No. It is clear that it was made that way. It does have some marks (indentations) that look like they were made by some kind of punching action. In the middle of the shaft is a detent that is clearly a pocket for a lathe center.
Chuey
Has the threaded portion of the shaft snapped off sometime in the distant past?
I agree it was made that way too, one can see the tool marks on the end from the lathe bit. The problem is how to support the hub portion while pressing down on the shaft. Do you have access to a press 12 ton or higher?
Looks like the side access is limited to the diameter of the housing, is there a step behind the hub that can be grabbed.
Like I asked before do you think that the housing and that mounting flange is strong enough to get the hub red with a torch and just support the flange and press the shaft with a press?
1974 R90/6 built 9/73
1987 BMW K75S
1994 BMW R1100RS
1964 T100SR Triumph
1986 Honda XL600R
I tried with the Cycle Works tool made for solid shafts. It has a collar/girdle that holds the splined cup and then has a puck that pushes against the end of the shaft (just talkin' 'bout Shaft). It did not budge. Also tried the other tool, the one for the sprung shafts and it did not compress at all either.
I'm thinking of taking it to a BMW dealer today to see if they can remove it. Thing is, if it's so hard to remove, I'm not sure I want to use it. I may seek out a nutted shaft for this project.
Chuey, I can understand your dilemma. Having worked in the repair business for 4 decades we sometimes had to sacrifice an assembly to see how it was put together. In this case probably replacing is the best solution.
Here is a listing from an e-bay seller I have had great success with in the quality of the parts.
I was wrong about the shaft being a solid vs sprung one.
This morning I took the swingarm to the BMW dealer and when they see an Airhead part come in, they send you directly to Paul. Paul took a look at it and said, sure, he could remove it - it takes a special tool. He said it was a sprung one. "There are only two types", he said. Robert is probably shaking his head right now.
Here's the reason I was so sure it was a solid shaft: I thought the large diameter swingarm corresponded with the sprung drive shaft. Also, I thought that the cush drive shaft would not fit into the older style swingarm.
Further, I had used the Cycle Works tool to remove two cush drive shafts from large diameter swingarms successfully. When I tried the same tool, the correct one for sprung (cush drive) shafts on this one, it simply started to bend the plate at the universal joint end without any apparent movement of the splined cup on the splines. I was not able to find a gap in the snap ring.