Swingarm bearing question

holligl

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I didn't change any seals when I did mine. What seals are you referring to? I did coat the insides of the swingarm dust covers with waterproof grease to help keep the dirt out; are those dust covers what you were referring to?

I reused my exhaust gasket this time. If you're careful, you can get the pipe off and back on without damaging the donut. I did loosen the header bolts so I could get some clearance to remove that bolt from the relay arm, but I didn't completely remove the header pipes. I reused the old gaskets on the header pipes. Everything was apparently leak-free when I got it back together, so reusing the gaskets didn't appear to be a problem.
Yes, the seals next to and outside each bearing. Did you remove/repack/replace them or just work some grease around them and on the bolts?
 

RCinNC

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Nope, I didn't remove any seals when I did the service. I just added some Belray waterproof grease to the swingarm and relay arm bearings.
 

holligl

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Was on Covid lockdown so took this on yesterday. I did it once about 34kmi ago, but did not get one bolt all the way out, so I went all in loosening the exhaust to reverse the linkage bolts. I did not replace seals, just cleaned and lubed and reassembled. Bearings and bushing all looked good. Some bolt corrosion, especially the one I didn't get out last time, but it cleaned up pretty well. One seal need resetting. Some minor wear where one of the dog bones rubbed on the link. Not sure why, but there is nothing keeping the bushing from moving to one side or the other. The shaft had the typical rust from moisture in the arm, but again, it cleaned up nicely.

Will be easier next time, not having to get to and move the exhaust. My Jaxon plate and Mastech bar combination is a real pain to line up. The bars block straight in alignment of half the bolts. Good lesson in patience...


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holligl

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The one thing I have never figured out is the diagnostic mode to zero the ES. Diagnostic 84. In the Diagnostic mode, I get to 33 and then it goes back to 01. No 84 showing up. I just removed the shock set on 1 rider, and reinstalled as it was.

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holligl

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The one thing I have never figured out is the diagnostic mode to zero the ES. Diagnostic 84. In the Diagnostic mode, I get to 33 and then it goes back to 01. No 84 showing up. I just removed the shock set on 1 rider, and reinstalled as it was.

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83 not 33.

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WJBertrand

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The one thing I have never figured out is the diagnostic mode to zero the ES. Diagnostic 84. In the Diagnostic mode, I get to 33 and then it goes back to 01. No 84 showing up. I just removed the shock set on 1 rider, and reinstalled as it was.

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Unless the suspension error light is illuminated on the dash, I don’t think that code will be present. No error = nothing to reset?


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holligl

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Unless the suspension error light is illuminated on the dash, I don’t think that code will be present. No error = nothing to reset?


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Maybe that's it. Seems like the manual includes an unneeded step.

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Bombadier36

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Was on Covid lockdown so took this on yesterday. I did it once about 34kmi ago, but did not get one bolt all the way out, so I went all in loosening the exhaust to reverse the linkage bolts. I did not replace seals, just cleaned and lubed and reassembled. Bearings and bushing all looked good. Some bolt corrosion, especially the one I didn't get out last time, but it cleaned up pretty well. One seal need resetting. Some minor wear where one of the dog bones rubbed on the link. Not sure why, but there is nothing keeping the bushing from moving to one side or the other. The shaft had the typical rust from moisture in the arm, but again, it cleaned up nicely.

Will be easier next time, not having to get to and move the exhaust. My Jaxon plate and Mastech bar combination is a real pain to line up. The bars block straight in alignment of half the bolts. Good lesson in patience...


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Guess this answers my question I was going to ask - no way to get the 3rd bolt out without moving the exhaust?

One of the bearings has some of the packed in yellow grease missing (see images). Assuming it’s best to just replace instead of wearing it out over time.
 

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RCinNC

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Guess this answers my question I was going to ask - no way to get the 3rd bolt out without moving the exhaust?

One of the bearings has some of the packed in yellow grease missing (see images). Assuming it’s best to just replace instead of wearing it out over time.
I don't think that's grease, it's actually some kind of solid substance that's almost like latex. I saw a maintenance tutorial once from a guy who actually pried all that stuff out of the bearing, and it looked like little yellow strings of spaghetti. Doubtless it serves some kind of lubrication function.

Mine still had all that yellow stuff intact when I last did my swingarm service, but I still put Belray's inside the bearing. If nothing else, it'll help keep the water out.
 

WJBertrand

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That yellow stuff is some kind of lubricant impregnated polymer. It’s closer to a wax than a latex (which is rubbery) I think.

I wouldn’t remove it, but adding some additional grease seems like a good idea.


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wera688

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Aug 29, 2016
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Newnan GA
I need to look at my shock linkage bearings soon when I have the shock serviced. I'm sure some will need replacing, I remember the V-Strom had some bad ones, a small crunching sound alerted me to their failure.
 
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