Ass End Collapse

[timk]

Haven't taken a look as yet. Has anyone checked if there's room for a couple of grease zerks?

 

[Bill 310]

Thanks Dean for posting.

Here are a few updates to answer some of the questions.

Canada gets the non USA Bikes. Peter's and my wife Susan's Fjr were some of the first FJR's delivered on the new 2006 design

the Serial number of the bike in question ends withA000050. I think my Susan's is slightly lower. Peter had noticed at the last service. Just prior to this trip that the swing arm was creaking the shop had taken it apart ordered new parts ( backordered) and reassembled the MC for this trip.

Apparently we have all learned that metal fatigue is an issue on these dog bones and the winter riding we do in Canada even though we don't get salted roads often in Vancovuer no doubt has taken it's toll on the motorcycle. I agree with everyone here that lubrication of these parts is critical and I doubt it is being done in very many shops and I am not sure if it is even specified in the service or shop manual (I will look this weekend)

I plan to order the parts for Susan's FJR take the back end apart clean everything, check for corrosion and wear and replace the dog bones and whatever else looks suspect.

I asked Dean to post this because I knew that first of all his post would gain more attention than mine (and have credibility) which this post as my first would not have commanded to the same degree

To answer the other questions my friend is fine, he is lucky and his motorcycle maintenance schedule will now have another level. This has also forced me to actively wash off my bikes after a salty season ride and watch for early signs of corrosion. When I indicated meticulous maintenance it is maintained to the service standards, cost is not an issue in doing necessary work and the bike is spotless at all times. my friend. Like so many who ride is not capable of doing this maintenance, with few exceptions I doubt very many people dismantle and re and re their dog bones annually, this kind of accident especially on a high mileage MC is a warning for all of us and not just those on FJR's

Many of you on here are my friends and I wanted to insure that this information was distributed as quickly as possible.

I am on and off email for the next few days but will try to answer the questions as they come in

Bill Watt

IBA # 310

 

[Bill 310]

Corrrect 105,000 miles on the MC

The 2006 FJR has 170,000 km (10,500 miles) on it.

Wow, I first thought only 10,500 miles on the bike and the dog bones broke?! :blink:

But... 170,000 km is ~105,000 miles. Er... muz a bin a typo.



Scoot

 

[olsonm3915]

I agree with everyone here that lubrication of these parts is critical and I doubt it is being done in very many shops and I am not sure if it is even specified in the service or shop manual (I will look this weekend)

No need to wonder, item #18 in the periodic maintenance chart in the owner's manual for my 2007 FJR1300A:

Rear suspension link pivots • Apply lithium-soap-based grease lightly.

This is to be done every 16 000 miles (25 000 km) or 24 months.

 

[FJRBluesman]

ood tip from Ig to keep in mind that this is a RARE occurrence (even more rare than CCT issues) and you may want to start inspection the DBs periodically.

Just to be clear since it's a compound sentence, I'm NOT suggesting to inspect dog bones. I'm saying to inspect the bearing that is the underlying issue. Inspecting a dog bone is like checking to see if the ass of the FJR fell down...it doesn't address the real issue at all. The only reason I'd check the dog bones is if I found the bearing failed or not turning smoothly and quietly. And as another person mentioned you probably can't tell whether they have hairline cracks or not without special equipment...and if a crack were to be visible...I bet it will fail before you see it.
My bearing seems to be move freely and quietly. I'll have to decide whether to actually take it off or not.

And I'd classify the CCT issue is uncommon, but certainly not rare.

Correct Ig is, both counts. The root cause appears to be the bearing. Looking at the pix, those DBs have had issues for some time, it doesn't look like the bearing got tight and it just snapped on the spot. The corrosion looks deep and the tear of the metal looks like there was only half the meat left anyway. Hearing snap crackle and pop should be a huge warning.
But Maybe if you don't check the bearing you wouldn't check the DBs either. I guess I have no real point but... look at your parts, eh. Lube the bearing, don't worry about the DBs, just sayin' :blink:

Any who....

 

[Khunajawdge]

Just to be clear since it's a compound sentence, I'm NOT suggesting to inspect dog bones. I'm saying to inspect the bearing that is the underlying issue.

My bearing seems to be move freely and quietly. I'll have to decide whether to actually take it off or not.

On Kawasaki's like the (old now) ZG 1000 Conours, the dog bone bearings and the rear pivot bearings had zerks! Howza come they are missin' on the Yamaha?

Prolly sealed?

I used to lube those zerks religiously on my Connie, but no can do on the Yammy?

 

[HYCLE]

Dog bones are available on Ebay, from a Canadian vendor.(supermoto36)

I have a set of stock ones left over. PM me if you need them.

 

[radman]

So basically, if you suddenly find you have no problem flat footing at stops, inspect rear suspension? Otherwise, like plugs and, as I was informed recently concerning an 04, fork oil, it lasts forever? In short, I am continually amazed how people can treat a high performance precision machine like a fucking Maytag.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Just to be clear since it's a compound sentence, I'm NOT suggesting to inspect dog bones. I'm saying to inspect the bearing that is the underlying issue.

My bearing seems to be move freely and quietly. I'll have to decide whether to actually take it off or not.

On Kawasaki's like the (old now) ZG 1000 Conours, the dog bone bearings and the rear pivot bearings had zerks! Howza come they are missin' on the Yamaha?

Prolly sealed?

I used to lube those zerks religiously on my Connie, but no can do on the Yammy?

The needle bearing assemblies used on both the FJR and the C-10 need very little lube (grease) -- but, they need some. They also need to be sealed from contaminant (water/grit) ingress.

The best way to inspect them (IMO) is to disassemble, clean, and inspect. The needle bearings must roll smoothly (like all ball/roller types) and the bearing sleeves must be defect-free with no brinelling.

The differece in the C-10 system is: Kawi used the big bolts holding everything together as 'bearing sleeves', too -- drilling them longitudinally and cross-drilling to supply grease to the bearings. That becomes considerably more difficult with the FJR's system of bearing sleeves and much smaller diameter bolts.

If your FJR needs needle bearing replacement in either the relay arm or swing-arm, it's a machine-shop-like procedure requiring special tools and precision measurements.

Again, the design doesn't need much lube to be effective -- but, it can't be ignored (indefinately... ).

 

[radman]

There are seals present on the ends of the relay arm-disassembly, cleaning, polishing the bolts on a wire wheel, and greasing LIGHTLY is an easy job. Those seals greased will keep things dry. The rollers have a unique "dry lube" cage that resembles old grease-do not get carried away in there, it falls apart easily and you're screwed. I replaced the bearings on frank cuz I thought the grease had dried up, and cleaning things caused their destruction, wasn't a tough job at all if you have access to a large vise and patience.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

The rollers have a unique "dry lube" cage that resembles old grease-do not get carried away in there, it falls apart easily and you're screwed. I replaced the bearings on frank cuz I thought the grease had dried up, and cleaning things caused their destruction

Good point.

...wasn't a tough job at all if you have access to a large vise and patience.

Says the Automotive Master Mechanic and motorcycle restorer extraordinaire...

 

[Bill 310]

In short, I am continually amazed how people can treat a high performance precision machine like a fucking Maytag.

In Long, I am continually amazed how nice people can buy motorcycles, pay significant amounts for service that never gets done and then ride around blissfully unaware of the risks thay have been exposed to by shoddy workmanship.

This is even more compounded in my friends case when he is on long trips and books a sceduled service for his bike, pays for said service and it is not done to the manufacturer's standards. He has of course no recourse because multiple dealerships have serviced his bikes over the years and miles yet he has paid out significant sums of money for the service to be done by the book. From the photos is is apparent it was never or seldom done.

This is one of the real shames of riding nice people paying for one thing in service and getting far less. It usually doesn't kill or hurt them because they ride their motorcycles so little, high mileage riders like my friend are put in peril due to this type of service.

Any time I have something done I come home and loosen and torque all the bolts to the correct settings after I check the workmanship on everything else. I checked my wife's bike and her bearings seem ok on first glance - I will replace them anyways.

 

[radman]

I can sympathize with those that require dealers to do the service work-a good, trusted wrench is worth his(her) weight in unobtanium. They are, however, not likely to be found in dealer shops. Look for the independent to do the best work-they likely own the place, and aren't under the gun to produce numbers and little else. There is also something to be said here for those that like to keep a clean machine-part of whats neat about doing a detail is the fact that you will notice the things that will fail soon, or loose bolts, or etc etc etc. There are some here who disdain the clean ride-they are as rabid sometimes as HD haters, as if those who take pride in the look as well as function aren't capable of puttin' on miles as well as the next guy. Wrong. There are posers, then there are those who enjoy both riding and lookin' good, and caressing every inch of the machine on occasion-I'm amongst the latter. Funny how Frank never once failed to start, haul ass, go the distance, handle, or always impress me with how good an all around machine he was. Because, I believe, I treated him like the high-perf bike he was created as. Makes a difference, 'nuff preachin, later.

 

[dcarver]

OK, then... I'm in the abuser crowd, evidently.

Last summer, I was at GP Suspension for my *annual* complete rebuild.

Almost as an after thought -

"Hey, check my linkage while everything is off, and the credit card is fresh"

...long story short -

one of the bearings was very dry... as proven when the individual needles tinked tink on the metal lift as they dropped out.

The so-called 'pin' was dry as a bone.

And I ride in dry weather 98% of the time and never pressure wash and seldom even wash the bike.

...to make matters worse, removing the entire assembly apparently requires removing the center stand which means removing the headers which means removing the radiator which means removing the lower plastic...

Give me a break.

I'll try to find my post about this - but I've already spent 15 minutes looking and can't find it.

I must admit I never thought a total complete ass-grinding failure could occur due to seized suspension bearings.

..so thanks to the OP and OP sponsor!

 

[LAF]

Just replaced the rear shock on a '10 with zero miles.

When I pulled the DB I was looking for how much grease was in on the bearings. While it looked OK I did in fact add more when I put it together. It was adequate but not the way I would pack a bearing as grease is pretty cheap.

It will be a yearly maintenance for me and I am going to take the front of them down and check them also.

Also makes me wonder if I should drop the drive line for a dose of Honda Moly 60 too.

As I said it looked adequate but it is not going to last 5 years no way.

I bought a service contract when I bought the bike, so looks like I will check the dealer on prescribed service and if I find I have been screwed I will go ballistic and get a refund. I wont play with them. Little different then the OP as he travels so much his service point is where he is. If my hometown screws me I can only imagine how an out of State traveler would be treated at a piss poor dealer for service.

A good heads up for us all though and I have taken it to heart.

 

[redcat]

I'm glad this is getting a bit of publicity your side because I get my FJR serviced at the club workshop in the UK who do nothing but FJRs and they reckon about 1 in 10 bikes they see is seizing or starting to seize.

Once the bearings do seize the dogbones will inevitably break one day and when they do you wil be very very lucky not too fall off.

If serviced correctly from the start ie lubing bearings every 12k (or 16k?) and annually or maybe bi annually it won't happen and all is fine.

As this bike gets older I guess more instances are going to get reported and people will get hurt if they are not aware.

 

[jeremyr62]

I'm glad this is getting a bit of publicity your side because I get my FJR serviced at the club workshop in the UK who do nothing but FJRs and they reckon about 1 in 10

Nothing but FJRs and FJs....

 

[radman]

What it all boils down to, IMHO, is that this bike is not a 73 Impala. You can't just ride forever and expect the machine to perform, or even function, like it did when you rode it out of the showroom. Every moving part needs attention eventually, often the degradation in performance is so subtle you don't notice it until it's too late-or you ride one that has been carefully tended to, and the difference is obvious. I thoroughly enjoy the hands on approach-and that has rewarded me with never a component failure EVER, in 40 years, on a variety of machines. Again, I am a motorhead-I get off on lubing and tuning shit, but the way I see it is-if you can't do it yourself, and are unable or unwilling to pay someone else to do it for you, find another hobby. This isn't to say you may get waylaid-like D said, sometimes the strange stuff may getcha-but an inspection done solely because it's a component that moves would have caught it sooner. I try to anticipate the need, and as a result have never been caught. Too anal? Fine, I confess. But it's not like I have a whole lot of other stuff on the burner, and going WFO on any ride I've had, on a whim, secure in the knowledge that it will take whatever I can dish out and then some at any time is a reward in itself, and has won me many a contest I might not have otherwise dominated. Think about it.

 

[dcarver]

What it all boils down to, IMHO, is that this bike is not a 73 Impala. You can't just ride forever and expect the machine to perform, or even function, like it did when you rode it out of the showroom. Every moving part needs attention eventually, often the degradation in performance is so subtle you don't notice it until it's too late-or you ride one that has been carefully tended to, and the difference is obvious. I thoroughly enjoy the hands on approach-and that has rewarded me with never a component failure EVER, in 40 years, on a variety of machines. Again, I am a motorhead-I get off on lubing and tuning shit, but the way I see it is-if you can't do it yourself, and are unable or unwilling to pay someone else to do it for you, find another hobby. This isn't to say you may get waylaid-like D said, sometimes the strange stuff may getcha-but an inspection done solely because it's a component that moves would have caught it sooner. I try to anticipate the need, and as a result have never been caught. Too anal? Fine, I confess. But it's not like I have a whole lot of other stuff on the burner, and going WFO on any ride I've had, on a whim, secure in the knowledge that it will take whatever I can dish out and then some at any time is a reward in itself, and has won me many a contest I might not have otherwise dominated. Think about it.

Love yah Dave...

Move next door, the lot is for sale, I need a good tech close by? :lol:

Oh, my 1961 Parkwood ran for over 350k on orignal motor/trans and BFG's, headers, and aviation lights up front...

What a great chick inducer that wagon was.. :lol:

 

[scubatech]

Hey Rad,

I totally agree with you. I am an anal clean it & service it often freak as well. Friends give me shit all the time about it. I think it is part of the fun and pride of ownership. I work on scuba equipment you have to be anal and very thorough!