The exhaust is right in the way to allow removal of the bearing sleeve that
needs to be pulled out of the swingarm. So if its not off already, remove it.
Support the end of the swingarm with something. I used a jack just because its
convenient,its not taking any weight.
There is no real set order that you should undo the linkage bolts, but I have
found that doing them in the following order is the easiest giving the most
clearance to get at each bolt next in turn.
Undo the bolt that joins the drop link and drag link
Undo the bolt that joins the drop link to the suspension.
Swing the droplink upwards out the way
Undo the bolt that joins the drag link to the frame
Pull the drag link out from the frame. It wont drop out, its a very tight fit.
Now remove the support from under the end of the swingarm and push it down
as far as it will go so the bolt that holds the droplink bearing sleeve into the
swingarm clears the foot rest.
Undo and draw out the long internal bolt
Now this is the bit everyone moans about.
Ive seen many ways described to get this out, all of them involve struggling
and damaging the surface of the swingarm.
There is only one way to get this out, The way it was designed to be removed.
And its childsplay simple.
Either get a slide hammer threaded tool with an M14 thread, or make one by
cutting the hook off a slide hammer tip and welding on a M14 bolt.
I did the latter, its cheaper.
When the tool is screwed as far into the bearing sleeve as it will go finger tight:
Three or four sharp firm taps with the slide hammer
And its out.
Ive seen people struggle for hours trying to remove this sleeve.
The last four photos were taken over about a 90 second time span.
Use a slide hammer.
You can get a cheap one on ebay for £10 so why struggle?
The drop link will have come free when the sleeve was pulled out. It doesnt fit
with as tight a tolerence as the drag link.
Time to get cleaning and check the bearings.
The grease seals should be replaced every time, but they are quite stiff and if
you are very careful with a wide flade blade screwdriver or a seal knife, you can
pop them out without damaging them.
Clean and inspect them, if they are in good condition you can reuse them.
If they are damaged, replace them or they will let in water.
After cleaning out the old grease inspect each of the bearings in turn. They
should all be clean, move freely and show no signs of corrosion or damage
The bearing sleeves should all be smooth shiny, show no signd of corrosion
ordamage, be free from pitting and marking.
The draglink is cast polished ally and doesnt corrode, but my drop link is
showing signs of life on british roads. I dont want it to get any worse.
So I sealed off the bearings with tape and a scalpel
And coated it with a rust inhibiter undercoat and a green hammered enamel
top coat.
Yes I know its green, its all I had and it looks ok in the flesh, plus you wont see it
when the bikes back together.
And the linkage bearing that everyone forgets about on the suspension itself
Pull the sleeve out and you can see the bearing inside.
Undo toe bolt at the top of the suspension. You can get to it through the hole in
the side of the frame.
Draw the bolt out
Lift the suspension unit out
Pop the seals out, give the bearing and seals a good clean.
It gets coated in shite here from the back wheel.
After inspecting the bearing, if its in good condition, clean it out with parafin,
dry it, repack it with fresh grease and replace the seals
Likewise, after inspecting the bearing in the drop and drag links, clean them
out with parafin, dry it, repack them with fresh grease and replace the seals.
Make sure the grease is really worked into the bearings, not just smeared on
the face. I use a wooden lolly stick to force the grease in.
