Granite Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 Hi All, I have currently spent the last few months restoring "recommisioning" a 1986 after it spent the last 20 years in a hedge... I have identified some slop in the shock knuckle. Lifting the swinging arm i can see and feel a small movement in the connection between the cast fork of the shock linkage and the aluminium knuckle, which in turn is amplified by the time it gets to the rear wheel, enough that i would think an MOT failure. It wouldnt hurt to change out the needle bearings but i could use some advice on what they are, the service manual indicates a 15mm bearing puller and the microfiche only shows a single assembly with no indication to the needle bearings, unusual to me as i would have thought it was a servicable part, certainly according to the service manual. Im not a million miles away from getting this bike back on the road and I could really use a little help. I have included an image of the microfiche, with the upper and lower needle bearings identified and a couple of pics of the bike when i picked her up and where i am now. All the best Colin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted May 8 Member Contributer Share Posted May 8 Those needle bearings would have to be VERY bad to realize actual slop in my experience, unlike a normal radial bearings. Have you removed and disassembled the unit to inspect the shafts? Sound like it is time to take all of the linkage off and clean / inspect to find out what is going on. If you feel it is indeed time to replace some components, there a A LOT of these bikes that have been parted that I'm sure you could find some lower mile examples of the suspension pieces. I have never had to replace the needle bearings before, but I have cherry picked the nicest shafts I had (lots of parts bikes) when re-assembling. Oh, and looking good! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granite Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 Many thanks for your reply! I have had the entire bike apart, inclusive of the linkage and cleaned a repacked with grease, or a well as you can with a lack of a grease nipple. I didnt pick up on any obvious wear, and it is safe to say i have replaced anything on the bike that was bad. I'll have to have it apart again to fix/diagnose the issue. Ill update when i know more. Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted May 8 Member Contributer Share Posted May 8 One thing I'll add, is that I can get the same thing on VFRs I know everything is in order. Do you think you are getting that much play in just one or two spots, or do you think it could be the stack up of a little play at every single bolt and collar location. If you've had this apart and serviced everything, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, I don't think anything is really wrong. How many miles on the bike? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted May 8 Member Contributer Share Posted May 8 Also... looks like you've got a little VF500FII project going on there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granite Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 2 hours ago, Captain 80s said: One thing I'll add, is that I can get the same thing on VFRs I know everything is in order. Do you think you are getting that much play in just one or two spots, or do you think it could be the stack up of a little play at every single bolt and collar location. If you've had this apart and serviced everything, not noticing anything out of the ordinary, I don't think anything is really wrong. How many miles on the bike? Its a valid qestion, but this isnt right im sure. Effectively if move the swingarm up and down, there is definite movement in that lower bearing/shaft which translates into a significant amount of travel at the axle end of the swinging arm. Ive seen it in the past on other bikes, usually its a deterioration due to water ingress, jet washing being the main culprit then mixed with wet weather riding and road salt does the rest. Although in this case the bearing and shaft seem fine. Swingarm play is an inspection check, and i just happened to check after everything was rebuilt and noticed the play, ill video it if i get a chance, if for nothing else other than reference. This is actually my 2nd FG, my first was after passing my bike test and i sold it on, not realising what a great bike it was. Roll forward some 15 years and nostalgia was getting the better of me. I just happened to be talking to a contractor at work and rambling on about the bike that got away, and thats when he offered me his "hedge find" complete with birds nests and spiders, where it had languished for 20 years. I fired it up for the first time about a month ago. It was parked up in the summer of 2003, the tax disc ran out in September of that year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granite Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 2 hours ago, Captain 80s said: Also... looks like you've got a little VF500FII project going on there? Unfortunately that was too far gone for even me ( given my post above, it probably says alot about how far it actually had gone ) i let it go to someone else to try and get going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc24dk Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Is is becoming a nice bike again 🙂. Rectangular instruments ...? Maybe trivial, but did you tighten (42)+(43) to right torque? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granite Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 11 hours ago, rc24dk said: Is is becoming a nice bike again 🙂. Rectangular instruments ...? Maybe trivial, but did you tighten (42)+(43) to right torque? Thanks! Yes, UK variant Gen1 had the square clocks. Yeah, good shout but checked also. I have another knuckle in the post from Germany so i have a fall back if needed. Ill see if i can get some video this weekend. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.