How To Replace Swinging Arm Bearings - by Gary (Pointer2null)

Gary (pointer2null) produced a very good guide to replacing the swinging arm bearings on an FZS600 Fazer
So good, in fact, that I decided to 'borrow' it for in here. With his permission, of course.
So here it is, and now there's no excuse for not knowing how to do them.




HOWTO: Replace swingarm bearings

This is a guide, if you choose to follow it you do so at your own risk.
The author accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions.

Make sure you have all the tools you need before starting. A range of spanners and sockets are a must.

You will also need:
- The replacement bearings (This is important as the old bearings will be destroyed by the removal process)
- Some molybdenum disulphide grease to lube the new bearings with
- A long metal drift
- A hammer
- An old bit of wood - nothing special, you're only going to hit it with a hammer. 2"x1" and about 6 inches to a foot long will do
- A torque wrench capable of torquing to 115NM.
- A length of scaffold bar or something similar

"A length of scaffold bar?", you ask.
Yep, that's right, a length of scaffold bar. Here's why:

The main swing arm pivot bolt is very tight. VERY TIGHT (115NM).
So you'll probably want to loosen it before removing things like back wheels and the like.

For this, make sure you have a good correctly fitting socket! If it isn't, good or correctly fitting, it'll have trouble undoing a nut that's VERY TIGHT
(did I mention the nut's very tight? Oh, I did - OK)

Also, unless you have hands of steel, using just a socket and normal bar will be very difficult. This is where the length of scaffold bar comes in.
You use it to extend the socket bar (see pics below).

Final little note of warning for now - when you're trying to undo a very tight bolt like this remember you are trying to apply a turning force to the bolt.
If you just pull on the end of the bar, then instead of undoing the nut you're more likely to lift the bike up, and probably end up toppling it over.
So place one hand on the pivot and one on the lever, and push on the pivot while you pull on the lever.
By using two hands like this your effort is transforming into a rotational undoing movement and not a bike toppling lifting motion.

REMEMBER - You're just loosening the bolt at this point - do not completely remove it. Half a turn to a turn should do nicely.

You'll find the nut behind a plastic cap


Steel hands and superhuman strength?...


...Extending the bar makes things a lot easier.






Right. That's the preliminaries out of the way. Now on to the main job.


Start by removing the rear brake, rear wheel, and (optional but makes more space) the silencer.

First comes the back brake and associated bits and bobs.



Loosen the torque arm bolts, remove the hydraulic hose clamp and guide from the top of the swingarm, then remove the rear brake caliper bolts.
Be sure to support the caliper or tie it up so you do not put strain on the hydraulic hose.

And from this point onwards, DON'T STAND ON (OR DEPRESS IN ANY OTHER WAY) THE REAR BRAKE PEDAL!!


Next job is to remove the back wheel.
To do this, you'll need to slide the rear wheel forward to get the chain off. So release the chain tensioner lock nuts and wind out the tensioner bolts.

Now loosen the rear axle nut. The spindle's going to need to come all the way out, and they sometimes need a little persuasion to start moving.
You need to be sure that persuasion doesn't damage the end of the spindle or the thread. To do this, loosen the nut about a turn then, with the
bit of wood protecting the nut, give it a few taps with a hammer to get things moving.
Take it easy like that for the first turn or two of the nut, and you should avoid damaging the threads. After this, the spindle should be free
enough to come the rest of the way out without needing too much help with the hammer.
Make sure to collect all the spacers as you remove the spindle.



Having removed the spindle, roll the wheel forwards slightly, then lift the chain off and to the side of the rear sprocket.



You should now be able remove the rear wheel by rolling it backward.
Do not loose the two spacers that may drop off.



Put the spacers, the washer and nut on the rear spindle and put it out the way.




Next withdraw the two chain tensioners.




Here we see the bike with the back wheel out, and the rear brake caliper tied to the frame to keep it out of the way.




You should now be able to gain access to the bolts that hold on the bottom of the rear shock.

Remove these and the top of the wishbone bolt:






Next comes removal of the swing arm pivot bolt. You should already have done the really hard work for this, by loosening the
nut right at the beginning. You did do that, didn't you?
(If you didn't, best do it now. It's a bit more awkward now because you've removed the back wheel, making it that little bit
more important not to overbalance the bike. Probably goes without saying, but BE CAREFUL)

Once you've removed the nut and withdrawn the bolt, the swing arm should now be free. You may have to pull the bottom of the
shock forward in order to get it out.


The swing arm bearings are covered by two caps:

Remove these.

The pivot shaft should slide out relatively easily.

You can also inspect/clean/replace the linkage components at this time - whether you do or don't make sure they don't fall out and get lost.

All the bits we have removed so far:

Now to remove the bearing.
Hold the swingarm in such a way that you can use the metal drift to tap out the old bearing.
Insert the drift from one side and tap around the edge of the bearing on the opposite side of the swing arm.



The bearing may well disintegrate during this process.
Keep rotating the drift around the circumference of the bearing so it comes out straight.

(The green piece of wood is behind the bearing and not under it)


The old, and destroyed bearing!

If the bearing breaks up completely during removal and leaves only the outer part in the swingarm you can use a
chisel to carefully cut it and then 'peel' it out.

Next you need to fit the new bearings. These should be pressed into place using a special tool. I haven't got one
so I carefully tapped them in.

Before fitting them cool them in the freezer for an hour. This causes them to shrink fractionally which makes
fitting a little easier. You can also warm the swingarm causing it to expand slightly.

Hold the bearing in place and gentle tap it with a piece of wood, so that it starts to go in.
Make sure it stays straight or it will jam.
Using the wood to prevent damage to the bearing gently tap in it.
You can also use a socket of the same size as the bearing to tap it in the last few millimeters.
Make sure you only tap the outer part of the bearing or you will damage it.


When you do it, don't hold a camera, hold the socket!

When done the bearing should sit just below the level of the swingarm




Well that's the job pretty much done, now it's time to put it all back together.

Grease the bearing and pivot shaft with molybdenum disulphide grease (work it into the needle rollers).

Refitting the various bits is basically the reverse of removal.

Things to remember (among others): - Make sure you tighten and torque all bolts to the correct torque as specified in the manual.

- Set the chain tension correctly.

- Since you have disturbed the rear brake, pump the pedal a few times when it's all back together in order to re-seat the pads.




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