http://nobrakes.smugmug.com/photos/100491285-L.jpg


So I decided to tackle a long overdue rear suspension lube this weekend. Needed to replace swingarm bearings and more on the rocker arm.
Removing the rocker arm pivot shaft did not go well. Seized onto the bearing sleeve. Hours of blood, sweat, torch, and a big hammer finally got it off, although now needs replacement.
Lesson learned on proper maintenance, but it got me wondering about the setup of this shaft. Why does it need to be so long? Many other bikes have a much shorter version attached differently to the frame. On ours it must pass through a couple hollow cylinders attached to the frame, as shown on Nobrakes pic above.
These hollow spaces also have drain holes. Mine were plugged solid.

I am wondering if I should be worried about mud and moisture building up in these spaces? Confined space for the crap and water to live and work past the bearing seals? Actually, moisture has a straight path to get in between the shaft and sleeve, which caused my grief.
I also thought about filling these spaces with a load of waterproof grease...

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated
Thanks

 

Can't help out with your question, but looking to lube my bearings soon to hopefully avoid what happened to you. How long did you go before it got to this point? Yours is a 2011, right? So about 4 or 5 years?

 

About 3-1/2 years and 16,000kms
Will be doing an inspection at least once a year now.
Very little lube seems to get put on these bearings at the plant, so I would look at yours asap.
Cheers

 

Can these bearings be removed in either direction? Been trying to hammer them out and they won't budge a millimeter. They're nothing like the wheel bearings. Those suckers were a piece of cake compared to these.

 

Clean the crap off the bearing, hit it with some PB Blaster, and then use heat on the swingarm. That might break the bond.
There is always the dissect method, remove the needles and carefully fold in the bearing housing. Don't scratch the inner surface of the swingarm while you do it.

 

Heat worked for me. They were tight.

 

Thanks for the writeup. I will be servicing my "new to me" 2007 KLX250S very soon.

On those swingarm bearings I used a press to get ones out of my 1989 KX125 project bike last year.

 

After going through everything myself, I now understand what you mean by those hollow spaces. I do a lot of river crossings. Those things must always fill with water and then drain. But if the drain holes are plugged...would cause a big problem I think. (Though the right side hole is pretty big)

The bolt shaft on mine was showing some obvious wear on those exact spots. Think I'll need to do yearly maintenance on the rear suspension to stay ahead of any problems.

I'm not sure if filling it with waterproof grease would be the way to go. But then again, I'm not sure if it's NOT a good idea. I guess if you don't do any or many water crossings then it would probably be ok. I'm just wondering if the area could get filled with a bunch of crap and then can't drain because of the grease.