Grease nipples and the swing arm and linkage

[billy]

Hello Folks,

Thinking of striping down the swing arm and linkage to re-grease them . At the moment there are no grease nipples (why? ). I thought as I'm striping it down why don't I get some grease nipples bored and fitted at the same. Is it worth it?

Thanks

Billy

P.S Transalp XL600V 96

[Recycler]

Nice if they were already there but I don't think they work that well anyway. You have to force enough grease through a tiny hole until the old grease is all pushed out along with any dirt. If you fit them the bearing shells will have to be adapted to let the grease into the rollers, then the collars that sit between the bearings and the pivot bolt will also have to be drilled or the pivot might seize - so lots of hassle.

Personally I think you can't beat a full strip & grease-up (ooer!) once every year or two. Most bikes come without enough grease from new, once it's done properly it'll last unless you use a jet wash or ride through rivers.

[billy]

Thanks Recycler for your help and time !

Cheers

Billy

[Dilbert]

I have grease nipples on mine, so I will use them (older RD03), I wouldn't suggest fitting them retrospectively though, as Recycler said there isn't a lot of space to get the grease in and pumping new in may result in over packing, I'd have thought the steering head would be a more obvious place for grease nipples as there is much more room inside there.

It seems that stripping them down and packing on re-assembly gives sufficient lubrication as long as it's done fairly regularly.

[billy]

Thanks Dilbert for your help and time!

Cheers

Billy