Hey guys, there's a bit of horizontal play in the r6 linkage assembly with all bolts torqued up, its a low km 2010 model and I've read the play is common to that bike and others even when new. My question is has this freeplay been factored in by the engineers to improve its function (is there an optimal amount?), or would it be improved by removing it? Rich
If the suspension is bound in the horizontal plane then it would have drag or stiction in the vertical. Some horizontal movement is fine and has negligible effect on the vertical movement.
emry has a way way cooler sounding reply than mine. Yes, the r6 has a wee bit o' play in the linkage. Now, that being said, i did discover a problem one time that was of my own making.. at one point in taking the linkage apart one of the pins of the bearing was lost. this made for more play than normal and i rode it for quite some time before i discovered this missing pin.. new bearing and race pressed into the 3 bearing thing, and much of the play was gone. But even new, they will have a tad bit. Even my dirt bikes have a little bit.
Cool, thanks guys. I'll check the bearings out too Greg, there appears to be some corrosion on a few of the bolts so it will be worth inspecting the bearings too I'd say.
the bearings have a tough wax like substance that holds the pins in place on the race, in the past i have torn all that out and regreased, i won't do that any more though.. that is how you end up loosing pins. i just wipe out what old grease i can, and slap new greas on top of the pins and work it in with my fingers. then push the colar in and then the bolt. DO NOT overtighten your swingarm bolt, check the manual for the correct torque then get the nut tight on the bolt. the bolt threads into the frame, so it is possible to overtorque it.. if you have the special tool to tighten the large slotted nut, great. otherwise i just use an old large flathead and small hammer but hit from multiple sides, not just one spot the entire time you tighten (medival, i know but ya do what ya have to).
i have no patience for that kind of stuff...LOL . a buddy of mine did the same thing though. not a bad idea if you have the extra socket laying around, but those aren't cheap either.
