Further progress as I stripped off the rear suspension linkage and shock while the swingarm is away being repaired. Something nasty lurks therein.

To start with, the rear linkage looked like this:


Now removed from the bike


Cleaned up. Note the grease nipples added by the previous owner.


Some wear evident on the arm. Oil seal fell off on disassembly - note that the bearing is either not pressed in properly or has worked its way out. Grease was rather washed out and horrible on this pivot.


Needle rollers rather pitted (from the same pivot as above)


Rather more nasty wear on the arm


And a lot worse here - maybe 1mm of material has been ground off at the connection with the rear shock bracket.


So, new bearings and seals are on their way. I'm not sure what to do about the wear on the arm. They are quite pricey to replace. I may just shim it for the time being as the idea isn't to spend a lot of money on the bike - just get it MoTd so I can register it. I can sort these bits out later.