Swingarm Bearing Grease

[cowboyup3371]

I need to replace my swingarm bearings and though I was sure I asked this question several years ago when I last did the job, I can't remember or find the answer when I run back through the threads. What type of grease should I be using on them - the blue marine grease or something else?

I already ran through my service manual and there's nothing mentioned in it.

 

[chuck hahn]

I would say any quality Moly would be great.

 

[Downs]

I like the use waterproof grease on my motorcycles. I do like BelRay but you can find other brands at your local parts stores as well

https://www.amazon.com/Bel-Ray-LEPA...=1506561359&sr=8-3&keywords=waterproof+grease

 

[bwringer]

Yep, I'd lean towards the gooey waterproof stuff. The blue Belray glop found in any powersports emporium is perfect.

It's not an extreme pressure or speed application; the main challenge for the grease in swingarm pivots is simply staying in place.

 

[sharpy]

2nd the Bel Ray waterproof grease ....... http://www.belray.com/bel-ray-waterproof-grease

 

[salty_monk]

Yep I use that one too. The Blue is really good to see where you put it but also really bad at causing stains... be warned.

If you can't find that... buy a MARINE GREASE, it's basically the same thing - as Brian says the main criteria is that it doesn't flush.

 

[Guest]

+Juan on the BelRay. Get a tub and it will last forever.

 

[Guest]

I guess I'm a heretic, I used white lithium grease because it was handy. I expect the waterproof grease is a better choice, though. I also live in a dry climate and hardly ever ride in real rain so I don't think it matters very much for my uses.


Mark

 

[Guest]

Zombie thread-Wondering if anyone has used the Sta-Lube marine grease & if so, what they made of it.
The Bel-Ray stuff is just really rare 'round these parts, and this stuff seems pretty similar but at half the price (only the local NAPA had it).

 

[Grimly]

I just use a sticky axle grease that I had. I looked it up and found it was pretty good for this kind of job, being resistant to getting washed out and staying in place through hellfire, mud and bullets, kind of thing.

 

[Big T]

Zombie thread-Wondering if anyone has used the Sta-Lube marine grease & if so, what they made of it.
The Bel-Ray stuff is just really rare 'round these parts, and this stuff seems pretty similar but at half the price (only the local NAPA had it).

Haven't used it, but if you look at the responses above, marine grease is the #2 recommendation

 

[hannibal]

Since the swingarm just moves back and forth, do you need a super high quality, high temp grease? Similar to steering head bearings?

 

[Nessism]

The needles are fairly small in those swingarm bearings so a medium weight grease is appropriate. Nothing super thick. I use general purpose marine grease on things like that since it's medium viscosity and waterproof.

 

[bwringer]

Any grease will work fine that will stay in place. This is not a high-speed or high load situation.

Greases marked "marine" are more resistant to washout and corrosion and are just the ticket for motorcycle chassis stuff.


Also, anything is better than the few tiny scraps of ear wax motorcycles are manufactured with. There must be a decades-long shortage of the stuff over there. Even in much newer bikes, you're lucky to find more than a whiff of the cheapest possible grease upon disassembly.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the clarification, guys-I'm confident the Sta-Lube is just the thing. I'm now discovering my swingarm has no grease fitting (I could swear I saw one down there-jynx!). Seems they're not as common as the microfishe would have you believe. Guess the swingarm is coming out in the future...but not for now

Thanks again!

 

[roeme]

This bumped thread just led me a bit down a rabbithole; since I've removed the swingarm on one of my bikes recently. Getting that nice old-timey-engine-grease smell, I concluded that this was the first time that swingarm came off since the bike rolled of the factory floor over in Japan. I wasn't sure if the universal grease I generally use (motorex 176) was a suitable replacement; after a bit of research (thankfully all the specs and testing methodology are standardized and available) I came to the conclusion that it is.

The guy back in '78 responsible for greasing the swingarm bearings sure was generous though!

 

[Guest]

Can the pivot rod be safely extracted while the swingarm is still assembled to the bike/wheel? Wondering if I can get away with removing the rod & injecting some fresh grease into the spacers/pivot cavity, and then re-install the *greased*rod. No real time or space to do a full tear down.

 

[salty_monk]

If you support it properly then you can probably do it I would guess... Some people put a grease fitting on them in the centre for doing something similar.

 

[Steve]

Can the pivot rod be safely extracted while the swingarm is still assembled to the bike/wheel? Wondering if I can get away with removing the rod & injecting some fresh grease into the spacers/pivot cavity, and then re-install the *greased*rod. No real time or space to do a full tear down.

If you support it properly then you can probably do it I would guess... Some people put a grease fitting on them in the centre for doing something similar.

The more I see things like this, the more I like the tapered roller bearings on my shafties. :-\\\

.

 

[Guest]

If you support it properly then you can probably do it I would guess... Some people put a grease fitting on them in the centre for doing something similar.

Okay...Could a grease fitting be added to the swingarm while still mounted to the bike? I'm not sure how deep the spacers fit into the pivot cavity, or how deep a drill bit could go before hitting something I shouldn't chaffe up. And then tapping the hole...the pivot rod would probably still have to come out. I'm contemplating getting a second swingarm that I can rebuild in advance (complete with grease fitting added) & then doing a swap out in one afternoon. That'd decrease downtime. I tend to overthink things