time for swingarm greasing - help needed

[gal]

i got my bike from someone that allready greased it 4 me before i got it, so never had the chance to do it. please help me with your wonderfull tips. what is the best and the easiest way to do it? any special tools? i have the manual but i dont think it explains how to grease the swingarm - only how to replace the bearing etc...

[GYT-Rider]

Do you know when the swingarm was greased. I opened mine for the first time today(I've had the bike for a year, bought it new), and everything was looking great. In fact I belive the swingarm was better off before I opened it, becuse now I'm sure I've managed to get some sand/mud behind the seals. The only bearings that needed a little bit of grease was the ones in front were the swingarm is conected to the engine.

I had a lot of yamahas in the begining of the 90's and I must say I was impressed to see how well the bearings in the swingarm of my 01 426 has held up. Anyone else experienced this???

[sirthumpalot]

I've greased my linkage a couple of times and the best advice that I can think of is scrub the bike very clean before you start (just like any maintenance) and get yourself a large clean area to work in. If you're on the floor then spread out a towell or something clean. Depending on where you ride, the parts are going to be really dirty when you take them out (dirt and goo packed into the seals) so have patience to clean it all out good. Also be sure you have a bike stand and something to put under the rear tire to hold it up about 6-8" (I use a small bucket). The manual has really good instructions on taking it apart and putting it back together. Not a fun job but it must be done.. Have fun!

[Uncle_Rich]

Yes mine looked good too

gal

Its not that bad of a job

You need a socket to fit the swingarm pivot bolt

( 22mm ? )grease both ends of the shock,remove only the collars and dust sealy ( pay close attenion to the way the seals go in )then hand pack grease in the bearing then work the bearing around then reassemble

I only remove the collars on the linkage then hand pack grease in the needle bearings

On the swingarm you want to remove the outside dust seals and the collars ( not the inner seals )

and same thing hand pack the needle bearings with grease.Put grease on all the bolts when reassembling

Tip I use water proof grease ( marine grease )

Also I pressure wash my bike before I take it apart ( dont pressure wash around anything you don't want to take apart and grease )

I hope this helps, if you want more details or have any other questions don't be afraid to ask

Rich

[Thumpster]

I just did mine today. Everything written above covers it. Check your shock linkage while you're at it. Use the marine grease if you have some. The area I live in is wet and the water resistant stuff works best. Plan on a day to tear it down and put it back together. It's no fun but you'll be glad that you did it. To reiterate what Sirthumpalot said: scrub the area clean before you start!

My swing arm bearings looked good but the shock linkage needed some love. Glad I caught it early to aviod even more work!

Good luck ?

[John_Lorenz]

Hey Gal

Have not done mne but on the list of to do next,

Thatnks for the post, helped me out before I started.

I am ordering new bearings and bushing before start, just making sure, looks dry and dirty at first glance so I assume the same inside...

Ego

[bassr_#186]

I think the current issue (June?) of Dirt Rider has a step-by-step article on regreasing a YZ swingarm. I remove the seals when I do mine - makes it easier to clean the bearings and get new grease in. I've been told that it's best to leave the teflon seals in the needle bearings - they may be the reason that bearings seem to last and perform well.

[DPW]

Try HERE, read the post by MakoMike.

[ May 28, 2002: Message edited by: DPW ]

[wrooster]

makomike's stuff worked for me -- in fact i copied his stuff into into an ms word file and cleaned it up a bit for future reference. but look here also for some helpful hints and useful info:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/bike/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=10&t=003076&p=

https://www.thumpertalk.com/bike/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=6&t=001970&p=

https://www.thumpertalk.com/bike/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=6&t=004333

and finally you really should see my pics in

https://www.thumpertalk.com/bike/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=10&t=003150&p=

?

the wrooster