swing arm bearings

[monkeyman]

Hi, I am new to this site and was hoping someone could give me some advice.

I have an L1 zxr in bits atm as am restoring it to its former glory. I've stripped it down and dropped the engine but want to know if now would be a good time to do the swing arm bearings or if it's no harder once the bike is in one piece. I will do it now if it's best to do while it's in bits but would rather not have the extra cost as all the parts i'm buying are quickly adding up. It's on 23500miles.

If anyone knows can you let me know please.

Also does anyone know how to do it and could give a step by step run through.

Thanks

[zimm]

do it with it stripped, far less hassle than trying to balance a whole bike with no backend...

last time i did some the only way to get the old bearings out was to cut them up with a dremel, then i paid an engineer a tenner to drive in the new ones as i didn't fancy butchering them.

[masterofinsanity]

dropping the swinger off isnt that bad at a later date but if your stripping the bike anyway it might be worth doing now, although the bearings are quite expensive so its down to available funds at the end of the day.is there any play in the bearings or are you just doing them as a matter of course?? there are manuals on the main site http://www.zxrworld.co.uk to guide you along the way (you will need both H & L manuals).

[monkeyman]

In terms of it being easier to balance when stripped, i was going to hoist it up under a climbing frame with some strong rope attached to the sub frame under the seat. I thought this would be ok but if anyone has any other ideas????

I haven't checked for play as don't really know how (yes it is my first bike so big learning curve) so am doing it as a matter of course, but will probably wait if it can be done with the bike in one piece.

Does the chain need to be split as well to do it?

[masterofinsanity]

no, you can pull the chain off when you remove the swinger.

[monkeyman]

Ok, thanks. But how do you check for play in the swing arm??

[masterofinsanity]

best bet is to lift the rear end, you can do this with a paddock stand or axle stands underneath the bottom frame rails so the swinger & wheel is off the ground then try and move/twist the swinger to see if there is any play in the bearings, bear in mind there also may be play in the suspension linkage so check carefully, as your stripping the bike check at each stage ie before and after you strip the suspension to eliminate any play.It may be easier to check with the wheel removed first?

[monkeyman]

Excellent. that sounds easy enough. I'll let you know how if i end up having to do it now. I will probably need to get some more guidance on it when it does actually come to do it though.

Thanks

[masterofinsanity]

no probs mate i'm here 24/7 ish

[RedexRobB]

Yes alot easier to do with the swinger off, if i remember correctly theres either 2 or 3 sets of needle roller bearings which you can only get from kawasaki (about 10 quid each), and a normal ball bearing. The needle rollers are a complete giraffe to get out, hence i took mine to my local dealer to take them out for me, however i put the new ones in myself with a suitable/unwanted socket.

But its pretty easy, all you need to do is undo the large nut on one side of the frame that secures the swing arm spindle and then pull the spindle out, then undo the bolts that hold the linkages underneath to the swinger, as well as the bolt at the bottom of the shock. That should all drop out once you have done that. If you want to drive the bearings out you will need a shaft long enough to reach from one side of the swingarm to the other, plus enough to hold it in place with your hand. The ball bearing shouldnt be too difficult, but the needle rollers i found exceptionally difficult because they are quite thin and the edge of the shaft kept jumping off and i wasnt making any progress so took it to my local dealer to get out for me. Driving them in was easy enough i found. Just remember you need to use molybdenum disulphide (or moly grease) grease on the bearings for assembly.

[monkeyman]

Thanks. That's very useful. I've got a mate in a bike shop so i'll probs take just the swinger to him and see if he can pop the old ones out for me. If i end up doing it now or leaving till it really needs it (and i have the money) i'll get pictures so a section can be written on it in the workshop section.