i keep hearing about people installing zerk fittings in their linkage. I have a question with regards to how it is done successfully. The roller pins in the linkage sit inside of that thin metal outer bearing. When you drill through the linkage, do you also drill through the outer bearing? It seems like that would be the only way to actually get grease in the bearing. In addition, how do you accomplish the drill task without getting the shavings from the outer bearing in with the rollers?
http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=661208&highlight=zerk drill That's the only one I know about- great instructions but the pics may be deleted... I decided not to put in zerks on my bike just because the linkage is so easy to disasemble on these bikes. I have done it a few times already and it really doesn't take long- (10 minutes tops to disassemble- 10 minutes to clean and re-grease- and 10 minutes tops to reassemble) and I don't have to worry if grease travelled everywhere it needs to. It would be conveinient to shoot it full of grease now and then but you'd still want to disassemble now and then. Every time I have taken them appart the grease has looked good and there are no issues. I think I have done it 2-3 times since I got the bike march of 2009- plenty of creeks, mud, pools, and rain durring the 1600 miles I have logged. overall not a bad thing to do- if you choose to
Cool thread. Thanks for pointing that one out. I haven't been to TT in forver. I have been taking apart the linkage after every ride, cleaning and regreasing. I'm afraid that the seals are (or will be) becoming damaged from all the popping out and putting in. I thought maybe zerks would allow me to shovel in more grease rather than disassemble every time. Just hoping to help them last a little longer.
I guess I'll take credit for that thread on TT. I've since done a few shock rockers for other folks for the price of a beer or two. The rocker and pivot bolt is one of the best mods I've ever done on a bike. It sure is nice watching drops of dirty water get forced out when you put new grease in. Don't have to take the rear suspension apart more than once every year or two for inspection now. A real time saver. The bearings should last almost forever with this mod. No more spending $100 on bearing replacement kits. Anyone know an easy way to copy that thread to this site?
How often should the existing Zerk fitting be greased on a recent TE-510? How much grease? Which grease? If the grease extrudes out the linkage, is this too much or just right?
I think its a good thing if there is a little excesss around a joint or seal. Its an extra bit of protection. I use marine grade waterproof grease or the Bell ray waterproof grease for all of my bearings-happy with that. In the case of cleaning the bearings it typically depends on how anal you are and what type of conditions you typically ride in and the frequency of rides. If theres a lot of water and mud then the regime needs to be more frequent thant mostly dry riding. In my part of the world we get a mixed bag of conditions and I pull my stem head, linkage and swing arm off about every 9 months and give them a big birthday. As for the wheel bearings and axels a good clean and regrease after 4-5 rides. Still on all original bearings after 4000kms with no sign of slack or play.
