Swinging arm lubrication

Hi Chris, I have just rebuilt my swinging arm with new bushes. These, if genuine, should be oilite. This material is sintered and designed to wick the oil, which it does. If you were to rebuild with grease it would probably last for a reasonable amount of time however pumping grease in on future service intervals, the grease would not reach the surfaces it is supposed to. I personally, after assembly, removed the grease/oil nipple and injected the oil from a syringe until it wouldn't take anymore. If the nipple is sitting at the uppermost position then the centre hole in the spindle is now full of oil. This is more than enough oil and it will not be under pressure so less likely to leak. Mine has been sitting on the center stand for about 12 weeks now with no sign of a leak. My advice would be stick with the oil as designed. I know some people fit needle bearings and use grease, however that's another story.

My understanding is that since the bush is sintered then once it has been lubricated it doesn't matter if most of the rest of the oil leaks out - there is enough retained in the voids in the bush to do the lubrication.

Exactly my point, but still a good idea if it doesn't leak and isn't allowed to dry out. You don't need to keep banging oil into the swing arm under pressure, just ensure it is topped up now and again. When I acquired my bike I was given a new swing arm kit. Unfortunately it was from India. I had read about cheap imports and decided to test the bushes. I put some duck tape over the flange end and filled the bush with oil. 2 hours later i came back to the bush to see if anything had soaked in. Not a drop. Solid turned bronze bushes. I did the same experiment with the genuine sintered article and within seconds the outside faces of the bush became shiny with oil as it soaked into the metal. Wonderful material and as per experiment the oil does not need to be under pressure, just ensure there is some in there of the correct viscosity. Grease will not soak into the oilite and will not flow to the bearing opposite the oil nipple.

Hi,

No grease,only oil.

Regards,Francis

I installed a small front brake reservoir under the saddle which feedsa 50/50% mixture of "liquid grease" (viscosity approx. 680cSt) and 20W50 engine oil to the top of the swingarm. The mixture does pass the O-rings a little, so the feed works, but no drips on the floor. The liquid grease in itself did not flow enough. This is on a Mk2 with the centre bolt drilled and fitted with a hose adapter. The shaft is fixed by 2 bolts.