Guys, i have an issue with my 06 'Blade which i thought id solved, but whilst taking the rear wheel out for a new tyre today, it appears not. I seem to have some play in the linkages. Ill try and explain as best i can: I put the bike on an ABBA stand, removed the wheel and thought id recheck it. So pulling up on the swingarm there is 1mm (i measured it) of slack which is taken up before the it goes hard, due to the shock id imagine. Ive tried to locate where there may be play in a bearing by looking and by holding the swingarm with one hand and feeling for movement with the other but failed to find anything. When i push up on the swingarm, everything else moves up with it or moves in the direction it should, even the shock top mount. It is literely like i am taking up the slack of the shock befor eit kicks in. Got the wheel back in and tryed it again, and although its obvoiusly heavier, the play remains. Does anyone have any idea if this is normal? Have you noticed it on your 06 to 07 'Blade? Am i, as normal, trying to fix something that isnt a problem? Bike passed its MOT in June with no advisorys, although i didnt watch it being done so cant 100% say this was checked. Sorry for long post but any advise would be great. Cheers Dazza
Bushes in the rear shock? Dont know really. I have an 05 but dont have an abba stand so cant see if it is normal.
Check your shock mounts are not loose and the cross bolts & mounts are not worn with a vernier (need to measure around 0.1mm accuracy) if ok it wil be down to all the tolerances in the bolts, bushes linkages etc then your swingarm is relatively long which amplifies the measurement if you are reading it at the end of the swingarm. There has to be a small amount of slack in the joints for them to fit together Had a similar thing on one of my bikes replaced some bushes only to find out it was within the oe spec tolerences and I could not get rid of it without making a few bushes to a realy tight tolerence/fit...was not worth it as you won't notice it as you always have weight on the back wheel/shock well unless your air born
I would say 1mm play is easily within tolorence with no weight on the linkage. To check the linkage I would tray and wiggle the dog bones with a bar and see if you can feel any play. You can grease and repack the bushes if you think they're worn or some bikes had grease nipples on the linkage but not sure if yours has
Thanks for the replys guys. There is no play in the 'dog bones' and all the mountings are done up tight. Brym, when you say measure the bolt swith a vernier, do you mean at varoius points along the shaft and see if its the same all the way across?
You can measure the shafts of the pins at a few places to make sure there is no wear in one area but should be the same all the way along. Then compare to the bush internal diameters to see if any have a large gap between them. I'm not sure what tolerences Honda use but I would expect the fit to be quite snug less than 0.1mm I think what you are doing when pushing up on the swingarm is taking up the small amount of slack between each pin & bush this all adds up then you have the length of the swingarm which is exagerating the measurement due to the length of the swingarm & the shock linkage ratio etc Picture has disappeared for some reason see link instead http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible_bikes.html Monoshock, newer style, regular swingarm there is a clip and some pictures
I thought mine were slack a while back and got my mech to take a look whilst putting some new boots on it. He said it was normal
Ok ill put it to bed, i have a habit of stressing about stuff that isnt a problem, basicaly due to lack of knowledge. Im learning steadily though! Thanks everyone for helping out!
Yes mate, where in Derbyshire are you? I'm in Hucknall, so if you wanna pop up for a brew some time and look at my linkage PM me. Sounds a bit sad don't it!
