Rear Shock Longevity?

[andybaggies]

Think me rear shock may have popped - what is it's expected lifer span?

Difficult to see whether the oil is from the shock or chain but I'm feeling gentle 'wavy' instability in a straight line which seems to appear after some time. And then definite, again gentle pogoing/wallowing on one fastish corner. Had someone follow me and he reckoned there wasn't that much movement.

I'm also hearing some occasional 'sounds' coming from the rear. The rear has always been pretty bad and riding every day it's easy to get used to gradual worsening so how can I confirm it's gone before shelling out on a new 'un?

BTW I reckon the linkages should be OK as I cleaned & greased them before the winter.

Cheers,

Andy B

[Crap Tartan]

Sounds like the seal has popped in the rear shock. Mine went in just over 2k miles from new!
Is there oil all around the shock shaft inside the spring?
I was lucky as warranty kicked in and as the wait for an original was ages the dealer bought me a brand new customised hagon replacement which is still fitted and works perfectly. The

[andybaggies]

Well.... good news and bad.

The good news is that I've figured out whats wrong - the off side rear wheel bearing has gone. Got picked up by the AA as driving 20 miles at 15 mph waiting for the bearing to finally seize and spit me of wasn't my idea of fun.

The bad news is that it isn't the rear shock so can't really justify a replacement. Or could I

It's now obvious given the evidence that the bearing was on the way out but it's always easier with hindsight. I'm thinking the 'noises/clonking' at the rear may well be caused by the dog bone & plates occasionally not lining up as the axle moved.

[andybaggies]

Quick update on the bearings or more specifically their codes. Other threads on here indicated that for all four bearings on the rear use a 6006 2RS with a C3 clearance code (or three are C3 and one is C4).

However after removal I found the two in the wheel were C3s but the two in the sprocket carrier had a clearance code of * (an asterisk) which I believe indicates a normal clearance. All were marked as SKF Italy so I'm assuming they were the original factory fitment.

And of course I'd pre bought four C3s - hey ho not the worst weather to be off the road for another week.

Andy B

[Miz]

Well.... good news and bad.

I'm thinking the 'noises/clonking' at the rear may well be caused by the dog bone & plates occasionally not lining up as the axle moved.

Hi, the noises were more likely to have been the rear disc moving about in the calliper, the axle would not have been moving, it would have been the wheel that would move.

[andybaggies]

Hi, the noises were more likely to have been the rear disc moving about in the calliper, the axle would not have been moving, it would have been the wheel that would move.

Yes, you are totally correct - when I look back & think about it I remembered the rear brake lever would require pumping after each clonk i.e. the pads had been pushed out.

All bearings have been replaced and when every thing was apart I noticed the swingarm had a couple of mill end float (laterally). No worries I thought, we'll just pinch him up and as I was down there I undid both sides and regreased the spindle etc. All looked good & shiney but after re-assembly and adjusting out the float the swingarm was too far to the left, the dog bone mount didn't line up too well (with the frame one) & the spindle was also so far to the left so there wasn't enough thread left on the spindle to tighten the nut against

To cut a long story short I shimmed up both sides of the swingarm so the suspension linkages line up nicely, there is no end float and the spindle can be tightened up. Not entirely sure what's going on but I suspect the bushes may have been biffed in to far ?? And I'm also assuming the wheels are on the same track when the swingarm & frame dog bone mounting points also line up.

Hmmm....