Squeaky suspension

[Aidan1150]

I was out on my 1150 today and noticed that if I bounce up and down on the rear suspension I hear a squeaking noise.

It sounds like a dry "grating" noise, as if a bearing or pivot point was dry of grease. Kind of like a door hinge that needs oiling.

I know this is not a very technical description of the noise, but has anyone here experienced similar?

I have photographed my three main suspects, which do you think is most likely to be the culprit?

1. At the bottom of the rear shock;

2. Behind the gaiter at the end of the driveshaft tunnel;

3. The main swingingarm pivot;

Any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Aidan1150]

No-one any ideas?

 

[iletts]

I get it too, made no difference replacing the shock, i thought mine was coming from the top mount, seems to be worse when the bike is warm. perhaps "they all do that sir"?

 

[cookie]

could be the spring.

 

[boxer]

No-one any ideas?

Okay then - git someone to bounce on the bike seat while you examine [listen to] the likely source of the squeak. Put your hand [carefully!] on or near the pivots/bearings and see if any vibration/'grinding' can be felt while the rear of the bike is compressed.

It might be worth seeing if there is any movement in the back wheel when held in the 3+9 o'clock positions. If so, then the pivot bearings need attention and could also be the source of the squeek.

Try holding the handle of a screwdriver to your ear with the blade on the suspect area.

Russs.

 

[adamski49]

Sounds like paralever bearings. Adjustment quietens it down for a little while, replacement cures it until the next failure.

Adam

 

[carbold]

I've been there. All you need to do is spray the paralever bar with loads of wd40. The offending end is the one just behind the rear brake pump (arrow). You have to spry and bounce the bike up and down continuously for at least 5 minutes.

 

[ag1s]

Sounds like paralever bearings. Adjustment quietens it down for a little while, replacement cures it until the next failure.

Adam

absolutely, had the same problem and re-torqued the two intermidiate paralever bearings. Also the squeak seem to be temperature related as it was worse in hot weather

 

[Iain Hogg]

Mine did that until I had the rear pivot bearing seen to.

As has been said before, check for play in the rear wheel at 3 & 9 o'clock, any movement indicates this is the source of your problem.

Iain

 

[Aidan1150]

Update

Was out for a wee spin today and called in at Hurst Motorrad, where I had a chat with their technican Alan, a very friendly and helpful chap.

He diagnosed the problem as being here (see pic)

There are little bearings in here which can get dry or even fail. The remedy is to remove the bearings, inspect them, and if OK, grease and re-insert.

Seems that Boxer was correct. Luckily there is no movement when the wheel is held in the 3+9 o'clock positions, so hopefully the bearing is OK.

Hurst's service dept is fully booked until early next week, but as I am off to Manchester at the weekend, I went to remove the bearings this afternoon, but don't have a 12mm hex key, so will have to scrounge one of a mate tomorrow. With a bit of luck the problem should be easy enough to fix.

The guy in the service reception at Hursts even came out to check that there were no unresolved recall issues relating to the bike, even though I didn't buy it from them.

Thanks to all of you who suggested solutions, your help is greatly appreciated. What a wonderful resource we have here.

Aidan

 

[Iain Hogg]

Beware, there is loctite on the thread and the torque settings are extreme!

Internal bolt 160 Nm

External bolt (12mm Allen) 7Nm
Locknut 160 Nm

All with Loctite 2701

Good luck,

Iain

 

[Aidan1150]

Thanks for that Iain

I will try to be carefull as opposed to my usual cack-handed self

My mate is a very skilled engineer, so will hopefully save me from myself.

Cheers

 

[boxer]

If you aren't aware - the Loctite that retains the locknut and the two pivots will need heating with a hot air gun to melting point before the disassembly otherwise the internal threads [fine pitch] may be damaged.

Do a search on this site and ADVrider for lots of info on this procedure.

Russ.

 

[Aidan1150]

Sorted!!

Started into the job this evening, paying close regard to Iain & Boxers cautions. Thanks guys

I took my time and after an hour and a half had the whole thing back together. I even managed to have no bits left over!!

Thanks to all you guys for your help and advice, I appreciate it.