I noticed some free play in my swingarm lately, so I took it off to clean and inspect the bearings.

Now, something is telling me I'm the first guy in thirty years to have the swingarm off of this bike! The bearings are shot, no question.

Disassembly was straightforward, if not easy, until I got to the bearing outer races which are squeezed pretty hard into the swingarm. Here's my question: In the picture, you can see I am pulling the races in toward the center of the swingarm. Is this the wrong way? Does it matter?

The holes in the swingarm look like a straight shot through, no step, except for the threads on the outside, and I was trying not to scrape them up. The bike, by the way, is a '79 XLS.

Thanks,
Dan.

In both pictures, you can see the wallowed spots in the race!


[IMG]local://upfiles/47048/631300F3A10E46C0BFDE07E8DEC16B11.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/47048/C2B8C7B74E5B48A9B34899B2A9E1166F.jpg[/IMG]

 

That looks correct to me seeing the taper on the races.

Did you have to pull the motor to get the swingarm off? My wifes 77 swingarm I think suffers from the same illness....

 

For a minute I thought I would have to, but as it turns out, no. The pivot bolt nut has a protruding slot that I believe is held in place by the back of the primary case. That's good, because there is NO clearance to get any kind of wrench in between.

Thanks,
Dan.

 

According to my shop manual it says to press the races out in the opposite direction you are going.

 

Aftertalking with the parts guy last night, I did wind up squeezing them out past the threads anyway. He seemed pretty confident that that's the way they have to go. It worked okay - no major scuffing or distortion on the threads.

While pricing new bearings he said "hang on to the counter..." :^) Over SIXTY-FIVE dollars per bearing! Ouch!

So, after getting the old bearings out, I notice they are stamped Timken; 11590 on the inside cone and 11520 on the outside cup.

I found both parts here: http://www.ebatmus.com/search.epl?Query=11590and http://www.ebatmus.com/search.epl?Query=115920for considerably less. My only concern is that the description "cone" does not actually include the caged rollers.

What do you think? Give it a try?

 

If iam reading your bearing numbers and your message correctly the 11590 on the inside cone is your bearing number ( your roller cage and everything) your 11520 number is your outer race or what your calling the outer cup. but you should be able to find these cheaper somewhere other than the dealer... Check your local parts stores also as they should be able to order them for less possibly.

 

A quick call to my local NAPA store and i found that they don't have timken but in a day or two they could have SKF which is a good bearing, Timken bearings no doubt are the best but skf is a very good bearing and its all what you want to spend.

#11590 cost $21.38
#11520 cost $9.99

 

Thanks for the help! Bearings are on their way...

 

An update - got the bike all knitted back up and took it for a couple of rides; rode to worktoday, too.

The new bearings are a TREAT! It's really nice not feeling the bike fold itself in the middle taking a corner!

Thanks for the help everybody...
Dan.

 

I got mine from Fog Hollow for ~$15/pair (Timkens).