Service your linkage and swingarm bearings asap

[wfopete]

Getting ready to pull my rocker off. The Stark video clearly shows the Ninja girl loosening the rocker shaft on the chain side 1st. Then she goes over to the footbrake side to turn the jam nut. Here you are saying it should be the reverse order. Who is right????

 

[MotoxXxMan]

I finally got around to servicing my rocker arm bearings after 130 hours and plenty of deep water crossings, including salt water.

They were close to fine, which is pretty amazing given how I've been treating this bike.

The swingarm shaft bushing has some damage from the needle bearing. I can't work out if that's abrasion from dirt or brinelling or a bit of both. That seal had some wear too so may not be sealing well. So those parts will get replaced next time I open it up... probably in another 130 hours.


View attachment 13017

Oh wow! You put that back in?!? And are going to wait another 130 hours before replacing it?!?!? That is absolutely destroyed as is! That should be replaced asap. It WILL destroy the bearing [and itself even more] in very short time, even with fresh grease

 

[MotoxXxMan]

Getting ready to pull my rocker off. The Stark video clearly shows the Ninja girl loosening the rocker shaft on the chain side 1st. Then she goes over to the footbrake side to turn the jam nut. Here you are saying it should be the reverse order. Who is right????

I absolutely hate how she's using the torque wrench to loosen everything. Especially hearing it click well before it cracks the nuts loose.
Putting the rag in the chain to pull the wheel forward before torquing the axle nut is an awesome idea though, I've never heard of doing that, but it makes perfect sense.

 

[Theo]

Getting ready to pull my rocker off. The Stark video clearly shows the Ninja girl loosening the rocker shaft on the chain side 1st. Then she goes over to the footbrake side to turn the jam nut. Here you are saying it should be the reverse order. Who is right????

I think that the reason for which they have put a reverse thread for the lock nut is that when you tighten the shaft from the chain side, this action will result in also tightening the lock nut on the footbrake side and vice versa when you loosen the shaft. Or at least, in this way it's not possible to loosen the lock nut by tightening the shaft or to tighten the lock nut while loosening the shaft.
I guess that you can start by loosening the locknut first and it should work, but I don't see why we shouldn't follow the order of the video instead.
My suggestion:
- start by loosening the shaft from the chain side like in the video
- remove the shaft and support the rocker arm with your hand or put something under the bike to catch it gently in case it falls
- loosen the reverse lock nut and at that point the rocker arm will surely fall

 

[Chaconne]

I recently pulled my swing arm and linkage. Most of the bearings did have sufficient grease and were in good condition. The one exception was the pull rod, the bearing and race which were kind of dry and there was a mild scuff on one part of the race. Everything seemed in ok condition so a regrease will probably be all for this season.

I am not sure why the pull rod components were kind of dry, it is worth noting that the pull rod is not a capped design. Rather the race runs the length with 2 small seals one on each end and may be more susceptible to water and dirt intrusion.

 

[happyinmotion]

To remove the paired needle bearings in the rocket arm, can they be pressed through from one sidor do they need to be pulled out? Is there an internal ridge in the bore that they butt up against or is the bore smooth all the way through?

I ask as I'm trying to press them through with a bearing press bodged up from a bolt and bloody hell, I'm cranking on the damn things and they don't want to shift.

EDIT: Stark's Sam says there's an internal step, so I guess I need to get an threaded puller. One of the three bores has only one bearing and that one I've pressed out but the two bores with pairs of bearings, I can't press so I'm presuming that there's a step between the pairs of bearings.

 

[Chaconne]

To remove the paired needle bearings in the rocket arm, can they be pressed through from one sidor do they need to be pulled out? Is there an internal ridge in the bore that they butt up against or is the bore smooth all the way through?

I ask as I'm trying to press them through with a bearing press bodged up from a bolt and bloody hell, I'm cranking on the damn things and they don't want to shift.

EDIT: Stark's Sam says there's an internal step, so I guess I need to get an threaded puller. One of the three bores has only one bearing and that one I've pressed out but the two bores with pairs of bearings, I can't press so I'm presuming that there's a step between the pairs of bearings.

That's unfortunate with my Yamaha yzs you could press them both out one after the other. There are some inexpensive puller kits available on Amazon if you don't have one. I have the Tusk kit that I got from Rocky Mountain. It is kind of cheap but does the trick for most basic cases, but I wouldn't consider it shop quality that for sure.

 

[Theo]

To remove the paired needle bearings in the rocket arm, can they be pressed through from one sidor do they need to be pulled out? Is there an internal ridge in the bore that they butt up against or is the bore smooth all the way through?

I ask as I'm trying to press them through with a bearing press bodged up from a bolt and bloody hell, I'm cranking on the damn things and they don't want to shift.

EDIT: Stark's Sam says there's an internal step, so I guess I need to get an threaded puller. One of the three bores has only one bearing and that one I've pressed out but the two bores with pairs of bearings, I can't press so I'm presuming that there's a step between the pairs of bearings.

Can you please keep us posted on what you will actually see after having removed the bearings? I don't know whether you are servicing an MX 1.0, a 1.2 or an EX but in either case, the picture of the rocker arm that I see on the official site in the spare parts section shows three bores without any step.

 

[happyinmotion]

I ordered a blind bearing puller kit.

After taking the rocker arm bearings out, I can confirm that the rocker arm bores are smooth and there is no internal step. This matches the pics on Stark's parts page.


Theoretically the bearings could be pressed straight through... although my bearing press made up from an M12 bolt and suitably sized sockets could only shift the single bearing in the short bore for the shock, not the double bearings in the other two longer bores.

But even with the puller, I can't shift the bearings in the pull rod. The puller is just breaking the outer lips of the bearing races. I can't get at the inner lips as they butt up against a step in the bore. So that's a problem.

I've a friend with an EDM so I can get those bearings cut out, but fuck's sake, it shouldn't be this much drama to service the linkage. I know that having needle bearings pushed up against a step is a standard way to do it, but I thought Stark was about doing better than that.

 

[Theo]

I ordered a blind bearing puller kit.

After taking the rocker arm bearings out, I can confirm that the rocker arm bores are smooth and there is no internal step. This matches the pics on Stark's parts page.
View attachment 15894

Theoretically the bearings could be pressed straight through... although my bearing press made up from an M12 bolt and suitably sized sockets could only shift the single bearing in the short bore for the shock, not the double bearings in the other two longer bores.

But even with the puller, I can't shift the bearings in the pull rod. The puller is just breaking the outer lips of the bearing races. I can't get at the inner lips as they butt up against a step in the bore. So that's a problem.

I've a friend with an EDM so I can get those bearings cut out, but fuck's sake, it shouldn't be this much drama to service the linkage. I know that having needle bearings pushed up against a step is a standard way to do it, but I thought Stark was about doing better than that.

I remember trying to remove the crankcase bearings of my YZ250 by pushing them with pieces of wood or other objects hit by a hammer. I remember that at a certain point I stopped hitting them because I was afraid to break something. Then I heated up the crankcases and some bearings fell under their own weight and I esily mamaged to push the others out. With the Varg linkages the situation should be similar: aluminum components containing steel bearings. The aluminum will expand more than the bearings if heated up. Have you tried that? I’d try at least with a heat gun; IMO there is a small probability that a torch may damage the aluminum.

 

[DaveAusNor]

yep, add heat. I learnt from a young age that I could save myself a lot of time, sweat and tears (every time I damaged something) by adding a bit of heat.

 

[Theo]

I'd also like to write some suggestions for when reinstalling the rocker arm, since Stark's video procedure is to just loosen the reverse thread locknut and then apply 5 Nm when reinstalling it: this may work for a clean bike but maybe not with a dirty one, since the reverse thread looks like an M21 X 1.5 and with such a big thread 5 Nm may be significantly affected by dirt.
I suggest:
1-remove the locknut
2-clean the male reverse thread with a towel and the female one with a toothbrush, since it's little accessible
3-make sure that the locknut spins freely; you should be able to make it going through its hole and then falling off the other side
4-reinstall the locknut until it barely leaves a gap for the rocker arm
5-put the rocker arm in position with the shaft inside it, but IMO the shaft shouldn't protrude from the rocker arm and shouldn't touch the locknut
6-apply the 5 Nm to the locknut
7-make sure that the rocker arm is indeed locked by wiggling it and rotating it; the seals should stay still when it rotates
8-reapply the 5 Nm (you have wiggled the rocker arm)
9-tighten the shaft at 60 Nm as per the video

 

[DaveAusNor]

I'd also like to write some suggestions for when reinstalling the rocker arm, since Stark's video procedure is to just loosen the reverse thread locknut and then apply 5 Nm when reinstalling it: this may work for a clean bike but maybe not with a dirty one, since the reverse thread looks like an M21 X 1.5 and with such a big thread 5 Nm may be significantly affected by dirt.
I suggest:
1-remove the locknut
2-clean the male reverse thread with a towel and the female one with a toothbrush, since it's little accessible
3-make sure that the locknut spins freely; you should be able to make it going through its hole and then falling off the other side
4-reinstall the locknut until it barely leaves a gap for the rocker arm
5-put the rocker arm in position with the shaft inside it, but IMO the shaft shouldn't protrude from the rocker arm and shouldn't touch the locknut
6-apply the 5 Nm to the locknut
7-make sure that the rocker arm is indeed locked by wiggling it and rotating it; the seals should stay still when it rotates
8-reapply the 5 Nm (you have wiggled the rocker arm)
9-tighten the shaft at 60 Nm as per the video

Thanks, good advice. I'm about to do this tonight. Getting the bike prep'd for the new season.

 

[Chaconne]

I ordered a blind bearing puller kit.

After taking the rocker arm bearings out, I can confirm that the rocker arm bores are smooth and there is no internal step. This matches the pics on Stark's parts page.
View attachment 15894

Theoretically the bearings could be pressed straight through... although my bearing press made up from an M12 bolt and suitably sized sockets could only shift the single bearing in the short bore for the shock, not the double bearings in the other two longer bores.

But even with the puller, I can't shift the bearings in the pull rod. The puller is just breaking the outer lips of the bearing races. I can't get at the inner lips as they butt up against a step in the bore. So that's a problem.

I've a friend with an EDM so I can get those bearings cut out, but fuck's sake, it shouldn't be this much drama to service the linkage. I know that having needle bearings pushed up against a step is a standard way to do it, but I thought Stark was about doing better than that.

Can you press the bearings out in the pull rod maybe with a vise? I would just take torch to the rod and press them if possible.

 

[happyinmotion]

Can you press the bearings out in the pull rod maybe with a vise?

No. There is a step in the bore and they are pushed up against this step. Hence there's no access to the back side of them.

(Well, the lip of the bearing sticks up above the bore by maybe half a mil but hammering on that just broke the lip.)

This is a dumb design. Stark could have gone with a straight bore without a step and used a floating tube as a spacer between the bearings to ensure they are correctly located and aligned. That would allow the bearings to be pushed through. But they didn't and now here we are.

 

[Chaconne]

No. There is a step in the bore and they are pushed up against this step. Hence there's no access to the back side of them.

(Well, the lip of the bearing sticks up above the bore by maybe half a mil but hammering on that just broke the lip.)

This is a dumb design. Stark could have gone with a straight bore without a step and used a floating tube as a spacer between the bearings to ensure they are correctly located and aligned. That would allow the bearings to be pushed through. But they didn't and now here we are.

This isn't exactly the same but this guy uses a screwdriver and hammer to remove the first bearing in the pull rod of this KTM rebuild. It looks straight through to me but he removed the first bearing like that and then pressed out the second one.

I suppose if you are replacing the bearings is doesn't matter too much. I generally try to keep hammers and screwdrivers away from bearings on my machines but I do have a bad Italian temper at times...

Around 5:50:

 

[wfopete]

Once bearings are out machine the bore of the pull rod out for the next time?

Worst case scenario just replace the pull rod assembly. My bearings were toast so that's what I did. Still have the old pull rod.

 

[happyinmotion]

Ok, finally got my bearings sorted. The paired bearings in the rocker aim came out with a blind bearing puller with a slide hammer. They should push through as the bores are parallel, ie they don't have a shoulder in them. Still, I couldn't get the pair of them to move with my bearing press so ended up pulling one then pressing the other.

The bearings in the pull rod were more of a drama. They are up against a shoulder in the bore so you can't get at the back of them. They would not move - the bearing puller just broke the outer lips off the races.



I tried heat. Boiling water didn't help. I could have gone hotter but I didn't want to ruin the temper on the aluminium. I tried hammering from behind with a screwdriver/drift against the tiny part of the inner lip that stood proud. That just broke the inner lips.

So fuck it, I took the pull rod to a mate who has a spark erosion machine.





If you don't have a mate with one of these machines, then good luck.



I'm going to stand by my statement that the pull rod is a bad design. There's no reason to have bearings pushed up against a shoulder. Stark could have used a parallel bore with a floating bushing inside to locate the bearings. Or they could have a plain bore with a shoulder on the outside of the bearing, like the rocker arm. That would let you press the bearings in to a known position by using an oversized tool that pushed on the bearing then stopped at the shoulder. The current design can't be bored out as the middle of the tube has a reduced outside diameter (well, maybe it could be bored out but I don't know if that would leave it too thin and too weak).

So Stark, please fix this for version 2.0.

Also, why no grease nipples anywhere on this bike? Sealed bearings are never sealed. Water and dirt will always get in. We've known the cure for this for a hundred years - use grease nipples to add more clean grease. My lower steering bearing and linkage bearings have only lasted 200 hours. That's pretty poor for a machine that's going to get dirty.

 

[Theo]

@happyinmotion: thank you for having shared your experience.

I'm going to stand by my statement that the pull rod is a bad design. There's no reason to have bearings pushed up against a shoulder. Stark could have used a parallel bore with a floating bushing inside to locate the bearings. Or they could have a plain bore with a shoulder on the outside of the bearing, like the rocker arm. That would let you press the bearings in to a known position by using an oversized tool that pushed on the bearing then stopped at the shoulder. The current design can't be bored out as the middle of the tube has a reduced outside diameter (well, maybe it could be bored out but I don't know if that would leave it too thin and too weak).

So Stark, please fix this for version 2.0.

I dislike this design, too.

Also, why no grease nipples anywhere on this bike? Sealed bearings are never sealed. Water and dirt will always get in. We've known the cure for this for a hundred years - use grease nipples to add more clean grease. My lower steering bearing and linkage bearings have only lasted 200 hours. That's pretty poor for a machine that's going to get dirty.

My Husqvarna SM 610 has grease zerks in the linkages and I love them. I wish all bikes had them.
Maybe for enduro they may risk getting damaged but for motocross and supermoto it shouldn't be a problem.
For the steering bearings, I guess it would be a little hard to make them working, they would need to find a way to direct the grease between the inner and outer races.

 

[Chaconne]

Ok, finally got my bearings sorted. The paired bearings in the rocker aim came out with a blind bearing puller with a slide hammer. They should push through as the bores are parallel, ie they don't have a shoulder in them. Still, I couldn't get the pair of them to move with my bearing press so ended up pulling one then pressing the other.

The bearings in the pull rod were more of a drama. They are up against a shoulder in the bore so you can't get at the back of them. They would not move - the bearing puller just broke the outer lips off the races.

View attachment 15916

I tried heat. Boiling water didn't help. I could have gone hotter but I didn't want to ruin the temper on the aluminium. I tried hammering from behind with a screwdriver/drift against the tiny part of the inner lip that stood proud. That just broke the inner lips.

So fuck it, I took the pull rod to a mate who has a spark erosion machine.

View attachment 15917

View attachment 15918

If you don't have a mate with one of these machines, then good luck.

View attachment 15919

I'm going to stand by my statement that the pull rod is a bad design. There's no reason to have bearings pushed up against a shoulder. Stark could have used a parallel bore with a floating bushing inside to locate the bearings. Or they could have a plain bore with a shoulder on the outside of the bearing, like the rocker arm. That would let you press the bearings in to a known position by using an oversized tool that pushed on the bearing then stopped at the shoulder. The current design can't be bored out as the middle of the tube has a reduced outside diameter (well, maybe it could be bored out but I don't know if that would leave it too thin and too weak).

So Stark, please fix this for version 2.0.

Also, why no grease nipples anywhere on this bike? Sealed bearings are never sealed. Water and dirt will always get in. We've known the cure for this for a hundred years - use grease nipples to add more clean grease. My lower steering bearing and linkage bearings have only lasted 200 hours. That's pretty poor for a machine that's going to get dirty.

Jesus Christ. Initially I read your latest post and I thought you pulled the pull rod bearing finally with the slide hammer and got lucky, then I re-read and realized it was worse than I thought. These are supposed to be easy DIY maintenance jobs...arrgh.