Loving the bike... but what just happened?!

[moby78]

Saw the thread here about suspensions linkage service and one of the first photos shows a large gap between the rear of shock link arm and the exhaust... mine is sitting in the exhaust... will get a picture shortly.

[moby78]

Here are some photos

[moby78]

[Wicky]

I’ve only ever had the rear up with the paddock stand under swingarm I’m assuming when you refer to having the rear up I should do it like you would with an ABBA stand? Loved those stands, but don’t have one with this bike so can jack up under the engine with a front paddock stand to check for any play in the swingarm.

Better to hang it up rather than risk it toppling over - use a garage roof joist, stepladder or cobble something together...

[moby78]

Not sure I could beat that

I’ll give it a go!

[sirch345]

Right spent some hours on the bike today checking what I could, then took it for a test ride

Before I started checked pressures - 34/40 so all good there

I first raised the bike and check steering head bearings - all good. I checked the front wheel bearings, solid. I then removed and refitted wheel and followed the correct tightening procedure and settling of the axle fork stanchions look fine, no oil residue or any obvious issues. Forks pump normally.

I then moved to the rear, checked alignment, wheel bearings and re-adjusted chain slack. All good I then looked at the linkages and they all *looked* good... the torque marks on the bolts and nuts all lined up and nothing looked wrong obviously

Reviewed suspension settings - haven’t touched them since I bought the bike. All standard settings and didn’t change them Weather much better, blue sky and dry roads so I took it for a run.

First impressions is that’s a real harsh ride in the seat - as you feel a bump through the bars it feels harsher over the rear wheel. If there is a rough patch the bike feels unstable. If the road is smooth around a corner it feels okay (just okay, not as smooth as before), but any bumps and it’s unstable and the rear feels like it’s sliding and the steering becomes less precise.

There is definitely something amiss and I’m blaming the shock. What do you guys think? See pic - I’ve not taken a close look at the shock before and assuming this is normal?

I’ve no experience with removing rear shocks or testing them - but I suspect I need to get it rebuilt or maybe buy a replacement after market one. I used to have a Maxton on my Falco. I’m in the UK in a few weeks so may take a look (cheaper than here I suspect). Other than bouncing the rear of the bike up and done and looking for oscillations, what else can I check?

I must say I'm impressed on how you have gone through all you have looking for a possible problem. As for the shock, in your photo there appears to be no sign of oil leaking out, so that is good. How does the rear end feel when you push down on it and allow the rear to come back to it's normal resting position it should come back under damping control, not just spring back quickly.
The OEM rear shock pre-load adjuster works best at the lowest setting (or the 2nd setting if you are a larger person) for solo riding,

Chris.

[moby78]

I must say I'm impressed on how you have gone through all you have looking for a possible problem. As for the shock, in your photo there appears to be no sign of oil leaking out, so that is good. How does the rear end feel when you push down on it and allow the rear to come back to it's normal resting position it should come back under damping control, not just spring back quickly.
The OEM rear shock pre-load adjuster works best at the lowest setting (or the 2nd setting if you are a larger person) for solo riding,

Chris.

Cheers I just want to get it sorted! I’ll check the shock again today.

Was also going to look at the linkages and at least clean and grease them.

Suspension on number 2, I’m a little heavier

Any comments on how close the linkage arm is to the exhaust? It’s touching it - very different to some other images I’ve seen.

[sirch345]

I must say I'm impressed on how you have gone through all you have looking for a possible problem. As for the shock, in your photo there appears to be no sign of oil leaking out, so that is good. How does the rear end feel when you push down on it and allow the rear to come back to it's normal resting position it should come back under damping control, not just spring back quickly.
The OEM rear shock pre-load adjuster works best at the lowest setting (or the 2nd setting if you are a larger person) for solo riding,

Chris.

Cheers I just want to get it sorted! I’ll check the shock again today.

Was also going to look at the linkages and at least clean and grease them.

Suspension on number 2, I’m a little heavier

Any comments on how close the linkage arm is to the exhaust? It’s touching it - very different to some other images I’ve seen.

The headers are very close to the shock linkage on my bike, but not touching.
I have feeling though if a spacer is fitted to the top of the shock (to increase turning in speed) the gap gets smaller. It might be worth checking yours to see if a previous owner has fitted a spacer to the top of your shock.
Another thought, may be your header pipes need re-aligning so the linkage isn't touching the headers, or may be someone has re-fitted the shock linkage (the triangle bit) back into the bike the wrong way around. Apparently this is possible, and it lowers the seat height. I'm not sure if that has happened if it would make the linkage touch the headers. There should be an arrow on the triangle part (on the side plate) which if fitted the correct way around it will be facing the front of the bike. Don't hold me to it, but if my memory serve's me well the arrow should be on the lefthand side (side stand side),

Chris.

[AMCQ46]

Mine is close to touching as well, so that is not too abnormal, but will dry the grease faster, hence the need to check the linkage

[moby78]

Thanks guys.

Bike now “hoisted” and starting to take things apart. Looks like I’ll need to remove the header pipes - rather not have the weight of the swingarm there... thoughts?

Problem is the header bolt is well rusted so off to get some WD40

[moby78]

Looks like they’re on the right way

[moby78]

Top of shock

[moby78]

Ok assuming this isn’t normal...

Link to video...

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0X2UY1c ... khKhA#Home

[KermitLeFrog]

Sliding is OK. It needs some lateral tolerance. Rocking is bad. Looks good to me. Still worth taking it apart and checking and regreasing.

[moby78]

Thanks for that.

Taken it apart now, the long bolt on the shock link was a bugger to get out but all done now

All needle bearings are intact, some were seized/tight but all loosened now. Dust seals all good. All pivot collars good. Everything feels nice and tight, the bike has 100k km on it and it has a FSH so this must have been done in the past.

Cleaned everything up and will pack with grease and refit later next week.

So that amount of lateral movement is ok? I was a bit surprised to be honest and thought that could explain the disconnection between front and rear.

Is it worth removing shock since I’m there? Access looks a bugger.