How to grease rear suspension & swing arm (part4)
 

When checking the 'elbow' there is one of the pivots comprising of another two caged needle rollers,this time there's 48 roller needles on each side. I clean same and remove that pesky silicon type seal.
[IMG] http://i17.tinypic.com/7149koy.jpg[/IMG]


Other pivots are normal needle rollers
[IMG] http://i4.tinypic.com/85x9eh1.jpg[/IMG]




Cleaned in petrol.
[IMG] http://i13.tinypic.com/6yfol1j.jpg[/IMG]


[IMG] http://i13.tinypic.com/7xlludx.jpg[/IMG]


Heavier needles here...
[IMG] http://i11.tinypic.com/7xkicjq.jpg[/IMG]


Wait until the pivots are dry and coat with grease and put the needles and pins back in...(the grease will stop the needles dropping out)





The swing arm is next
[IMG] http://i17.tinypic.com/8ggtuo7.jpg[/IMG]


Coat with grease...
[IMG] http://i18.tinypic.com/6ob43fd.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG] http://i19.tinypic.com/85f91jp.jpg[/IMG]


[IMG] http://i7.tinypic.com/81yb8xx.jpg[/IMG]


The seal cover and pin are greased.
[IMG] http://i16.tinypic.com/6lv0ynn.jpg[/IMG]


[IMG] http://i17.tinypic.com/7yo9ft4.jpg[/IMG]




Dust cover and dust seal pressed on to swing arm
[IMG] http://i7.tinypic.com/71psleg.jpg[/IMG]



Here is the best design I've seen in a long while...before you offer up the swing arm take off this bolt,clean and coat with copper grease.



[IMG] http://i13.tinypic.com/6okw7fb.jpg[/IMG]


[IMG] http://i4.tinypic.com/7wzd6ie.jpg[/IMG]


[IMG] http://i10.tinypic.com/7x1kswz.jpg[/IMG]






Screw the bolt back in and offer up the swing arm to the frame....screw this bolt out until it closes the gap between the swing arm and frame,just until you get a firm slide fit.It'll take a couple of attempts but it'll save any hard squeezing and pushing. Put the chain over the front sprocket,put the swing arm axle though the swing arm and tighten it up. Smear axle with copper grease before hand.


Bolt the 'elbow' and the rest of the suspension nuts and bolts back together not forgetting to coat the bolt shanks in copper grease.







Take the two plastic clips apart that'll hold on the shock absorber mud flap.
[IMG] http://i18.tinypic.com/8c0zhw4.jpg[/IMG]


Put the outer bit into the mudflap and then press in the pin with a screwdriver until it clicks home.

[IMG] http://i13.tinypic.com/6y1y87p.jpg[/IMG]


[IMG] http://i4.tinypic.com/89hdi8i.jpg[/IMG]


Screw on the brake line bolt after coating it with copper grease.


Put the wheel back on,tighten it up and finally put the moto on the side stand.
Now you can put the centre stand spring back on as it's not under any great tension.

Go have a beer.

:)




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Proper grand job Ohlins :applause: ...........................when's it good to ride mine down for you to do ???????????????????????

Phil

Anytime!!!...there'll even be beer!!

:)







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Nice write up, I have made it into a PDF for everyone to download.

Click in the download link. http://www.4shared.com/download/E80Z...2_Controll.pdf

Mind what you say !!!i might just turn up:onetequila: i'm down past your way next week on the way to the HISS , if i get chance i wouldn't mind calling in on the way back.
Phil

By all means Phil....I'm in Asson 64800,right on the cross roads of the D35 and D126.

:)


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No problem Kev...with pleasure.

:)



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very nice ! this one will help out so many people !

I LOVE easy to follow guide like this, even though I'm not planning to do it any time soon, they are a great read. Thanks!

Thank you for the kind words.

:)



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Excellent write-up, and just what I was looking for now. Noticed today that my rear suspension squeeks like an old door, and the first thing I found was this! Thanks! :yahoo:

Thank you kind Sir!

If it's squeaking it really is time!

Now get the tools out and give it a go!!!!


...and don't forget beer!!!


:)




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Big thank you for taking the time to present this so well.

Thanks....

:)



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Bloody great write up there mate.
I've had the shop remove the squeak once, now it's my turn to service it before it comes back.
Good to see Ten dirtier than mine for once, made me feel good.
Thanks mate.

Thanks....(it'll be that French dust and mud we have here...great!!!!)

:)



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awesome ohlins! i just did this today inspired by this post and did it need it there was barely any greese in there :eusa_clap: thank you, i did notice that there was some play in one of my bearings, the one that bolts to the frame of the bike in the aluminium link piece one of the propper needle cage bearings. I was wondering what do i need if i want to replace these? is it just the bearing itself or do i need the whole link? its the one that yopu have to remove the chain roller to get the bolt out hopoe that helps cheers!

Thanks for the kind words. :)

You will press the bearing cage out..heat the elbow up with a small blow torch and use a socket of the same diameter,using it as a drift in a vice.(with a larger diameter socket over the other side so as it will plop out into it.

Check for part number on line and order one either from Yamaha or www.bearingboys.co.uk (for this you'll need a serial number or measure the dimensions and search for it on the web site)

Heat the elbow again and press the new one in after keeping it in the freezer for a good long while...that's all there is to it.

:)


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AWESOME! exactly the info i neded you legend! no need for the vice and drift though theirs a 10 ton bearing press in the garage :HappyRoll_ANPIUI: but i will heat/freeze it , thank you!

Excellent!....Great you have access to a press...that'll make it all very easy!


:)



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I may be misreading, but it sounds like you've destroyed the bearing cages then put the loose rollers back in.

That's not going to end well.

Awesome job ohlins. Fortunatley someone posted a reply so I got hold on your threads. I bookmarked all 4 parts of it.
Unfortunatley the PDF which KEV did is no longer available...:(.

Hi Uberthumper..

Valid concern....but...all my motos when greasing the pivots are the same,i.e. without a silicon soft cage. IMO the cage is there to aid assembly on the production line so as to avoid needles(from normal type needle bearings) from dropping out and going missing. (In fact those same bearings when replacing,will always arrive with a plastic sleeve in the inside diameter to stop the needles falling out).

Just too awkward to keep tabs on.

Normal bearings are saturated in grease and work just fine,so I've no worries in having grease in there instead of a bit of silicon.


:)



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There are two sorts of needle roller bearings, "full complement", and "caged roller".

A full complement bearing has, as the name suggests, a number of rollers which precisely fills the space between the inner and outer races (the inner race in this case being the sleeve which fits inside the bearing).

A caged bearing has fewer rollers. The cage isn't just there to stop the rollers falling out before assembly, it's there to keep them spaced out evenly in operation.

What you've done is remove that cage, but you've still got the same number of rollers - which is not enough to 'fill' the bearing. This means that they can all move round to one side of the bearing, leaving an empty section. Expect a lot of play and fairly rapid failure.

In other words, if the bearing comes without a cage, that's fine. I presume this was the case on the other bikes you've had.

What you've done by removing the cage from a caged bearing isn't fine. The rest of the 'how to' is great, but this particular bit is not good advice.

OK Uberthumper..

Thanks for your input....

For info I haven't any play at present after riding lots of trails and oddly enough when I put the needles back in and with that cage out,there's not enough room to even squeeze an extra bearing in at all. They're all so tight with each other.

When assembled they look just fine. I'll keep an eye on them just to confirm that all is well and if not I'll certainly post any findings.


Thanks


:)


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Big thanks from me too!
Very much appreciated! :)

I am going to do this job in a couple of days.. Great to see a guide with nice pictures that show how to do everything!

Big thumbs up! :)

One little question though;
I have a XTX, and my bike does not have that fancy center stand as the XTZ has..
How do everybody do this on a xtr / xtx ? I only have ha swing arm stand, but
that is quite useless when removing the swingarm :P :D

:)









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What kind of grease do you use when greasing the swingarm bearings?

Hmm... If uberthumber is right about the plastic in the bearings, how can I avoid to damage it when I disassemble everything?

Is it better to not remove the needles and leave them where they are and just clean as much as possible and regrease it afterwards?

I used marine water resistant grease last time I had the swingarm off.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-60211-fu...nt-grease.aspx

I am about to do the pivot again in the next month or so, so we'll find out how good its been...

Ok, let us know the result :)

Kev

The PDF link comes back to the O2 controller.

Pete

I use normal Lm type grease...light bearing erase..the sort you find in any autoparts store...I have also used water proof grease in the past in my off road moto's....I usually strip an off road moto down twice per year and once per year for a road moto...of course it depends how wet the going is annually

As for the bearing cages..personal choice I'd say..I'd rather see them filled with grease than running almost dry...(at the end of the day they're standard needle bearings with nothing radical or special about them IMO)


:)




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I have removed the swingarm and the "elbow" now and have cleaned it. I tried not to remove the silicon cage but when I left it there there is too little space for the grease so all grease will be pressed out when inserting the metal sticks again..

It is also very easy to actually destroy the silicon cage.. I did this in the swingarm bearings.. So I did just as you did, removed the silicon cage and cleaned the needles and put grease in there instead. It is very very tight with the grease and the rollers can not move from on side to the other so I don't think it is a problem. When I press the metal stick back in, it feels very very tight.

Have you had any problems with your bearings yet Ohlin?
I will try this solution. Easier to maintain.. The silicon cage or whatever it is is, as said, very hard not to destroy when inserting the metal stick back in..

I have removed the swingarm and the "elbow" now and have cleaned it. I tried not to remove the silicon cage but when I left it there there is too little space for the grease so all grease will be pressed out when inserting the metal sticks again..

It is also very easy to actually destroy the silicon cage.. I did this in the swingarm bearings.. So I did just as you did, removed the silicon cage and cleaned the needles and put grease in there instead. It is very very tight with the grease and the rollers can not move from on side to the other so I don't think it is a problem. When I press the metal stick back in, it feels very very tight.

Have you had any problems with your bearings yet Ohlin?
I will try this solution. Easier to maintain.. The silicon cage or whatever it is is, as said, very hard not to destroy when inserting the metal stick back in..

I've had no problems to date...and I can't see how I would at this time.There's no room for movement and I'd rather see grease in there than not.

:)






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Good to hear. Then I will do the same :)
As said, if you grease without removing the silicon cage all grease will be pushed out again by the metal stick.. When I still had the silicon cage in the bearing the metal stick was completely clean after I pulled it through the bearing..
So, grease or silicon cage... I choose grease..

I will remove the silicon cage in all my bearings, they will be quite destroyed when removing/inserting the metal stick anyway..

I removed the MPL from my swingarm bearings the first time I serviced them (2 years ago) by accident. Cleaned them out with petrol without really thinking about it and the MPL dissolved and the needles fell out! I had intended just to smear the existing bearings with grease and re-assemble everything as it was. After wondering what to do I stumbled across this (which is pretty much the same as Ohlins' walk-through)...

http://www.thumperfaq.com/swingarm.htm

I am due a swingarm strip again soon and will see how things have held up, but there is no play and there are no squeaks - it's just precautionary maintenance. As I mentioned before, I also used waterproof marine grease when I assembled everything last time.

Thank you Pleiades for your reply! Then I have no worries :)

Yip..thanks f0r your update and I wouldn't worry too much about it...

:)

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Just about to do this myself using this thread as a guide (cheers Ohlins - I'll buy you a :beer[1]: next month) and was wondering what the issue might be with removing that silicon cage but after reading that thumpertalk article I can see more benefit to removing it than leaving it. Nice one Pleiades :icon_thumleft: