Swing arm bearings
- Thread starter chris99
- Start date
Model year and month of manufacture help immensely
The hexhead has been in production since 2004 -1012 with 3 versions/ & two varients in that time
So thats an awful lot of production months , uplifts , part changes etc to guess which one you have
As do knowing which bearings needle or grooved ?
Cant you measure the bearings you have?
Also The mothership in some cases does slightly different sized bearings than stock, so whilst they may look the same as a generic bearing, they are not identical
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2010 gsa. It looks like they are the same on this generation. By the looks of it the front boot has let in a lot of water and literally filled the swing am up, this has resulted in me pulling the shaft out and not being able to get it back in over the clip on the gearbox output, I can't figure out why the clip won't squash enough, but on pulling the swing arm off the bearings are scrap. Which might explain the kick when on and off the throttle.
OK lets start form the beginning
Its the rear swing arm not the front, your opening post says front swing arm (Confusing)
How do you know the swing arm bearings are fubarred? they are pretty agricultural, so they do have some play through the drivetrain
A quick search comes up with
Please note this is for information only, I'm Santa claus, not a qualifiedmechanic / engineer
Its the rear swing arm not the front, your opening post says front swing arm (Confusing)
How do you know the swing arm bearings are fubarred? they are pretty agricultural, so they do have some play
through the drivetrain A quick search comes up with
Please note this is for information only, I'm Santa claus, not a qualifiedmechanic / engineer
dp you never eat a take-away ? they supply handy boxes with lids.
Get both halves out and measure them Inside Diameter Outside diameter and thickness
Tapered Roller Bearings - Super Precision Tapered Roller Bearings
simplybearings.co.uk
Cheers guys, the bearings are 30203 as mentioned above, on there way from amazon, they should be here at some point today, I just need to repair the output shaft if the box, its like the soring clip is to big, Google says its 22x2.5mm which is what I have, but the groove it sits in isn't deep enough, some fuckery has gone on and damaged the slot, luckily the clip was in the swing arm
On my 2008 bike I had to replace the rear swingarm taper roller bearings due to rust. ISTR they are not sealed and water gets in from the gaps and rots them. I think I used a length of stud bar to smack out the races from the opposite sides, it was years ago since I did the job.
You ideally need a special tool to set the preload on them and hold steady whilst tightening them, I think mine was made by Laser tools IIRC.
You ideally need a special tool to set the preload on them and hold steady whilst tightening them, I think mine was made by Laser tools IIRC.
Lucky for me I'm a mechanic and I can usually find/make what I need
Attachments
Laser Tools 4740 Swinging Arm Bearing Tool 1/2"D - for BMW
Laser Tools 4740 This tool has been specifically designed for installing or adjusting the taper roller bearing in the swinging arm on BMW motorcycles.
Can make your own if you grind up an old 30mm socket plus a 12mm allen key.
I paid a lot less than this price above, but it was years ago (I paid around £15 IIRC). Still a handy tool to have.
Available cheaper if you shop around:
Laser Tools Swinging Arm Bearing Tool 1/2"D - for BMW | Sparkplugs Ltd
Visit Sparkplugs Ltd for Laser Tools Swinging Arm Bearing Tool 1/2
www.sparkplugs.co.uk
I looked into this same problem on my 2005RT I found the only place to get the correct bearings for the swingarm were from MotoWorks, because the "generic" bearings that are the correct size do not have the correct seals fitted. TBH they were not that expensive, I think around £45 for the pair. I also got the correct Laser tool to hold the swing arm bolt for tightening.
To update what I did to overcome my issues, cheap bearings from amazon turned up with 24 hours of ordering, the bike was ready and waiting in bits, fitted the bearings, spent a while sorting the groove for the spring clip with a dremel, refitted everything and rode it to Poole (60 miles) to eat chips and a ice cream and play poker with my mates then rode the 60 miles home. It's the first proper run on a bike in 20 years and it didn't miss a beat. 52.4 to the gallon. I love the 6th gear overtakes, Just roll it on and off it goes. Thanks for the input folks.
