Cush drive hubs...necessary or not?

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pdee4t

hey guys. Just wondering about cush drives. Are they really necessary?
Went to the KTM dealership today and was told that I shouldn't be riding my KTM EXC on the road without a cush drive hub due to excess transmission wear.

Wondering if they are really needed?
I don't ride on the highways, just local roads where speed limits don't exceed 80km/h.
Bike is a KTM EXC 2004 model.
 
Mihylo33

Mihylo33

pdee4t:
hey guys. Just wondering about cush drives. Are they really necessary?
Went to the KTM dealership today and was told that I shouldn't be riding my KTM EXC on the road without a cush drive hub due to excess transmission wear.

Wondering if they are really needed?
I don't ride on the highways, just local roads where speed limits don't exceed 80km/h.
Bike is a KTM EXC 2004 model.
Click to expand...


First time I've ever heard that.... a lot of DS bikes run a solid hub.... Maybe Dan aka @SRAD97750 has an idea as to why.
 
M

MikeinFresno

some clutch hubs are rubber damped, some have dampers in the rear hub, KTMs use the rear hub for the LC4 dual sport bikes and they are a direct bolt on to the EXCs.
 
Mihylo33

Mihylo33

PawPaw:
You need either cush hub, cush clutch or a torque limiter to keep from having trans issues. AS I recall your bike has none of these. The above mentioned bikes all do have one form or another of these.

Paw Paw
Click to expand...

I learned something new today! Thanks!!:thumb:
 
P

pdee4t

Maybe they put the dampeners in the clutch in their newer models simply because like all things, it was time to upgrade and get with the times during a complete overhaul and redesign of their motors, and not necessarily because of any transmission issues in their previous models.
 
P

pdee4t

Also, I spoke to the bloke at the KTM shop that originally told me about it and he said it's mainly needed for people who run motard wheels with road tyres on their bikes, not so much for the people that still run road approved knobbies, as they tend to flex and provide some sort of cushioning effect, albeit minimal but just enough to not kill a transmission.
On my bike, I run a road approved knobby at the rear, and a 50/50 dual sport tyre on the front. So at least the bikes getting some sort of cushioning effect via the rear wheel, which is what drives the bike.
The front doesn't matter too much, I just wanted to kinda balance out my set up a bit.
 
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PALMER84ONE

PALMER84ONE

It also depends on the cc's of the bike. Really anything over 350cc should have a system that allows cushioning for the transmission. My 08 SM610 didn't have it but they never had transmission failures. They did like to go through timing chains.
 
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pdee4t

hmm. I'll disagree somewhat by that and say anything over 550-600cc. The bigger bore bikes is where cush drives are most common on.
But I agree that it can somewhat also depend on the bike.
For mine, the previous owner to me that I bought my bike from a couple years ago did a lot of road riding with no cush drive set up at all, it only ever had 1 top end rebuild(came with receipts), and the timing chain wasn't even replaced, so it's still on its original timing chain as well as original gearbox, 8000+ km later.
He only ever rode it on the road and his farm. It rarely saw hours in the state forest, and he did a lot more riding on pavement than anything else.
So I think it's just something that people use as over precautionary measures sometimes too. Everyone I speak to, weather from other KTM dealerships, or little workshops, to people online, most have never heard of a KTM transmission failing all that much, even from road use with no cush drive assembly.
 
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pdee4t

Regardless of the bike or type of riding though, as long as people run a rear knobby tyre, bike should be fine without a cush drive set up.
 
PALMER84ONE

PALMER84ONE

I wouldn't put one on a bike if it didn't come with it first. Regardless of the type of riding/tire on the bike. The whole reason its on a bigger bike. But, build up any bike and produce good torque at the rear wheel with 350 cc's and road tires, you are going to need some kind of system. (Race bikes)
 
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