Hey all .. Just giving my bike a once over today ready for a clubman novice easy going trial tomorrow . I wanted to regrease linkage. But came to find the dog bone bearings pretty shot and defo need changing .... Long story short I don't want to miss this trial tomorrow but can't get the parts whilst tomorrow afternoon...., will it be safe to reassemble now with the shot bearings and take it anyway ..

Thanks guys

Have the needles fallen out?

All fallen out in two and half in other two ....

Can you get to a bearing shop (brammer or Hayley spring to mind)

Don't ride it with the needles missing.

Thanks for the advice ... Better keep it garaged ..

My golden rule, never do any work on the bike the day before a trial unless its absolutely necessary. normal service stuff is ok but don't investigate things like suspension.

TLTEL

On closer inspection . Two needles intact ..one stripped .. One half left ...

I bought my lad one of them japenese dirt bikes for crimbo and they don't even have dog bones .. Just straight spring connected to swing arm ... Surely for one light run the gas gas will be ok .... What's the worst that could happen ...there will be no steps or anything ..

Any advice welcome

Of course, the best thing would be to replace the bearings with new.

Linkage bearings are not subject to high rpms like an engine or transmission bearing. Therefore, there condition is not as critical. You rode the bike with bad bearings and only discovered the problem on disassembly.

Could you make some sort of sleeve bushing for temporary use? I have seen a thread where some people were turning bushings out of nylon and completely replacing the dog bone bearings with solid bushings. Reportedly, they have lasted for more than a year and show no signs of wear or distortion.

If you remember, most of the twin shock bikes had sleeve bushings with no rollers on their swing arms. How long did they last? Some are still working!

Sorry to the purists, but I hate to see a guy miss a day of riding for something that can easily have a temporary fix.

Edited January 17, 201412 yr by thats_a_five

I bought my lad one of them japenese dirt bikes for crimbo and they don't even have dog bones .. Just straight spring connected to swing arm ... Surely for one light run the gas gas will be ok .... What's the worst that could happen ...there will be no steps or anything ..

Any advice welcome

Worse that could happen is you bend the linkage bolts. With no big steps or hard impacts, that is unlikely.

No wait, worse that could happen is you don't go riding and you have to stay home and do some of those things on the "honey-do" list.

Thanks 'thatsafive' .. I will prob pick up a few tomorrow .. 5s that is .... Ha .. I'm going for it

Reassembled .. Everything still bouncy .... See how it goes

Sweet. Ride on!

Remember, rubber side down, feet up. And be sure to have fun.

Hey Chris,

How did you do? Less fives than cleans?