Its not cold but my nipple is standing out !!

[Speedy1959]

Now that I have your attention...
A picture is worth many words..





 

[KiwiCol]

Did you put one on the other side too Si?

[Hooli]

Seems overkill for a job I do once a decade.

[Speedy1959]

Did you put one on the other side too Si?

Hi Col..
No need to put 2 in..
The grease fills the void between the spacer and the swing arm tube and follows the path of least resistance..
The first 12 -15 strokes of the grease gun go very easily with no resistance felt..
You can hear the odd crackling coming from the swing arm ends.. (air being expelled).
Then the grease gun goes much firmer..
In my case because I hadnt re attached the shocks or back wheel I moved the swing arm up and down afew times then added another three pumps of the gun.
I bought 45 degree grease nipples and was lucky that the grease nipple tightened up to just face out on the correct angle.

I had the swing arm out for greasing and cleaning so "whilst I was there" I did this mod.
I did the same job on a couple of Honda CB1300's I used to own.
On the Honda the grease nipple was harder to get at as it had to be fitted underneath (The only space accessible for the grease gun). On that bike I fitted a 90 degree version..
It did NOT point the correct way so I took a small flat file and filed a flat spot on the top of the hole I had drilled / tapped.
It took very little filing to alter where the grease nipple points.. It took 2 or 3 attempts then it was perfect.
One other thing I did on the Honda..
I drilled a tiny 1mm hole at the top of the oil seal to stop it "blowing out" with the pressure of the grease..
That worked very well..
The 1400 is a different design and forcefully holds the seals in place..
However I did decide to dremel a small "escape channel" on the underside of the end cap washer on each side of the swing arm.

All in all, it seems to work very well.

S.

[Jeykey]

Can´t remember if I´ve read it already, but what type of grease do you guys use for the swingarm?

[Speedy1959]

Can´t remember if I´ve read it already, but what type of grease do you guys use for the swingarm?

As long as you use a decent grease thats good for wheel bearings I dont think it matters..
But the stuff I use is here:

https://www.trailertek.com//x-tra-heavy-duty-grease?gclid=CjwKCAjwxr2iBhBJEiwAdXECwzAxs2K2QFNpj5QaiHjIoAKu4cCVp2P1ZmV8a-_pvPqkWPbcNJpx9hoCPBMQAvD_BwE

S

[Hooli]

Aye I just use a general multipurpose grease. It's not anywhere that gets hot etc so needs nothing special.

[gsxbarmy]

Nice mod @Speedy1959 

[grog]

Id be using waterproof boat trailer grease. Would a grease nipple in head brgs be a possibility, a good idea?

[Hooli]

I can't see how a nipple on the head bearings would get grease into the bearings, unless you sealed the stem to the stem so the grease couldn't just fill the cavity around the rest of the stem.

[grog]

No idea Hooli, just a question wondering. Think old BSA etc in past had them.

[Hooli]

Aye I've seen them on something too. I'm just not sure it'd work on a roller as the grease would just sit around them.

[Mick_J]

My 1994 Triumph Trident had grease nipples in the swing arm from the factory but they don't seem to bother now.  Putting a grease nipple in the steering column isn't a good idea as you will not get any pressure build up to push grease into the bearings as it will all come out of the steering lock hole.