swingarm greasing zerk to 2000 yzf 426

[gal]

did any of u installed one in his bike?

do u guys reccomend it?

can anyone explain how to do it?

[Boit]

I hope you can do this successfully. The research I've done on this mod points to a no-go. By injecting grease under pressure into the wingarm bearings, it would tend to push out on the seals and could cause dirt to enter the bearings easier. From the information I've been able to come up with is that this bearing system design doesn't lend itself well to using Zerk fittings. Maybe by doing routine maintenance to these bearings, the owner gets to clean and inspect this area for wear and this was the intent in the first place. Perhaps it was also a matter of designing a bearing assembly that would be simple and light in weight, plus, the expectation that a racing dirt bike requires a good maintenance schedule. I hope you can make it work effectively.

[yamaha.dude]

I am planning on doing it in March, I am having a rod removed from my leg, so will have a few weeks downtime to do stuff like that... I plan to do a writeup and take a few pics, and I will post them here when they are done... stay tuned...

David

[Rodrigo_Dill_LT_USN]

Originally posted by gal:

did any of u installed one in his bike?

do u guys reccomend it?

can anyone explain how to do it?

[Rodrigo_Dill_LT_USN]

Originally posted by gal:

did any of u installed one in his bike?

do u guys reccomend it?

can anyone explain how to do it?

sorry about that last post. first time jitters...

anyway, I bought my 2000 YZ426 from a Boeing engineer who works in stress testing aircraft. He obviously paid meticulous attention to detail, and it shows on my bike. The zerk fittings he installed are great, making maintenance so easy for one who is at sea with the Navy most of the year. At any rate, he did NOT use the screw in type. According to this engineer, threading the zerks will introduce stress points in the metal around the bearings - not good when you imagine the forces involved in dampening the deceleration of 400+ lbs from high velocity. Instead, my erstwhile friend drilled the holes (slightly smaller diameter than the zerk) carefully, chamfered the edges of each mount, and polished them to a high sheen. He then pressed them in using a metal adhesive. Beautiful craftsmanship.

BTW, the North West is absolute Thumper Heaven...

Very Respectfully,

Roddy

[otmxguy]

Years ago, there was a company in San Jose Ca, that made a Zerk kit for the linkage of most dirtbikes. I used one on one of my CR's and loved it. I wish someone made a kit. Not all of us have the tools to be drilling and tapping the linkage.

[#1_Hit-man]

Instead, my erstwhile friend drilled the holes (slightly smaller diameter than the zerk) carefully, chamfered the edges of each mount, and polished them to a high sheen. He then pressed them in using a metal adhesive. Beautiful craftsmanship.

Anyone else a little ??? about the explanation above??? I'm scratching my head right now ? ??? ~Hitman~

[ February 11, 2002: Message edited by: #1 Hit-man ]

[yamaha.dude]

When I do mine, I plan to go through the bolts where possible, the swingarm. front and rear linkage.. may have to drill te lower shock end to get that middle one - What I had in mind is say a 1/8" hole, and the corresponsing holes lined up on the bearings/bushings... chamfered edges to relieve stresses... hard to explain, but I have it clear in my mind...

It would be great to see some pics of the LT's setup...

David

[kc_husky]

Yamaha.dude, I have been looking at doing that to my bike. What I saw looking down into the hole in the bolts was a build up of rust. Price's for the new bolts didn't look to good either. Also there is a sleeve that runs between the bolt and the bearing that would have to be drilled to get the grease to the bearings. I'm wondering will the grease make it to the bearings without drilling more than one hole in the bolt and sleeve or will it push out past the seals before getting to the bearings? And will that weaken both of those parts? I also have been looking at installing zerk fittings into the linkage but the one thing that I wanted to do was remove the seals, so I can get all the alum. shavings out before they get into the bearings. . The cost of new seals also dosen't make this look cost affective. Does anyone know how to get the seals out with out damaging them?

[yamaha.dude]

Here is a quick representation of what I plan to do...

As you can see, drill down (say 3/32 dia.) through the bolt head, then cross drill... a small groove around the bolt will allow the grease to spread out, and I was thinking that 4 chamfered holes in the bush would be enough to allow the grease to flow fairly easily... As long as you don't use a air-powered grease gun, the seals should be fine, although you could always hold the lip open with a seal picker whilst doing it... to help flush out any dirt.

David

[mike_dean]

yamadude that is exactly what I did and it works fine, I drilled the swingarm between the two brgs on each side, I use a small grease gun and it does not push out the seals. I tapped the bolts as you pictured with a 6mm and installed 6mm zerks I got from farm and fleet. I can send you pictures but do not have a way to post them, just need an address. mike