can you make a video on finding and repairing a leak in gas tanks? I currently have a cracked plastic tank that I put some putty on (which is not going well) and a metal tank that I haven't found the leak yet. I need help

I shim mine with pieces of innertube!

You helped me diagnose a bad one at Get-On Fest 2 years ago. Your suggested field repair is still working beautifully 😂😂😂

If you have damaged cush drive will this also affect the chain tension? And mess up your chain adjustment?