How To Service Your Swingarm and Suspension-Linkage Pivots | MC Garage
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- Опубликовано: 10 июл 2024
- Servicing your swingarm and suspension-linkage bearings is a tedious job, but it’s not especially difficult, and it is important. Here’s how to do it.
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Heavy loads, constant motion, and direct exposure to the crud that gets flung off the rear tire mean that your swingarm and suspension-linkage pivots lead a rough life. Servicing your bike’s rear-end bearings is one of those maintenance items that most people just don’t bother to do, and honestly, there isn’t really a set service interval for these parts. But if the pivot bearings are dry or dirty they’ll inhibit suspension action and wear out quickly, so if your bike is more than a few years old, has a ton of miles on it, or regularly gets ridden in the rain or in dusty conditions, you owe it to your bike to tackle this project. Lucky for you, we’ve got an MC Garage video that walks you through the procedure.
Get The Weight Off Of The Rear Suspension
To start things off, you’re going to need to support the bike’s back end, but before you prop the bike up, go ahead and crack-free the swingarm nut, the linkage nuts, and the rear axle nut. These fasteners typically have a lot of torque on them so it’s going to be easier to loosen them while the bike is stable on the ground or in this case on a lift. Now that you’ve got all of those nuts cracked free, you need to support the back of the bike so there is no weight on the rear suspension. If you’ve got a buddy, you can use a set of jack stands under the footpegs or a set of proper footpeg stands. My preferred method is to roll the front wheel into a wheel chock and then lift the back of the bike using a floor jack under the engine.
I’ve also heard of people suspending the bike from a ladder with ratchet straps but honestly, this seems a little bit sketchy. But hey, do what you have to do.
Remove The Swingarm And Linkage
And now that the bike is secured, you’re ready to start taking stuff apart. Begin by removing the rear wheel, chain guard, and the other parts that need to come off so that you can remove the swingarm and suspension linkage. Now remove the linkage bolts and spacers, then remove the swingarm pivot bolt, and pull the swingarm off the bike. Next up, wash the linkage and swingarm with a rubber-safe degreaser. Use a soft brush and a rag to remove grime from the exterior of the parts as well as the bearings themselves. Then give the bearings a final rinse with an aerosol parts cleaner and allow them to dry.
Inspect, Lubricate, And Reassemble Your Swingarm And Linkage
Since everything is apart and clean, you should go ahead and inspect the needle bearings, seals, and inner bushings for wear and damage. Missing needles, torn seals, or pitted bushings should be replaced but minor scuffing on the bushings is perfectly normal. Now that everything is clean and inspected, lubricate the bearings with a quality waterproof grease. Use your finger to pat grease into the needle bearings, then slide the bushings into position and carefully wipe off any excess lubricant, which could attract grime and accelerate seal wear.
With that done, assemble the components and torque everything to the specs listed in your workshop manual. Once everything is tightened up, you’re good to go and you can bask in the satisfaction of knowing you’ve handled a maintenance procedure that most people never bother to do. But hey, you’re not most people because you watch MC Garage. Now I know this is a tedious job, but it’s not particularly difficult and it is important. It’s a good one to save for a rainy weekend project.
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Fuck me, this has got the potential to be the best motorcycle channel on RUclips! Ari and Zack know what we want and deliver it just right!
I never miss an MC Garage video. They are just a perfect 10. Entertaining, well explained and fast to the topic. Thanks guys!
You're welcome. Thanks for watching.
Majes en Moto dude I always imagined you would enjoy the Motorcyclist Magazine videos, but I never actually expected you to watch content in English, by the way your videos are awesome Majes
lagartx3 I guess we're all doing the same here. The best content can exist in any language! Nice to see you around too!! And OMG your English is perfect! Thanks for challenging me for the 10m time ago ;)
Yes straight to the point. Love MC garage!
Totally agree! They make it look easier than I believe it would be if I were to do it to my Z1000. Majes, I am looking forward to seeing if you do it sometime in the future to your bike! :). Glad to see you watching the same stuff I do.
fast, informative, well produced and edited.... this video almost makes me WANT to pull my bike apart
Do it!
Protip for using jackstands under the stock folding footpegs: remove the footpegs and flip them around so they fold down instead of up, that way they actually support the bike. Wrap them in a microfiber to prevent marring.
F-GENIOUS, thanks !
EXCELLENT Recommendation TrackSol!!!
I done this recently and not easy or safest thing to do using a car jack to lift the bike on, use something else. My bike was to heavy to lean on one and lift to get on the other, it just pushes the axle stand that way.
You guys are true heroes! Helping the layman like me, feel like we can service our own bikes. Keep 'em coming!
I appreciate you stating that this is easier said than done. Most people who post videos like this and go through the motions really fast tend to leave out steps and so forth which is understandable however it gives the illusion that these types of repairs are much simpler than they actually are.
'You're not most people, because you watch MC Garage'
Top notch unintentional (Undeserved) self-burn.
And just when I think my bike needs nothing else besides oil change and chain lube.
Boy are you in for a treat🤣
@@TexasP00nTappa Yep lol, plenty more to be done.
@@HalfdeadRider valve clearance adjustments suck the most i think
@@TexasP00nTappa Don't remind me 😂 my bike is on around 19,500 miles, it's usually done at 20k, it's not sounding bad yet though so could get away from doing it for a while yet.
its best if you can do this every 6months
Keep up the great content! Great tools here, for a novice mechanic like myself, to do fairly simple maintenance procedures on my bikes. Thanks a bunch!
This is what I was expecting exactly because I own a cbr250. Really really informative video big salute to MC Garage
You’ve taught me so much about working on my sport bike. I appreciate these videos. You get to the point and the tips are great man keep it up! Ride on
very productive content!.. i never miss any of their video :) thank you guys!
again, priceless tip from the man ARI!
I love these tips! Great work
I’m doing suspension in college at the moment, Great timing.
this is the best mc vid maintenance tips in youtube! i learned a lot on how to keep my bike in top shape! tnx mc garage! 😀
I am gracefully appreciated your incredible hard work and really good effort at each and every video you share. You are a great role model for a beginner, and a high quality mechanical instructor for experienced riders. I hope it pays more than enough to make it worthy your great effort. In my point of view, sharing all these experiences is priceless! Sincerely, thank you! Have a wonderful day!
Good video Ari! I have a couple of videos over on my channel that shows viewers how to disassemble the Ducati single sided swingarm on the 848, 1098 and 1198 models. I do this every year now as part of my preventative maintenance. Keep the good videos coming!
Great video, man. As always, very detailed
brother many many thanks for your videos. you are the best to your job and continue to give pleasure to every motorcyclist!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you,this video helped me lot and we will support you for more like this videos.
Another awesome one. Well done.
Right on time. I was just going to service my bike. Now will do this too. Did I ever say how awesome is MC Garage! #notmostpeople
I learned alot from u ur my idol when it comes to moyorcycle... Thank you so much for ur free guides..
awesome ari, great vids as always!
Love your vids !
Big appreciation to you because I actually need to do this
You saved my motorcycle dude. was going sell it coz it was handling poorly after few years of riding even after changing the suspension. Then saw your video and replaced the swing arm bushings. Again my bike is back in form. Yeah swing arm busings are perhaps the most neglected items. But working on them really make the magic happens. Thanx a lot.
Great video, like always!
Heavy loads?
You calling me fat?
Fair enough
Hi.....I am watching your video first time today...... Your videos are very nice and helps a lot in case of motorcycle maintenance and your workshop is amazing
This video will be piticuily helpful one day. ;) Love these.
New to motorbikes from the UK and I have now watched most your videos and eagerly await the notifications for your new ones, even if I feel some of the maintenance ones are beyond me right now they are good to know what to ask a shop to do. Thanks guys
Thanks for watching Colin. If our vids give you the knowledge to be a more informed rider (even if you take your bike to the shop for service), then that's great.
good one as always
Ari! you ended up with grease on your noose, typical mechanic! hahahaha great video
Pretty soon I'm never gonna have to take my bikes to the shop. Thanks MC Garage!
Ari you're the Man best videos on the internet .....can you bless us with some dirt BIKE vids
The little Honda CBR250R is back! Sweet little ride.
Hi Ari.. I am a regular viewer of MC Garage videos, they are really good.. and putting my life at ease as I like to work on my bike mostly myself.. like you do! Well, I reside in a locality where there is lot of dust and humidity and to add on to it, I live close to the sea. As a result, I can see my bike's rear suspension joints, swingarm and chassis to begin rusting, I wanted you to help me with some quick DIYs that I can do besides keeping my bike clean and polished for keeping rust at bay...Thank You!
So short yet so informative.
Another nice vid. 😉
Great video!👌
I'm so happy to see that I'm not the only that goes out in to the public with a black nose :) Thanks for all the great work man!
Haha, we had an alternative into that the editor opted not to use because I had too much grease on my face...
Nice catch phrase !
Wow.. .. mine is also a CBR 250R so was not aware of this servicing. . Thank you buddy will try getting it serviced. . In India rain and dusts are common so I think this servicing is necessary. . .
Good video as always, only thing I think would be good to add is that most sports bikes use a non standard nut for the swing arm that require either the special socket or you have to custom make your socket for it.
trick with a ladder is amazing!
Thanks i needed this to my bike
Love it thanks .
Wow, that is quite uncommon maintenance operation. Well done!
Awesome explanation Ari. This has to be the first RUclips video on the subject?
Thanks brother from India
This channel is so great and this video is amazing, I'd rather watch this than Netflix lol
happy to see this video as i own a cbr250r .
I'm ur big fan bro...
Great video thanks master 👍🇲🇽🇪🇸
Can you guys do a video on quickshifters and how they work, advantages/disadvantages?
ruclips.net/video/mlBhPZdVqb8/видео.html
Fantastic
Having the garage doing mine they have the tools n know how to do it in a number of hours.Hopfully handling is improved
Thanks boss 👍
Can you please make video explaining the differences between 2-stroke exhausts and 4-stroke exhausts focusing on the reasons for expansion chambers on the headers as well as the differences between short cans and long cans. Thanks and keep making these awesome vids .
Drill and tap holes for grease fittings and shoot some grease into the bearings at oil change time. The old bikes came with grease fittings so you could keep the bearings lubed. It's simple and effective. I also drill and tap my shift lever. It's amazing what a little grease will do. This is what happens when you were born in the 50s.
So many people neglect this! It’s crazy. To have a shop replace your linkage bearings and seals is like $700+ here in Canada. And there’s not much of an aftermarket for the parts so OEM it usually is.
Loves to see a cbr on MC Garage
I didn't even know this was a thing... wow.
Thanks for your great video!
Is there a way to put the bike on a rear stand without help?
I watch all of your videos to get ready for when i buy my own first motorcycle which will be a Honda cbr500r sometime in the next year that way i know what to maintain and how to fix anything if needed.
I know you mainly focus on mechanical issues but I was wondering if you could do a video on how to wire up accessories to your bike such as an accessory socket, usb plug, more lights, under and blow glow lights, or even an extra fuse box for people who need to power a phone, lights, gps, 360 cameras, communication devices for longer drives where recharging isn't viable.
Another good idea would be everything that needs to be done on a brand new bike before you first ride it or even a behind the scenes of what needs to be done to a bike that comes straight from the factory out of the box.
You guys provide such great and thoughtful insight on how to do things in short format videos while not missing important details. Thank you I hope to see videos on the subjects I commented about in the near future!
When i was working at local motorcycle garage and they had hooks in ceiling to hang the bikes with straps for fast tire changes if all the lifts had another bike on them. So the ladder will do the job just fine for some maintenance work
Its a good idea take needle bears out get grease on the outer wall of housing makes shocks work so much smoother
Damn I miss this guy..
Guys awesome videos!!! But can you make a video whats needed to do when you bought a second hand motorcycle I meen not everybody buys new bikes so, i'ts a good thing to know what to check before you ride,or make a series about this stuff...please guys becouse everybody deserves to be safe. Thank you keep up the good work :D
thanx bro... =)
Could u guys please do a video on cam chain tensioners. The difrent types etc and how to set your tension properly on a menual one. I have seen and heard alot of difrent methods in the past few years and it would be great to clear out the bullshit one's from the right one's.
Nice video. Ari , do you have any tips or tricks for protecting your bike against rust and moisture? Because I am obligated to ride in the rain for commuting.
Good Video Ari,,,Can you please tell us how to inspect and change the Engine idle speed and its importance?
thanks for the video. e helps. but how to change the linkage bearing?
Hey can you do a video on clutch maintenance?
tnks :-)
Hi mc garage please can you show the best and affordable ways to lower your rear of bike with minimum change to the drive ? Thanks , keep up the great videos
Great! My bike squeaks more than a youtube commenter, so i guess it´s time to check that linkage 😄
can you do a video of how to change your bearings! thanks!
Do have any video for the 1300 gen II swingarm service or replace
Brother do a video about frame sliders. Thank you
Woot just did this to my 2007 Yamaha FZ1. The previous lube smelt nasty, and I’m glad I did this service for my bike. Nothing special here. If you can remove screws, bolts, and apply grease, then this is a simple job. I torqued everything down to the shop manual, hopefully nothing falls apart. 🤣
No mention of what happens when you find slop in the linkage and actually have to go to war on the bearings. Smart, because if you know that part of the job is coming up, you know why most people don't do this maintenance.
A quick way to check for slop is to the bike on a centerstand and pick the rear wheel up/down. If you can feel even the slightest clunk, there is slop in the linkage. If the bike is old enough it might just be wear in the bolts/bushings, but it still adds up to a surprising amount of $.
Please make a video on difference between petal vs normal disk brakes
Hy... I'm from Pakistan Mc garage is just perfect, one best thing is the stick to the facts...
Keep doing perfect things, thanks for everything you teach us
Even with the front wheel in the vise, I would still strap the forks with ratchet straps. This is especially important with a heavy cruiser or touring bike.
i should probably get my first bike before watching anymore mc garage
Can you make a video on frame sliders? Are there any risk installing it?
I went to remove the bolts that you screw in an out of the swingarm to adjust the chain tensionon my son's KX85, and a decent amount of water dripped out of both sides. Is this in any way normal? It was clean, clear water, but it seemed like the oddest thing.
Correct!! :)
Ari, what about the other end? the steering head bearings?
Please creat video on motorcycle traction control, cornering abs and quick shifter
In case these bearings are damaged for a very long time, does this makes issues on the swing arm?
Something similar happened to my bike, now I am worried about changing the swing arm along with bearings
When or how often this should be done? Thanks.
Is there any reason the centre stand can't be used to do this job as well..?
One thing which you failed to mention is what happens when the bearings in the linkage/swingarm seize. On some bikes (rsv, tuono) this leads to catastrophic linkage failure and I know of ppl who got seriously injured because of that. No matter what it costs in terms of time, its always worthwhile to keep the linkage in good condition.
Wow, I've never actually heard of a linkage-bearing seizing. The linkage on those Aprilia's must be pretty fragile.
I've taken apart my Bandit for powdercoating and found 3 of the 4 linkage bearings were seized or binding. This is at 49K miles though
Linkage bearings on my dirt bike got rusty and turned into a brown powder. Easy fix.
Most people watch MC garage !
Yo Ari...can you explain about big and small sprocket which is better?...please brother...