December 5, 201015 yr I am about to replace the suspension bearings again on my sons Cabby. Now , when I have done them in the past, there has always been a little bit of play left when all the bearings and spacers have been replaced . I have just checked the bolts that hold it all together and found a lot of play between the bolts and the spacers . Would anybody know if this is normal or should I replace these bolts as well ? Any advice please Phil
December 5, 201015 yr Bolts wear as much as everything else. bein made of monkey metal dont help! replacing all bushes, bearings, bolts, and rose joints is the only way to totaly renew linkage. But even then you will most likely find a small amount of play. Its just a question of how much you can put up with i guess.
December 15, 201015 yr I don't replace the bolts, unless they were loose, they shouldn't show any wear. They are not a close tolerance fit, so the only thing to worry about is breaking one off. I've replaced the bearings in my '06 three times and still have the original bolts. You can save a ton of money by buying your bearings at a local bearing supplier or off the internet. As a Sherco dealer my cost was more than retail at my local bearing wholesaler. Get the numbers right off the bearings. You will still need the inner races from the dealer. If everything is properly torqued, there shouldn't be much play. There is a big difference in size betwwen the bolts and spacers, that's why you get a ton of freeplay if the bolts get loose. It is a really crappy design, but one we're stuck with. Double check the shock mounts. I've replaced an upper shock mount bushing on my Gaser and need one on my Sherco, but am putting it off. Edited December 15, 201015 yr by EastCoastHopper
December 15, 201015 yr Here's something you can try if you have the time and money: I had bronze bushings made for my Gas Gas (left) and Sherco (right). They didn't last as long as I expected, maybe I didn't grease them enough, or the weren't a strong enough material. But they outlasted the needle bearings by about three times. Someday, when I'm feeling ambitious I'm going to try it again with a harder bearing material. I just noticed the last picture still has bearings on the sherco links, that was the 'before' photo. The picture of them installed on bike is the bushings. You have to use a grease gun with a flexible hose to grease them. Edited December 15, 201015 yr by EastCoastHopper
December 16, 201015 yr What I ended up doing was to remake the sleeves in toolsteel & get them nitrided, the originals aren't very hard at all & develop grroves very quickly. The other advantage in making your own is you're not stuck with the factory clearances, very easy to make to holes a better fit to the bolts
December 16, 201015 yr I had bronze bushings made for my Gas Gas (left) and Sherco (right). They didn't last as long as I expected, maybe I didn't grease them enough, or the weren't a strong enough material. But they outlasted the needle bearings by about three times. Someday, when I'm feeling ambitious I'm going to try it again with a harder bearing material. I just noticed the last picture still has bearings on the sherco links, that was the 'before' photo. The picture of them installed on bike is the bushings. You have to use a grease gun with a flexible hose to grease them. EastCoastHopper, What material did you use? I did the same thing using 660 bronze and they do not seem to wear at all. I did put a grease groove in the middle so grease can get all around. I also angled the front fittings down so they get greased from the bottom. Dan
December 17, 201015 yr A guy with a 2011 told me his bike came with bushes in the linkage not bearings so may be less of a problem going forward.
December 19, 201015 yr I had bronze bushings made for my Gas Gas (left) and Sherco (right). They didn't last as long as I expected, maybe I didn't grease them enough, or the weren't a strong enough material. But they outlasted the needle bearings by about three times. Someday, when I'm feeling ambitious I'm going to try it again with a harder bearing material. I just noticed the last picture still has bearings on the sherco links, that was the 'before' photo. The picture of them installed on bike is the bushings. You have to use a grease gun with a flexible hose to grease them. EastCoastHopper, What material did you use? I did the same thing using 660 bronze and they do not seem to wear at all. I did put a grease groove in the middle so grease can get all around. I also angled the front fittings down so they get greased from the bottom. Dan Not sure, I had a machinist friend make them....Could be the same, but after reading the previous post, it may be the inner spacer/race that is worn. They are soft and groove easily as stated. I still have them, I'll bring them to a machinist and find out what is what. They do have grooves for the grease. I also had one of them turn inside the dogbone part and couldn't get grease into. I had to take it apart and reset it. I think we tried the grease fittings on the bottom, but they got ripped off in the first couple rides.
December 20, 201015 yr A guy with a 2011 told me his bike came with bushes in the linkage not bearings so may be less of a problem going forward. Wow, that's the first I've heard of that. What kind of bike?
December 20, 201015 yr What I ended up doing was to remake the sleeves in toolsteel & get them nitrided, the originals aren't very hard at all & develop grroves very quickly. The other advantage in making your own is you're not stuck with the factory clearances, very easy to make to holes a better fit to the bolts Hi Tony, Have you considered knocking up some this stuff up for sale?... I don't think you'll be short on customers ....Just making better sleeves and TopHats would be a great way to start. Best of Xmas balance. Neo
January 2, 201115 yr Wow, that's the first I've heard of that. What kind of bike? New shercos have bushes instead of bearings
January 2, 201115 yr New shercos have bushes instead of bearings Hmmm... I wonder why Sherco has not made a fuss of this big change? Just compared the Parts Books. The good news is that it's the same old Dog Bones (C157). So buying the new bushes, spacers top hats for both ends of the dog bones might make a good upgrade for older bikes....Does anyone have access to both old a new dog bones to do a direct comparison? Best of balance. Neo Edited January 3, 201115 yr by Neo
January 3, 201115 yr Hmmm... I wonder why Sherco has not made a fuss of this big change? Just compared the Parts Books. The good news is that it's the same old Dog Bones (C157). So buying the new bushes, spaces top hats for both ends of the dog bones might make a good upgrade for older bikes....Does anyone have access to both old a new dog bones to do a direct comparison? Best of balance. Neo If the part number is the same, then they are the same old dogbones. Every new part always gets a new part number.
January 3, 201115 yr If the part number is the same, then they are the same old dogbones. Every new part always gets a new part number. No I don't mean a comparison of Dog Bones themselves...just the parts that surround them. like the Bolts, Spacers TopHats and how they all fit up against the new Delta Link. To work out if new-on-old is possible. Best of Balance. Neo
January 4, 201115 yr No I don't mean a comparison of Dog Bones themselves...just the parts that surround them. like the Bolts, Spacers TopHats and how they all fit up against the new Delta Link. To work out if new-on-old is possible. Best of Balance. Neo Pretty sure its the same my 2011 bushes etc all look like a direct swap.
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