Author Topic: Rear suspension bushings  (Read 21895 times)

Offline Boomer343

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Rear suspension bushings
« on: December 23, 2011, 01:41:06 PM »
So here is a comparison showing a new OE bearing and a solid bushing. The bolts have grooves worn in them from the rollers and need to be replaced if new bearings are put in. The solid bushings can reuse the bolts and are a better setup than the bearings. New seals (available only from Kawasaki) and a few hours of fun and yoiu are off to the races.

Offline Summit670

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #1 on: December 23, 2011, 06:09:42 PM »
Remind us again, where do you get the bushings?

Thanks.
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Offline Boomer343

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2011, 08:13:18 PM »
http://www.lm-tarbell.com/

They are one supplier and I know TCro has used them. I had a machinest I know make these up for me.

You will need 3 of 20mmx27mmx16mm  and 2 of 20mmx27mmx32mm     ID/OD/Length

It made a big difference on my bike to get everything back in alignment and operating smoothly. BTW the bearings had seen regular greasing, probably more than was necessary.

www.ametric.com  is another supplier and they have a web based store you can order from.

Offline T Cro ®

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #3 on: December 23, 2011, 08:39:54 PM »
Yep that's who I used; and could not be more pleased with the results..... No harm can come from a firm rear end!  ::)

What I did was to polish the shoulder bolts by chucking them by their threads in a drill press and dress/polish them till they fit the bushings to my liking.
Tony P. Crochet
(SOLD) 01 Concours Winner of COG Most Modified in 2010

Offline Daytona_Mike

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #4 on: December 24, 2011, 07:53:08 AM »
May I ask is it better to use "oil impregnated' bronze sleeves or even nylon or Teflon? The reason I ask is because that tarbell website states  minimum $20 order  and the ametric.com site does not list anything bronze in our sizes except for Oil Impregnated, Metric.

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Offline jim snyder

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #5 on: December 24, 2011, 09:03:44 AM »
The ones I got were the oil impregnated bronze ones. I got the part #'s from Tony.
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Offline T Cro ®

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #6 on: December 24, 2011, 09:33:14 AM »
May I ask is it better to use "oil impregnated' bronze sleeves or even nylon or Teflon? The reason I ask is because that tarbell website states  minimum $20 order  and the ametric.com site does not list anything bronze in our sizes except for Oil Impregnated, Metric.

I used the oil impregnated bronze; my thinking was that if I failed to grease them religiously it was still not a big sin.... And for the bushing that you need you will be spending slightly more than 20 bucks plus shipping.
Tony P. Crochet
(SOLD) 01 Concours Winner of COG Most Modified in 2010

Offline sroby

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #7 on: December 24, 2011, 04:35:27 PM »
Tony and Jim, my 06 only has 3800 miles on it in all of my farkling I forgot to pull the rear bushings and check them, Is it a pain can you give me some pointers and at about what interval do I need to do the bushing upgrade plsrs. Thx Steve
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Offline T Cro ®

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #8 on: December 24, 2011, 05:01:24 PM »
Tony and Jim, my 06 only has 3800 miles on it in all of my farkling I forgot to pull the rear bushings and check them, Is it a pain can you give me some pointers and at about what interval do I need to do the bushing upgrade plsrs. Thx Steve

It's likely that many 86 bikes still roll on OE needle bearings but that it not to say that an 06 with only 3,8XX miles might not benefit from the install of bushings over bearings.... It is my opinion that needle bearings are a poor choice in this application as this is a non rotational load and puts a lot of stress on just a few rollers which in turn will cause flat spotting and/or indenting of the non-hardened shoulder bolts. I believe that I could tell the difference in my bike when I did the exchange at perhaps 10,??? miles. Other than placing a board under the wheel which can be used to remove load or apply leverage removing the bolts and parts here is really straight forward and simple. Only the bolt that holds the rocker into the frame can be a tight one. The old bearings can be hammered out with a deep socket and the new bushings can be carefully hammered into place or pressed with nothing more than a bench vise and oversize flat washers. 
Tony P. Crochet
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Offline George R. Young

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #9 on: December 24, 2011, 07:10:36 PM »
. . . needle bearings are a poor choice in this application as this is a non rotational load . . . the non-hardened shoulder bolts. . . .
Devil's advocate here.

I agree the swing arm motion is non rotational, but the little needles go through more than one rotation for the full swing arm motion. So as far as the needle bearings are concerned. the motion is rotational.

I agree that the non-hardened bolts are a problem, but they're just as non-hardened sitting in the bushings as in the needle bearings.
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Offline T Cro ®

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #10 on: December 24, 2011, 07:22:56 PM »
Devil's advocate here.

I agree the swing arm motion is non rotational, but the little needles go through more than one rotation for the full swing arm motion. So as far as the needle bearings are concerned. the motion is rotational.

I agree that the non-hardened bolts are a problem, but they're just as non-hardened sitting in the bushings as in the needle bearings.

My belief is that their movement is more cyclic or back and forth than fully rotational... But I could be wrong!

The bushings will provide a full cradle of support verse the needles which only provide tiny lines of support and this is why the bolts will come out indented from absorbing impact.
Tony P. Crochet
(SOLD) 01 Concours Winner of COG Most Modified in 2010

Offline Boomer343

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #11 on: December 24, 2011, 10:11:48 PM »
Here's a couple of shots of the swingarm and you can see the wear into it. This is on one side only of the mount points.  I simply cleaned and filled the grooves with epoxy then filed smooth. I can tell you the rear end handles the road much better now that the forces are handled in a linear way.

Offline sroby

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #12 on: December 25, 2011, 10:24:19 AM »
T.cro, Boomer George thx for the update I will check mine out to be on the safe side. thx Steve
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Offline sroby

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #13 on: December 25, 2011, 10:28:29 AM »
Jim, or Tony can you give the part numbers for everything I will need plsr, I will call them next week. thats the co. in the previous message?
no.1 Dale Singleton fan along with King Kenny Roberts/Fast Freddie Spencer/ Steve and Shoodabeen.    aka (connkawi)

Offline kzz1king

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #14 on: December 25, 2011, 06:16:58 PM »
May as well post them! 8)
Wayne


Jim, or Tony can you give the part numbers for everything I will need plsr, I will call them next week. thats the co. in the previous message?
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Offline T Cro ®

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #15 on: December 26, 2011, 04:56:24 AM »
Self-Lubricating Sintered Bronze Bearings/Bushings
3 @ 20 mm ID x 27 mm OD x 16 mm Length
2 @ 20 mm ID x 27 mm OD x 32 mm Length
 
WWW.LM-TARBELL.COM
PATRICK FALLON
413-525-4166

Expect to pay roughly 36.00 for the bushings plus shipping.
Tony P. Crochet
(SOLD) 01 Concours Winner of COG Most Modified in 2010

Offline sroby

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #16 on: December 26, 2011, 11:23:35 AM »
thx boss appreciate it, regards Steve
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Offline John Mc

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #17 on: December 27, 2011, 09:13:59 AM »
I am confused.  The Ron Ayers fiche calls for 5 20/27-15 and 1 20/27/31 or something like that.  Anyway 6 total bearings.  Are not all the bearings being replaced???  I guess I can understand the slight difference in length, but am confused with the total number.
Can you explain more?
Thanks

Offline m hanlen

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #18 on: December 27, 2011, 10:02:23 AM »
I am confused.  The Ron Ayers fiche calls for 5 20/27-15 and 1 20/27/31 or something like that.  Anyway 6 total bearings.  Are not all the bearings being replaced???  I guess I can understand the slight difference in length, but am confused with the total number.
Can you explain more?
Thanks
Self-Lubricating Sintered Bronze Bearings/Bushings
3 @ 20 mm ID x 27 mm OD x 16 mm Length
2 @ 20 mm ID x 27 mm OD x 32 mm Length
 
WWW.LM-TARBELL.COM
PATRICK FALLON
            413-525-4166     

Expect to pay roughly 36.00 for the bushings plus shipping.

I see the same thing. Yes, Inquiring minds want to know!

Offline T Cro ®

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Re: Rear suspension bushings
« Reply #19 on: December 27, 2011, 10:51:43 AM »
One of the locations in the rocker will have 2 short 15 mm needle bearing and in its place you will use one 32 mm long (longer) bushing for better support.

It should also be noted that the one long bearing called for by Kawasaki was but 26 mm long to which we are replacing it with a 32 mm long bushing; this adds another 6 mm (23 %) of critical load bearing support.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2011, 04:29:41 PM by T Cro ® »
Tony P. Crochet
(SOLD) 01 Concours Winner of COG Most Modified in 2010