Greasing swingarm / rear linkage

[Grader]

How if often do people strip down their rear linkages and swing arm bearings? Is this a challenging task or fairly straightforward?

Also how any people have had to replace any of the bearings?

My AT (97 RD07a) has now covered 25,000 miles and I was wondering if it is time to do this.

Cheers,
Chris.

[Pussyhorse]

Do em. It won't do it any harm and it'll remove the niggle from the back of your brain.

I did the bearings on my old RD03. They weren't fekin cheap though. Piece of piss to do if you have a centre stand or a scissor stand.

[BlindPugh]

Cleaned and regreased mine at 50,000 miles - thought they may have needed replacing but a close inspection showed almost no wear on the needle bearings - so clean and fresh grease and hopefully should be OK for another 50,000. As previously stated - could work out expensive as there are lots of bearings and seals in the swingarm and linkage mechanism.

[xrv_jim]

My bike has 56,000 miles on it. I greased all the suspension bearings when I bought it 20,000 miles ago and they seemed OK.

I've just replaced the suspension rocker (?), along with bearings and seals (it all came as one) for the bargain price of £39.99 inc. postage for a brand new Honda part - off ebay

I would like to say I can't feel any difference but in actual fact I can - it's a lot smoother.

[ladder106]

With the climate you fellas endure, I'd certainly take a look to check on condition of the bearings and presence or lack of lube.

Dunno about the ATs but on my Transalp, the needle bearings are not held in place by any kind of cage. The grease holds them to the outer race. Once the pivot shaft is pulled be prepared to catch loose needles if all your grease is gone or dried up.

Also, a greased bearing will look as though all the needles are held inside. DO NOT use strong parts cleaner and compressed air to clean them. Once the grease is dissolved the air will blow the needles all over your shop and you'll have a jolly time becomming intimate with the state of your shop floor. Don't ask how I know this!

A bit of maintenance now will save you money later and the rear end will continue to act as is should. While you're there, check the swingarm bearings as well.

Enjoy,

[Grader]

Thanks for the replies, seems like the consensus is that they're probably fine but it's worth checking them out anyway to be sure to save pain later.

Regarding the cleaing/regreasing do you just wipe them out and stuff in some fresh grease or do you clean them more efficiently than that?

I notice from the Haynes (and your comments) that its not a good idea to disturb the needle bearing too much if not replacing them.

I was planning to use a standard waterproof bearing grease, does this seem reasonable?

Thanks,
Chris.

[Lord Stig]

I normally use LM grease. I bought a set of bearings, spacers and seals for the swingarm and linkages, ready to replace mine. The bike (RD07a) has done 86,000 miles, and I figured that at that mileage they would be ready to go. So far though I still have the spares in the draw because everything seems to run Ok. I bought the spacers from David Silver, and the seals and bearings from an aftermarket supplier. I can't remember what it all cost together - around £60 I think. There is a BIG difference with pattern and OEM spares prices, so I just bought Honda parts where I couldn't get the same parts as pattern items.

Of course another reason for not fitting the parts is that I've heard the job is a bit of a pain. The centre stand on the AT is in the way of getting one of the linkage bolts out, so some other stand will be necessary.

[ladder106]

If the grease looks very black, dirty and contaiminted with grit I would disassemble each bearing (do one at a time because althought they look identical I could not be certain that one bearing didn't have slightly larger or smaller needles inside). After removal I kept the shaft/bolt inside two of the bearings on the rocker piece while I cleaned and regreased the third.

If you don't have a lift make certain that you find suitable stable means of support for the bike. You'll be removing substantial weight fron the rear of the machine. The bike will be "balanced" when you start but weight will shift to the front as you remove the rear wheel/swingarm/shock etc. Just be ready for that. Trying to pick up a 400 pound bike with no rear wheel is not fun and not for one person (unless your one of those caber tossing blokes).

An old dental pick and small magnet makes removing the needles easier.

If the grease still has color (red,gold, etc) and doesn't feel gritty when rubbed between your thumb and forefinger, you're probably OK to just regrease and reassemble. You've gotta ask yourself, though, having come this far, why would you NOT want to make certain the bearings were surgically clean with fresh grease before reassembly.

Also, sorry about the afterthoughts, its a good idea to clean the underside of the bike as best as you can so that dirt does not fall down into the bearings (or your eyes) while you are tapping out the pivots.

Also, for anyone who hasn't done this before, tapping/striking the threaded end of a bolt of shaft with the nut completely removed is BAD. The threaded end can flare out preventing you from ever getting the nut back on without rethreading the shaft. Loosen the nut and tap on the nut to start the shaft out of the bearing. Finish with the appropriately sized punch or drift.

Take photos to share.

Enjoy,

[robelst]

When I was young there were rather handy things called grease-nipples
There were horse-trams as well
My last bike that had 'm was a 1972 BMW R60/5: Ideal, you litterally pump in fresh grease until you see the old smear dropping out.

These days this type of bearings are so-called "greased-for-life" and alleged maintenance free. Since bikes are purely considered hobby-objects these days I bet that'll be a rather short life However, there is no noticeable free play in the swing on my AT at 52k-miles. Litte cleaning may have helped to keep the grease in? I also didn't notice any grottiness in the movement of the swing when the wheel and shocker were out, so I can't be bothered to look at it. Life is too short to maintain things that are maintenance-free

[Lord Stig]

Life is too short to maintain things that are maintenance-free

My feeling exactly - mine seem fine, so I've left them alone even though I have the spares.