Swing arm adjustment

[Andrewsteward]

Hi all, im sure this has been written about but I ma having trouble locating it..
I have some play in the swing arm (R65 81'). I realize that the bearings will need to be replaced soon or when I get the chance to do it. For now, is it possible to adjust the preload to squeeze a bit more life out?

[montmil]

Perhaps remove the bearings and see what the outer races look like.

There are large "pins" that secure the swingarm to the chassis and these are also used to preload the bearings. After refitting the greased bearings, a common grease gun with a conical rubber tip should be use to pump grease through the gun-bored pins until you see it squeezing through the small gap between frame and swingarm. The sewing arm should have equal 'gaps' on both sides. Pick a drill bit and use the shank as a guide to set equal distances.

You will need a 27mm socket that has had its face surfaced to eliminate the round-over original finish. The nuts securing the pins are of a thin section. The flat faced socket gets a better grip. A belt sander will produce the require surface and is cheaper than buying the "$pecial tool".

[Bob_Roller]

If you do adjust the pins, before you're done with it, rotate the rear wheel and listen in the u-joint area for any scraping noise, sometimes you need to have unequal spaces on each side of the swing arm to keep the u-joint from touching the swing arm .

I need to do this with my '81 R65, the other two R65's don't need this .

[Barry]

Torque the pins to 7 ftlbs to pre-load the bearings and then tighten the lock nuts to 70 ftlbs making sure the pins don't rotate any further.

Besides flat facing, a standard 27mm socket sometimes also needs the outer diameter turning down in order to make it slim enough to fit in the frame aperture. In the absence of a lathe a neat enough job can be done by mounting the socket in a electric drill and while it rotates attack it with an angle grinder.

[mrclubike]

 A 1 1/16  inch socket works also  in place of a 27mm