Loose bones

[Hammerhead]

Just me or anyone else living with some suspension slop on the lower end of the dog bones that seems practically impossible to eliminate? 
  It’s like the bolt is smaller than & loose fitting inside the bushing so no matter how much you grease & tighten, the bugger is still going to knock somewhat regardless. 
  Are you too living with loose bones?

[Dougie]

Not just worn though lack of lube is it?

[Hammerhead]

6 hours ago, Dougie said:

Not just worn though lack of lube is it?

Negative.

 Regular maintenance has the bearings & bushings in great shape. What that’s  also revealed is, all 5 bolts in that linkage have a generously loose fit inside their bushings.  Tally up a tiny little slop from each & it totals an unpleasant amount of slack at the rear axle.

 

  From the factory those bearings were sparse on grease & the bolt/bushing space was dry. That was solved very early.

  Thing with those bearings is they never really spin (just oscillate) so part of the overhaul sees them well lubed & thoroughly spun to help even out any wear. 
 

  Another solid go over today seems to have solved 90% of it. Safe bet that knock eventually returns though, as the grease between bolts & bushings slowly gets mashed outa there.
 

   The lower dog bone connection usually being the canary in the coal mine that it’s time again.

[Black99S]

Lithium based grease with moly works best with factory lithium base grease. Moly helps as rotation is minimal. 
Agree; from factory the bearings were greased but the bolts were dry. 

[Dougie]

Seems to be a Yamaha trait. The old ten had 5 points in the rear suspension, and has a load of play, and mot test failure, if they’re not pumped with grease recently. I remembered in time this year, but might change to a heavier grease anyway. At least there are nipples on the old girls. I’ll install nipples when I strip the rear linkages on the 7. 

[Tenerider]

27 minutes ago, Dougie said:

Seems to be a Yamaha trait. The old ten had 5 points in the rear suspension, and has a load of play, and mot test failure, if they’re not pumped with grease recently. I remembered in time this year, but might change to a heavier grease anyway. At least there are nipples on the old girls. I’ll install nipples when I strip the rear linkages on the 7. 

I'd do it if I knew how to add those grease nipples

[Hammerhead]

@DougieNipples would be a big improvement for maintaining the bearings. But it won’t rotate them or solve the dry bolt issue unless you perforate the center of the bushings too. If you’ve not torn down your  T7 linkage yet, put it high on your list. The factory didn’t do us any favours. 

[Ray Ride4life]

9 hours ago, Tenerider said:

I'd do it if I knew how to add those grease nipples

Drill it and tap it. At the bottom 2 1,5mm vent holes to get the air out and also some grease which shows you put enough in.

[Hammerhead]

That’s a good start @Ray Ride4life. Two more & perforate the bushings to get grease at the bolts & you’re on to something 

[Ray Ride4life]

you can't drill the bushings.

[Hammerhead]

9 hours ago, Ray Ride4life said:

you can't drill the bushings.

Why not? ….if you were bothered & had the right tools….I’ll just stick to the regular overhaul game, it’s pretty basic.

[Ray Ride4life]

2 hours ago, Hammerhead said:

Why not? ….if you were bothered & had the right tools….I’ll just stick to the regular overhaul game, it’s pretty basic.

I think there are not many people who have the drill bits that are able to drill those bushings. These things are hard.

[Hammerhead]

25 minutes ago, Ray Ride4life said:

I think there are not many people who have the drill bits that are able to drill those bushings. These things are hard.

Yeah, no doubt. As they should be. Would’ve  been nice if Yamaha had kept the tolerance with the bolts a little tighter. (& not assembled them dry)  All fair enough for us who enjoy wrenching our rides, but not so much for those who don’t.