Featured 765 Rear Suspension Linkage Dry

You know how one job leads to another sometimes? Well after removing the rear wheel on my RS, I could see the three point link at the bottom of the shock absorber was well plastered with s***e thrown up by the rear wheel, so I decided to take it all apart and re grease the pins and linkages/dogbones etc. My bike is a 2017 model and has only done 6500 miles, so I was suprised to find the whole set up was very dry i.e. no grease evident and some of the connecting bolts were rusty on the bearing surfaces. I've cleaned everything up and am now in the process of putting the whole assembly back together, but I thought I'd mention it here as this job is one of those out of sight out of mind things sometimes. I strip and re grease the linkage on my Aprilia Tuono every year for the same reason and I would guess all single rear shock bikes will have a similar set up, so it's just something to watch out for. I'm lucky, I have a 1 tonne hoist in my garage so its straightforward to do this work, but if you don't have the necessary equipment or don't feel confident enough to do it yourself, I'd strongly suggest when you take your bike for its annual service, you ask the garage to do this for you.

 

I don't think they come out of the factory 'dry' I just think the design itself is poor, where the linkage is constantly exposed to dirt being thrown up by the rear tyre. I think Pegscrapers solution is a pro active one, but why can't the factory do something like that?

 

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd add this on here as it's a similar issue. My clutch lever was stiff to pull in and also wasn't springing back properly. I suspected a dry cable, but the actual culprit seemed to be the lever pivot bolt which. when I removed it, was pitted and had some corrosion on it, I cleaned the bearing surfaces up with emery cloth, regreased everything (including oiling the cable just in case) and fitted it all back together. Everything works fine now, but I'm beginning to suspect a previous owner kept the bike outdoors for extended periods. First the shock linkage now this.

 

I've never had that happen on any other bike. My Thruxton had done twice the mileage and was twice the age of the Street RS and had no issues. I'm hoping that's the end of the niggling issues, I've had. I have to say I'm really pleased with the bike in all other respects.

 

I've never had that happen on any other bike. My Thruxton had done twice the mileage and was twice the age of the Street RS and had no issues. I'm hoping that's the end of the niggling issues, I've had. I have to say I'm really pleased with the bike in all other respects.