swing arm pivot

I just had a super hard time installing a swing arm pivot shaft. I took the whole thing apart to weld the front chain guard attachment point. I decided to install Windy's reinforcement rings and that part went well. The problem I had was that I decided to put the threaded end of the shaft on the right side since it made sense to be able to use a bolt as a handle. When I got the whole thing in with the shaft and all I couldn't get the little threaded nut end on because the whole thing is too close to the primary drive chain case. I took it all back apart to put that little threaded end piece on first and found that it would not fit in the end of the shaft on the unthreaded side. What to do? I could have just turned the whole shaft around but I really like the idea of being able to pull it out the transmission side with a bolt. So I drilled it out using a sharpened concrete drill bit. (I call it a poor man's carbide drill bit.) After that it all went together fine up to the point where I needed to put oil in it. I don't have an oil gun or grease gun that fits the little Norton zerk so I made a 1/4-28 bolt with a hole drilled down the middle. I put that in the top threaded hole where the fixing bolt goes. I hooked up a piece of fuel line to it and removed the zerk from the end of the pivot assembly. Then I pumped 75w 140 oil in until it came out the zerk hole on the end. I kept going to make sure all the air bubbles were out and then put the zerk back in. Now the whole thing is well oiled and all assembled from the transmission side. What a deal.

Expect it to leak oil for about 2 weeks.

Dave
69S

Ah come on Dave, you read the finesse put into this upgrade, it should leave behind a fresh oiled mess for many weeks, even a season. It can even be measured too like I did with by leaving a clear feed tube attached. Some say they never have to top off as stays totally sealed with factory set up, especially 850's. I had 750 with indexed machined true surfaces in alloy cradle and alloy swing arm and used a special assemblly oil that was so thick would not drip off a knife tip in 24 hours. I all leaked out in a season just hanging from rathers over a winter no less.

I have found my DS grease zerk is vulnerable to chain flap if I don't keep it about optimal tension. So on Peel will drill out the spindle and feed grease though its center instead of from outside. Spindle oil holes too small to allow grease fed in factory set up to reach bushes to matter.

DogT said:

Expect it to leak oil for about 2 weeks.

Dave
69S

Click to expand...

Shim your Oilite bushings in the swingarm to within 0.005" by adding shims and leave "O-Rings" out during fitting. Feeler gauges work fine. Once done... I use Quad-rings instead of what is supplied by Norton. Try.
CNN

Hobot, I don't get why your zerk would be on the chain side of the swing arm!!? Doesn't that make it just about impossible to use it any way since the chain case is so close there?

As far as leaking. I don't know if it will or not. Windy's reinforcement rings require two new holes in the support tube but I threaded those and used silicone when I put in the support bolts. The inner sides of the swing arm bushings are up against the powder coated transmission cradle. We'll see how long that lasts! Right now it is super smooth though.

If it leaks then I will engineer a way to lube it off of engine oil so it will have a constant supply! There is an idea. Just run the return oil through the swing arm then the filter before it returns to the tank. Could help cooling, capacity and lube the swing arm all in one go!

CanukNortonNut's upgraded o-rings is about the best simple upgrade for oil leaks.

Its taboo to feed grease in the spindle center as can't get much out to the bushes w/o drilling grease holes direct to bushes and blocking oil feed holes. The end oil zerk has fooled a bunch so a common reason to find rusted worn out spindles.

i tried the greaser route 1st on Peel with Norton swing arm, then handed down to Trixie, by a zerk into each bush after sealing the oil holes from spindle hollow. Didn't knock the chain side zerk off on Peel but have twice on Trixie. I was pleased it didn't leave the zerk thread stuck in the way so was able to screw in another 45' zerk. As the grease sticks around a long time I may have to just screw one in to service then screw out to ride. As long as chain in good tension flap can't hit it, and it didn't for a long time on Trixie, as long as my plain chain stayed dry it holds tension a good time. But I over filled primary and oil tank a couple months ago to factory levels soon after i'd put on a new plain chain and it got oiled and worn out faster than I kept up with it so flap took out the zerk. BUT- I've never run a factory Combat to my max out ability on power and leans until Trixie last month, twice, so that maybe that's why I found zerk missing twice now and chain too floppy too soon. But I also carried heavy cargo in between so maybe the almost bottoming bumps did it.

Will next try spindle center feed by plugging DS spindle end and adapting zerk in the splndle pulling threads with holes over the bushes. Trixie has Kulger's collars but Peel's cradle has them build in blocks with 3/8" set screws.

Some say the grease will just squeaze out to rub raw and interferes with the oil retaining pores of bushes. But its similar to mower and tractor pivots. So far don't seem to go dry even after a year w/o greasing. Powder coat is not expected to last long in such hi leveraged pivot area. Engine oil feed should work great as the correct flow chain oiler did for chains but gets removed by most everyone d/t the mess. If not messy level oiling to sling off grit a semi oiled now and then plain chain gets ate up fast in my conditions. Fine if just polluting the public paths but tends to drip at home too : (

MY concern is not friction its the rust and wearing lips in the spindle to trap it.