Swingarm removal

[knotzilla]

Hi, I want to remove the swingarm on my 1980 GS850G to repaint and grease the swingarm bearings. Will I have to disconnect the driveshaft from the engine? By looking at the exploded view in the manual it looks like the swingarm will simply slide off leaving the driveshaft in place. Is this the case? Thanks Ted

[JayH]

Why would you want to paint the swingarm bearings?

[focus frenzy]

what you need to do is remove the four drive shaft flange bolts, that bolt the drive shaft to the output flange from the secondary gear box.

remove the back wheel

remove and secure the brake caliper, make sure not to kink the hose, the hose will need to be removed from all of the holding tabs.

remove the shock absorbers

pull off the round plastic caps from the sides of the frame over the swing arm bearing adjusters.

loosen the lock nuts and unscrew the jumbo set screw/ swing arm pivot bolt like objects

slide the swing arm straight back, piece of cake!

the big shafties have the best swing arm set up, they have way larger swing arm bearings than just about any bikes out there and they are easy to remove, clean and replace.
de grease the bearings and the races in the swing arm inspect the bearings closely for any pitting or bad spots, do the same for the races.
repack the bearings and re-install.

the one draw back is the seal is part of the tapered bearing, so the odds of getting new ones from any place other than suzuki is pretty slim.

[Road_Clam]

Why would you want to paint the swingarm bearings?

Because when grease and paint are mixed together, they lubricate better, and paint adds a touch of color to dull looking grease.

[knotzilla]

No, I didn't mean painting the bearing. Clerical error on my part. Does anyone have the actual size of the seal for the swingarm bearing. I want to check with my local bearing supplier to see if they have one similar before I take it out. Thanks Ted

[duaneage]

I did this in September to my 650 and it was a big job. I spent about 6 hours sanding and prepping the swingarm. I also painted the brake control arm and polished all the parts I took off. When I put the swingarm back I scratched it against the brake lever mechanism, leave that stuff off until you get the arm done and aligned.

I measured carefully the distance from the frame to swingarm and I also noted the position of the bearing nuts,marking them with a pen before removal. The swingarm nut is torqued to around 90 lbs. Mark the inner bearing nut and make sure it holds position when you tighten the swingarm bering lock nuts, mine moved a little and I had to do it again.

Rear brakes had to be removed and re-bled, I flushed the system and cleaned out the lines.

I also repainted the kickstand and centerstand. The return spring is a real Hillary to get back on.

When you put the driveshaft back in the boot is a little tough to get back on. I did it two ways and the best way i found was to attach it to the transmission first and tighten the clamp. Spray silicon lub on the inside and then do the swingarm. Get help for this part, I almost knocked the bike over. Mark the boot before taking it off so it goes on the same way. I did not remove the drive shaft when i did mine.


PM me if you need more help or have specific questions. This made my bike look really new when it was done. The bike looks WAY better with a shiny swingarm.

[JayH]

Are you repainting the swingarm because it got battery acid on it? If this is the reason you should be able to get a sealed battery for your bike so it doesn't happen again.

[JayH]

Why would you want to paint the swingarm bearings?

Because when grease and paint are mixed together, they lubricate better, and paint adds a touch of color to dull looking grease.

[knotzilla]

I just bought the bike and I wanted to check everything before the bike is on the road next year including the swingarm bearings. The paint on the swingarm is in good shape except for a few small spots. I decided not to remove the swingarm after all. I removed the shocks and rear wheel and checked for free play on the swingarm sideways and how it moved up and down. There is no freeplay sideways and moves up and down with no signs of binding. If it ain't broken , don't fix it applys to this situation Thanks Ted

[duaneage]

I would still inspect them for rust and water. They will last the life of the bike UNLESS water gets in. I used a good waterproof grease on mine.