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I am considering a new project on my 'new' 2004 200. Not sure if the rear linkage and swingarm bearings have ever been greased. I am a novice at this, but your advice has been a great help.

My question is, when I get everything apart, assuming the bearings and all seem to be in good order.........do I clean the bearings then re-grease - or just add grease? I searched previous threads and seemed to get mixed opinions.

Thanks

it's better to get the old stuff out, since it probably has water and abrasive stuff in it.

Any thoughts on the best way to clean it.
thanks

kerosene and rags work. If the bearings are seized in the swingarm, you're in for a treat, you might want to find a friend with a press.

I am almost afraid to remove the swingarm

OK, so I just got the swingarm and linkage off. As far as I can tell, there is no grease ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!

I removed the dust seals and bushing from the lower shock mount. I have also removed the other two bushings. My next question is can the other two seals (not the lower shock mount) be removed without damaging them? Should I just clean and regrease at this point?

The bearing pins all look pretty good, so I would prefer not to try to remove and replace them if possible.

Thanks!

The bearing pins won't fall out; they are held in a cage that is part of the bearing.

If the pins are all bright and shiny and the inner sleeves (bushings) aren't rusted you are a lucky fella. Rinse 'em out with some kind of solvent, dry, and use your finger to pack some grease in there. Seals can usually be removed without damage.

Sounds like you live in a dry area......

The bearing pins on my swingarm bearings came out and they all were in great shape. It took forever to take them all out, clean them and then put them back in and re-grease. I had to replace all of the bearings on the linkage. The small one looked like it had never seen grease.

So far I feel fortunate.....

Rear wheel bearings - shot

Shock/linkage/swingarm bearings - in need of grease but no corrosion

The only corrosion I have seen is on the center of the swingarm bolt in the space between the bearings

Re: 'The bearing pins won't fall out; they are held in a cage that is part of the bearing.'

True...unless they have been replaced at some point with bearings that do NOT have retained pins...PivotWorks for example.


Re: 'can the other two seals... be removed without damaging them?

I don't know what this refers to..but I guess it's all figured out by now?

Saying, '..(not the lower shock mount)..' maybe meant you were referring to the TOP shock mount? There is not a seal/bearing configuration in the top of the shock.

I'm surprised you didn't ask...but BelRay waterproof grease (generally around $5 or so a tub at bike shops) does a good job on suspension and steering bearings. I've had better luck with it than with some very high $$ synthetic stuff I bought. I suppose it's the 'waterproof' part, but don't know for sure.

Indeed. You are fortunate to not have had a difficult time getting the swingarm out. Someone evidently did pay some attention to it before you got it.

Thanks CC, so far so good. What I was referring to but did not explain well was the other 2 bearings in the unitrac knuckle. these have dust guards that did not slip out easily, and I did not want to force them. I was going to soak the whole thing in kerosene, let dry and regrease. I have read alot of other threads on this in this forum - got the bell ray waterproof grease. Probably cant afford your purple dino stuff. :)

It's purple SYNth stuff, not dino stuff thank you very much.

And, no, you probably couldn't afford it. I couldn't!! But...I DID get a hat with a case of it!!!

Every hole in the unitrack has seals of a similar nature. Easily or not, they all come out.

Hydro-Syn 70 from Hydrotex is what it was. If anyone wants a multi-billion $$ tube of it, let me know!

So let me get this straight....when the swing arm is off the bike and there is no corrosion will the bearing slide out to be greased or do you have to stick the grease onto the bearing while they are in the swingarm?

My understanding, and I may be wrong......is that you clean them with something like kerosene while still in the swingarm. They could possibly be removed but most likely be damage in the move. After they are cleaned, inspected and found to be OK, they are packed with new grease.
I hope this is right, because it is exactly what I am in the process of doing.

I take mine out, but I have a press. Yes, there is the potential to destroy the bearing if you screw up.

Wish I had known about PivotWorks before I replaced almost every bearing on my bike with the OEM stuff. They are significantly cheaper. Is their stuff as good as OEM?

in the case of my son's YZ, the pivot works kit had the same manufacturer bearings as OEM.

Colorado Mike wrote:in the case of my son's YZ, the pivot works kit had the same manufacturer bearings as OEM.

I was checking out their products. Their swingarm bearings don't look right. They only show 2 bearings

http://www.pivotworks.com/documents/sup ... 1EEA1C.pdf

I thought there were 4 in there.

I remember one bike I did replaced two small bearings with one larger one.

Colorado Mike wrote:I remember one bike I did replaced two small bearings with one larger one.

Same is true for the PivotWorks kit I used parts of, one wider bearing on each side of the swingarm vs: two on each side.


Re: 'So let me get this straight...'

The bearings are pressed into the swingarm..they don't 'slide out'. The only bearing in the bike that is not pressed into/onto something is the top steering stem bearing.