Cush rubbers

[willi777]

Can someone confirm what i think i know... The cush drive rubbers on my hub are hard as a rock, not very much give to them. Are mine just old and weathered, or are they all that hard? On different model bikes i've had they were much softer, so figured i'd post it up to see what everyone else thinks

[Kijona]

If they were worn out I think you'd see obvious signs of defect - cracking, "dusty" looking rubber, etc.

Perhaps you could take a picture and show us.

[BaltimoreGS]

They are fairly hard rubber.  I don't think I'd consider them "worn out" unless they lost there shape or had a bunch of slop.

-Jessie

[adidasguy]

My dealer told me they never wear out. I had some new ones - just as hard as old ones.

[Big Rich]

Adidas, wasn't there a thread here a couple months ago that somebody's cush drive rubbers wore out? There was some worry about clutch problems IIRC and the problem was "resolved" after installing new cush drive rubbers. Maybe I'm imagining things though........

Either way, I think would take a whole lot of abuse to really damage them. Constant clutch dropping, extreme heat, chemical exposure, etc.

[willi777]

I don't think I'd consider them "worn out" unless they lost there shape or had a bunch of slop

They haven't lost their shape and don't have any slop- they don't seem to have much cushion though.

you'd see obvious signs of defect - cracking, "dusty" looking rubber

They show no obvious defects or signs of cracking, they appear to be in good shape, just not as soft as i'd think they'd be. 

My dealer told me they never wear out. I had some new ones - just as hard as old ones.

So they are probably OK, judging by your experience. I suppose they can't be too soft or they'd add too much slop to the driveline. They came with a used wheel from Florida, so i was concerned they may have hardened up from too much sun and heat.

[Bluesmudge]

Remove the rear wheel and set it on the ground with the rear sprocket facing up. If you can pick up the weight of the rear wheel by only holding on to the rear sprocket, the cush drive rubbers are probably okay. If the sprocket just releases from the wheel, you need to replace them. It is unlikely for them to wear out on a street-onl, low torque bike like the gs500.

[willi777]

I will try picking up the wheel by the sprocket and see if it holds... the cush rubbers came with a Katana 600 rear wheel, but i don't think they've got enough torque to damage the rubbers either.