Removing relay arm from frame

[ckuhns]

I am in the process of lubing the relay arm and have run into a problem. I have slung the bike, removed the center stand and swing arm. I have removed the top bolt in the relay arm that attaches the arm to the frame . it appears that there is a bushing througt the two frame lugs and the relay arm that is keeping me from removing the relay arm. I have some photos but am unable to post them Thanks Carl

 

[SLK50]

Yamaha refers to it as a "collar".

May be a little corroded.

Try some penetrating oil, then tap it out.

 

[Geezer]

Unless it has changed since '05, the bearings are just needles in a waxy grease, no metal cage holding them in place.

When I pulled the bolt out of mine it looked fine, so I just pushed in a little fresh grease and left that forward end of the relay arm attached.

 

[Donal]

I am in the process of lubing the relay arm and have run into a problem. I have slung the bike, removed the center stand and swing arm. I have removed the top bolt in the relay arm that attaches the arm to the frame . it appears that there is a bushing through the two frame lugs and the relay arm that is keeping me from removing the relay arm. I have some photos but am unable to post them Thanks Carl

The bushing just buts up against the collar through the bearing.

These bushings all seem to get seized in position and as said above you just need to tap on the top of the relay arm to get it to slide out.

If you want to free up the bushing you can use the nut & bolt to just pull it through - the head of the bolt is just slightly smaller than the OD of the bushing.

To be on the safe side make sure you put some packing between the frame lugs to avoid putting any side load on them (the bearing collar is exactly the right width)!

 

[Fred W]

First time I did the job on my '05 I ran into this too. I found that if you pull the long bolt to the right side as far as it would go (with the stuck collar still frozen and exhaust header still in place) it was just clear the inner sleeve in the relay arm bearing and I could wiggle it out and give it the full service.

The second time I was more prepared and did what Donal suggested above after removing the relay arm again, packed the space between the tabs with sockets and washers and used the nut to draw the entire bolt and collar free to the left, Liberal use of BP Blaster or other penetrating oil is suggested. Once free I cleaned up the corrosion and coated everything with a good coat of antiseize grease before reassembly.

 

[ckuhns]

Thanks for the advice. One thing that puzzles me is that the frozen bushing is flush with the frame lug on the left side but there is about 4mm of the bushing protruding from the right side frame lug. I think I will rig up a puller anf also use some heat on the frame lugs Carl

 

[Fred W]

Yes. When that bolt is installed (and not frozen) the pivot is located laterally only by the nut and tang on the left side. The inner sleeve (race) of the bearing, the collar (that freezes) and the bolt head just compress as a stack, and the collar supports the assembly radially in the snug fit of the collar into the hole in the right side tang, without putting any lateral stress on the two tangs.

 

[Donal]

Thanks for the advice. One thing that puzzles me is that the frozen bushing is flush with the frame lug on the left side but there is about 4mm of the bushing protruding from the right side frame lug. I think I will rig up a puller anf also use some heat on the frame lugs Carl

Just make sure you do not apply side loading to the frame lug, however you do it....................

 

[FJReady]

Carl, maybe just try tapping that part of the bushing exposed on the right side (the 4mm you refer to) and apply some penetrating oil. It only has to move a tiny bit to free up the relay arm sleeve which is restrained by the left side of the bushing and the right side of the left frame tang. Be gentle with the tapping, use a soft face hammer. The bushing has a very close fit with the frame tang as is needs to slide axially and have very little side clearance. (excellent write -up above by Fred our in-house techno poet Laureate, by the way).

Where you indicate it is 'frozen flush' with the left side of the right tang is where it is in contact with the relay arm sleeve. if you can move the bushing even a couple thousands of an inch (to the right, of course) you should be able to wriggle free the relay arm giving you more room to get the bushing totally out and clean it up for reassembly.

 

[ckuhns]

Problem solved, All I had to do was like Donal suggested and tap on the top of the relay arm and it fell out Thanks Another question That bolt that holds the relay arm to the frame lugs was inserted from the left side of the bike. I had to flex the exhaust pipes to remove the bolt. it looks like the bolt will slide right in easly if inserted from the right side. Any thoughts on this? Carl

 

[FJReady]

I'm pretty sure that inserting the bolt from the right side is the preferred method after this service is done the first time.

I assume you discovered that you have to remove the bolts holding the right side centerstand brackets to the bike frame. (I used a hacksaw blade in my sawz-all) to allow access to the right side of the relay arm tangs. Then replace the factory center stand bracket bolts with some hardware store stuff only the bolts are inserted from the inside of the brackets and the nuts are used on the outer flange of the C-stand bracket.

There have been many threads on this topic over the years and the methods vary slightly, but bottom line is getting the center stand out of the way for relay arm service. I've done it several times now and I put the forward relay arm bolt in from the right and the nut therefore goes on left side of the left tang nestled in tight near the left center stand mounting brackets. This means I don't have to remove the two left side center stand bracket bplts in order to do the service. Instead I take out the center stand pivot bolt from the left side. I hope that makes sense.

 

[NormKern]

Getting ready to do this service on my '14 ES. Have looked at a number of how to's on this. This thread is the best explanation yet on how the bushing just under the bolt head functions. I get it now. Thanks!

Norm Kern

Dayton, OH

 

[FJRMGM]

just did this service on my '05 last weekend and of all the bearings/joints on the rear suspension, the middle one on the relay arm discussed above was most in need of new lubrication.

 

[FJR30FAN]

When I took mine out last year after initial 20K miles on my 2010 the bolts were nice and clean although not well lubricated from the factory. I normally do not ride in the rain so that likely helped. I lubed everything nicely before reassembly so I don't think I will have to mess with that for a while.