Suspension Lube alert

[FJReady]

Last year before my XC trip I pulled the shock and dogbones off to lube as much as I could down there. I stopped short of pulling the front pivot of the 'boomerang' because I didn't want to get into the sawing off of the centerstand mounting bolt, etc.

So yesterday I decided to go in and finish the job. Yes the centerstand removal is a major PITA but with enough time and persuassion the C stand can be wrestled out of there.

One thing that was odd was that when I was removing the bottom Shock mount bolt, it was not very tight. I know I tightened it pretty good last year.

When I got the 'boomerang' out and was checking the movement of the inner bearing races I discovered that the shock mount one was frozen. WTF? I just lubed it last summer. (That was at approx 45,000 miles. The bike has 70K on it now.) That would explain the loose bolt- the bolt was acting as the pivot/bushing since the inner race was not moving. It looks like some of the mounting bracket of the shock has worn away essentially creating a clearance between the clamp and the inner race.

The other bearings moved fine and still had sufficient grease in the rollers. Including the ones on the swing arm (at top end of dogbones)

I pressed the inner race out to have a better look. It ain't pretty. I must have damaged the seal at one end of the bearing that allowed water to get in and corrode the rollers.

Question for anyone whos been through this: How tough is it to get the bearing remains out of the boomerang? I gave it a pretty good shove in the vise, but it doesn't seem like it wants to move. I don't want to add heat for fear of damaging the other seals and bearings.

Also, does anybody know the part number of this bearing? I have to call around to find one.

Much thanks

Russ

 

[lnewlf]

This job is on my to do list this winter-hope I don't find a mess like that. As far as getting the bearing out...You can usually rig an arrangement of sockets in a bench vise to press a bearing out- one slightly smaller than the diameter of the outer bearing shell and one larger to press it into. Also gentle heat and tapping with a hammer helps. Extra hands are helpful until everything is clamped in place in the vise. A cold wet towel wrapped around the parts you don't want heated acts as a heat sink. Have fun !

 

[xcsp]

For a new "boomerang" or the relay arm, found this on the Babbitt's Online 5JW-2217A-00-00 ARM, RELAY $143.52

(That is just for the arm, no related parts.)

May be able to locate a good used one??

 

[madmike2]

Sometimes the nuber listed for a unit, like the suspension arm, includes the related parts. You'd have to check with a dealer.

The bearing and seal numbers are:

93315-31759-00, bearing

90387-127W0-00, collar

93109-17071-00, seal (you'll need 2)

 

[Queensland Ken]

A member on the Aussie Forum had his bearings totally stuffed, wore out a bearing housing.

He bought a new/second hand one off ebay.

I've put a few posts on regarding lubing the linkages, done mine 3 times now, bike @ 110K kms.

I was surprised how quickly they become dry, so hopefully found a product that may last the distance, an antisieze lube better the molly paste.

I'm going to make it a 20K service item.

I'm still to remove/replace that silly bolt through the centre stand, will mod it next time.

Cheers

 

[HaulinAshe]

There's no way I would replace only the one bearing set. Once you are there, do them all. Then make it a service item to periodically (every 2-3 years) replace the seals. Keeping the seals fresh will preserve the bearings for many years/miles.

IIRC the entire bearings, seals and spacers is about $140. There's no reason you should worry about damaging the pivot linkage casting itself. The outer bearing race is probably rusted to hell and seized in the casting. But even if you scratch or groove the casting, it will work just fine. Just clean it up well before installing the new bearings.

PB Blaster soaking overnight is definitely your friend. You'll be amazed at how much easier the outer bearing sleeve will come out after a good night's soaking.

 

[Fred W]

Hmmm, guess I need to add this to my winter to do list.

Out of curiosity, what kind of grease did you use there, Russ? Honda Moly paste?

If so, maybe there is a waterproof (resistant really) marine type grease that would be better suited to the application? The load on those rollers is not all that extreme, but the environment they are exposed to is.

 

[escapefjrtist]

I agree with using either a marine grease or perhaps the Mobil 1 Synthetic. Either would be better in the sometimes wet environment that the relay arm lives in. Definitely going to put this on the once-a-year check, considering it's occassionally wet here in the PNW.

--G

 

[luvtoride]

I had a similar event a couple of years ago that was found by Jeff. I bought a whole assembly off of a member here that had totaled his bike with under 10,000 miles on it. If I remember correctly, it cost me all of $20.00 or a similar price. The part was put on & I continued along my merry way.

Good luck with your fix.

 

[Donal]

According to the schedule (in the handbook page 6-4) this should be done every 12,000 miles.

There have been a number of serious failures documented in the UK and at least one caused a serious accident.

The Dealers do not seem to be carrying out the full procedure because it is such a PITA. Most FJR riders in the UK either do it themselves or take it to the FJFJR Club Workshop in Gloucester where it will be done properly. The higher failure rate in the UK could be due to the harsher winter conditions with salt on the roads.

I do mine for peace of mind. Once the centre stand bolt has been turned it is a fairly straightforward job.

Don

 

[El Cajone]

I lubed my dogbone pivot points at 21000 mi at the PNW Tech Meet in October. The lower pivot point was corroded and seized and the upper was starting to corrode. We lubed it with some of AuburnFJR's synthetic racing grease which is more resistant to water washout than the recommended lithium soap grease.

 

[scubatech]

I lubed my dogbone pivot points at 21000 mi at the PNW Tech Meet in October. The lower pivot point was corroded and seized and the upper was starting to corrode. We lubed it with some of AuburnFJR's synthetic racing grease which is more resistant to water washout than the recommended lithium soap grease.

Remember the good old days of grease zerks? It would be great if the manufacturers would start installing these again. Even an Alemite hole for a lube point. This era of bragging about how little maintenance a vehicle needs and how long oil will go before it is useless goes a long way in my opinion towards a lot of these problems. Most 4 wheel drives and heavy duty trucks nowadays have very few lube points on the front ends and driveshafts. I never minded having to lube my vehicle!

 

[Crash Cash]

Remember the good old days of grease zerks? It would be great if the manufacturers would start installing these again. Even an Alemite hole for a lube point. This era of bragging about how little maintenance a vehicle needs and how long oil will go before it is useless goes a long way in my opinion towards a lot of these problems. Most 4 wheel drives and heavy duty trucks nowadays have very few lube points on the front ends and driveshafts. I never minded having to lube my vehicle!

Can I "+10,000" this post, please? What really pisses me off is you're supposed to grease the SV swingarm once a year, but you need a $140 special tool... grrr...

And while we're at it, I'm glad the see the manufacturers are finally providing some sort of protection for the fork seals, as both my '07 FJR & '08 SV have the dinky little deflectors. I had to put fork boots on my last 3 bikes, including my '02 SV.

So once you take the pivot off, can you drill & tap it for a zerk fitting?

 

[scubatech]

Remember the good old days of grease zerks? It would be great if the manufacturers would start installing these again. Even an Alemite hole for a lube point. This era of bragging about how little maintenance a vehicle needs and how long oil will go before it is useless goes a long way in my opinion towards a lot of these problems. Most 4 wheel drives and heavy duty trucks nowadays have very few lube points on the front ends and driveshafts. I never minded having to lube my vehicle!

Can I "+10,000" this post, please? What really pisses me off is you're supposed to grease the SV swingarm once a year, but you need a $140 special tool... grrr...

And while we're at it, I'm glad the see the manufacturers are finally providing some sort of protection for the fork seals, as both my '07 FJR & '08 SV have the dinky little deflectors. I had to put fork boots on my last 3 bikes, including my '02 SV.

So once you take the pivot off, can you drill & tap it for a zerk fitting?

I think if there is room you could.I think putting it in a drill press would be essential to get it straight. My WR450 doesn't even have one on the swingarm.

 

[fjr183]

I think to add a grease zerk, you would need to find 2 shorter bearings to replace the orginial, to allow a gap for the grease to enter the bearings.

Fred

 

[Bounce]

this is NOT an "i told you so". it is NOT pointing a critical finger at the OP.

it IS an opportunity, while the outcomes are fresh in everyone's mind about services in general.

how many times have we questioned the service intervals (or seen someone questioning the service intervals on various forums and mailers)? how often do people scoff at the recommendations because of a single, short-term data point that has (so far) not left us with costly repairs or failures?

next time someone says something low key along the lines of, "the engineers chose those intervals for a reason", perhaps it might carry a little more weight.

we might beat the odds 2 out of 5 times (or whatever) but when our luck runs out, the failure is typically more costly (to us or to the owner we sell our under-maintained bike to) than if we'd simply done the recommended services at their indicated times.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Well at 31.5K I must be about due. I greased everything I could get to this spring. Time to get more in depth. If only I could stop riding her long enough to do so. We will see what old man winter has going for us this year.

Dave

 

[Peter Murray]

Bel Ray makes a waterproof grease application for motorcycles,auto and marine all in one.

I have noted since the 70's all new jap bikes are assembeled with minimal lube. Dry swingarm bushings,bearings and linkage. All new MX bikes I bought were tore down and lubed before riding.

 

[FJReady]

Hmmm, guess I need to add this to my winter to do list.

Out of curiosity, what kind of grease did you use there, Russ? Honda Moly paste?

If so, maybe there is a waterproof (resistant really) marine type grease that would be better suited to the application? The load on those rollers is not all that extreme, but the environment they are exposed to is.

Fred, LAst year when I did this I used some NAPA wheel bearing grease I had. The fact that 2 of the 3 bearings I lubed are still fine tells me that the grease was not the issue. Probably operator error.

Update: I ordered new bearings and seals from cheapcycleparts. com. reasonable prices and delivery charge. A local dealer wanted 50% more money and no advantage time wise over cheapcycle.

But either way it will take over a week to get new parts with Thanksgiving holiday and all. So I decided that with this downtime I would take the forks out for service and lube to sterring head bearings. The forks came out easy as pie. Half hour tops. I took my time getting the upper triple clamp off and removing the bearing up top. It was pretty well lubed from the factory- still excess grease and light amber color. Still, I cleaned out what I could from both bearings and applied a generous helping of new Rotella T grease. Purdy red color. Putting it all back together, I realized I don't know how tight is tight regarding the top bearing nut. It took some firm taps with a screwdriver and hammer to loosen it. I tightened carefully until all noticeable slop was gone and again firmly tightened the nut. The steering head moves freely with no detectable play. Is there a better/proper/more scientific method?

Anyway, it will take several more days to get fork seals in so I'm using the time for a good cleaning and lubing of what ever I find under there. So far nothing unusual found. Fork tubes look remarkably smooth, clean and blemish free for 70K miles. Feels good to be (finally) getting at some well deserved service items on this bike.

Regarding installation of Zerk fittings; For the 4 bearings that are located at the ends of the dog bones you could easily drill and tap the swing arm and pivot for Zerk fittings. You would also have to cross drill the bearing spacer located between each bearing pair to open up a path for the grease to travel into the outer bearings.

Not possible for the front and rear (single) bearings. The outer race of the bearing is nearly the full width of the pivot housing. I can't imagine being remotely successful drilling a hole thru the outer race and have the bearing exhibit any kind of acceptable performance. I think from now on I'll drop the povot assembly and service it every 15K or so. Now that I've taken the centerstand assembly off once, it will be easier in the future.