Superbyke, boy have I been busy wrenching!

[raydog]

Well, I got the rear shock, swingarm and all associated parts off yesterday....and realized, no matter how clean and shiny you keep your bike, when you get it down to this level, you find these awful little pockets of grunge! Besides all the cool aftermarket upgrades (material for a near future post), I am taking great pleasure in cleaning and greasing all the shafts and bearings that make up the suspension geometry. I can't say anything was really dry, metal to metal but I can say that 20k miles is a PERFECT time to sanitize and replace all metal to metal working surfaces within the suspension (including the swingarm pivot bearings). There were a couple of places that felt gritty when I worked it back and forth without the restriction of 1)shock still in place not allowing you to "run it through" it's movement 2)the weight of the motorcycle prohibiting various joint movement examination. And remember, this Superbyke, when I began this transformation, only had 20k miles on it in a very clean climate and was always an indoor bike! Many org members shudder at the thought of taking apart the "mysterious" little geometric joints that connect the working rear shock to the unsprung chassis of the Busa (the rest of the bike). By me suspending the bike to the ceiling (tiestraps hooked to the top bar, each side, of the subframe), I took away the effect of gravity on all those parts and made it so much easier. As soon as you see all those little needle bearings that live down there, you'll know how important it is to maintain them! (I don't care what the manual says, that's only the most basic guideline for maintainence, as with all equipment).

If I could make only one point about the above, it's this.... I have no idea how to measure or how compromised the bike was before (suspension smoothness and overall wear) but I do know that, when back in service, with everything cleaned, lubricated, loctited and torqued to specs....I will have a confidence that all is proper. In high performance riding situations, the tarmac/tire relationship will be transmitted to my brain in the most accurate and unmolested way that I, as the owner/operater, can create. Those of you contemplating taking the plunge into this, I recommend it. Doyle

 

[HillbillyTom]

Swing arm and linkage bearings are, for me, regular maintenance on the dirt bikes, but the problem of unloading the rear suspension has kept me from doing anything with the Busa. Guess I need to build some sort of swing set type structure to lift it from. Have thought about it, but have never went past that. Still have a new set of +1" links here that I've never put on for the same reason. Maybe since work will be a bit slower this spring I can get something built to lift the bike with. Rest of the job will be pretty much the same as any other.
Glad you brought this up. Got the thought back in my head.

 

[raydog]

Swing arm and linkage bearings are, for me, regular maintenance on the dirt bikes, but the problem of unloading the rear suspension has kept me from doing anything with the Busa. Guess I need to build some sort of swing set type structure to lift it from. Have thought about it, but have never went past that. Still have a new set of +1" links here that I've never put on for the same reason. Maybe since work will be a bit slower this spring I can get something built to lift the bike with. Rest of the job will be pretty much the same as any other.
Glad you brought this up. Got the thought back in my head.

You know what might work? An automotive engine cherry picker (engine hoist) from Harbor Freight. They aren't that expensive, you don't have to have a ceiling structure in your garage/carport to depend on, and they're portable! Just brainstorming(and that would eliminate my bottle jack ritual too). Doyle

 

[raydog]

I should mention (as shown in pic #1) that wood and a bottle jack are part of my process of hoisting....I go up an inch, then cinch the tiestraps up, go up another inch.....you get the idea!
I should also mention, just because a bearing is a sealed bearing, doesn't make "all ok", I've peeled back more than one seal and revealed a less than acceptable quantity of grease in there. Doyle

 

[dadofthree]

Swing arm and linkage bearings are, for me, regular maintenance on the dirt bikes, but the problem of unloading the rear suspension has kept me from doing anything with the Busa. Guess I need to build some sort of swing set type structure to lift it from. Have thought about it, but have never went past that. Still have a new set of +1" links here that I've never put on for the same reason. Maybe since work will be a bit slower this spring I can get something built to lift the bike with. Rest of the job will be pretty much the same as any other.
Glad you brought this up. Got the thought back in my head.

I just used a floor jack under the bike when I replaced the links on the '06, but you'll need a helper to keep the bike steady.

 

[dadofthree]

More than the cleaning and maintenance I believe you get a great deal of joy out of this, and that's hard to put a dollar figure on.