Found a swingarm with good bearings and draglink for £48 delivered. that makes it a lot easier. And I can now put the -1 sprocket on anyhow, so it will come together in the end. Just a case of when now!! I have plenty of "work" on at the moment, so it can wait until the sky is clear, the days are warmer and I have a holiday!
Rear subframe is swapped out and the better one is now installed. I think I will have to take the bike to the mechanic to get the swingarm sorted as I cannot get certain parts off to swap out the bearings etc... just the issue of age and corrosion. New swing arm is in excellent condition and bearings are very good, so that is a winning bid. Must grease up the other bits and get things ready to swap over. I have a full set of bearings I will shelve for now.
That is from the better swingarm. I am able to get the bearings nicely greased up and the the sleeve polished up nicely as well. However the threaded bar is not shifting from the sleeve! I need a vice to hold it in place while I remove threaded bar! One thing at a time I think.
Gaffer tape on the sleeve, it grips, threaded bar out! I just need to swap out the swing arm now. I need a frame to hang the rear subframe from Or work out how to use the Abba stand with footpeg bits and use them. that may be easier.
Cleaned up and grease packed back into the roller bearings. I've slid the sleeves in and out to ensure it is well packed in and moving smoothly on all bearings. This should last at least a year!
Once I get the "old" swing arm off, I will try and refurbish that drag link and take it from there. I'll also repack the swingarm hub etc...
Great post @Gordon MacBean; keep us posted! I'll be interested to see how you get the bike supported for doing the swing arm. I have had the exact same conundrum. I will likely just jack the bike up precariously on the centre stand bolt/drag link....enough to get a pair of axle stands under the footpegs (the non bending bit)... Good luck!
Just realised I probably need special sockets for doing the swingarm bolt removal! That will slow me down a bit. I best look for some second hand ones and see what I can do, unless the 2001 model is different?
1/2 inch 24" Draper Breaker Bar with the 46mm socket has done the job of loosening the nut! Used a bungee strap to lock rear brake, held front brake and slowly applied pressure. Crack and the nut shifted. I've been able to loosen it up. So will loosen the wheel nut as well and now I can borrow some of the special spindle nuts for the swingarm bolt to be removed. Getting there and it will all be worth it, unless the rear shock has blown!
Loosened up the rear wheel nut and the swingarm cover nut. Easy with the breaker bar. Wish I'd bought it earlier, like 20 years ago!! Still, now I can build up a good collection of sockets for this and that will make things simpler. I need to change the front socket as well, so I will give that a twirl once I've got the swingarm changed. One thing I'm in two minds about is the quality of paint on the better swingarm. The Hammerite is a bit rough. It does protect the metal and looks better than the corroded finish, but it is a bit "brushed" for my liking.... I may end up refurbishing the other swingarm, swapping it out and taking it from there... But that all depends on whether I can get it apart anyhow. One thing at a time.
Abba stand connected into the footpeg holes. Removed top bolt and then away it went. Yes, it is steady and holding fine. Rear caliper off and hub and drive shaft out. Gave the hub and sprocket a quick brush and blast with cleaner. Must not lose the washer that is hiding on the hub! Once that 46mm nut was off and brake caliper removed, it was a simple job. The swingarm is rather manky and I am glad to be putting a fresher one on, albeit it a bit "brushed paint" in appearance. The next step is to remove those funny castellated nuts.
Drag link is also completely blown. Rusted and even when I got the sleeve out (4 pound hammer and persuasion) the bearings were rusted through. £25 for one off ebay with decent bearings and sleeve, yes, bargain! So will be a bit of a longer wait, but I am happy to wait for the right parts to get this right.
The draglink sleeve with rusted bearing outers. How to get these out and then drift in the new ones so I can have a back up drag link for annual servicing.
hmmm...might this be a suitable solution... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325155302054?epid=16051868288&hash=item4bb4c42aa6:g:7doAAOSwI7ViIzHR
Just goes to show that you really do need to do the annual strip and grease maintenance or it will come to bite you very hard indeed! Everyone likes playing with grease and spanners right??