Swinging arm bushes

[John lord]

Any one no of best place to get them , ?
Or is it mr engineering shop get some bronze bushes  made up
Silent bloc bushes at the moment that are worn out

 

[redax5]

ah, what bike are you talking about, a 500 ?
maybe an older 750 ?

you can convert the swingarm to needle rollers same as the triples have, need to make spacers, inner bushes, source bearing cups but is all possible, done that a few times
or alternative is to machine up custom bronze bushes which we have also done a few times

 

[sfcpiet]

I can supply a complete kit containing everything necessary for converting 750s and triples to needle rollers.  500s just need a shorter distance tube. 

Rubber bushes all but non-available.  FWIW, they are the same as Jota/RGS fairing mount silentblocs.

piet

 

[Ed Case]

Never seen the point of needle roller bearings in swing arm rear suspension as they were intended for fast rotating shafts with oil supply................but if that's what's available...............

 

[sfcpiet]

Never seen the point of needle roller bearings in swing arm rear suspension as they were intended for fast rotating shafts with oil supply................but if that's what's available...............

Me neither...

Machining a couple of bronze bushes isn't difficult, but making the fulcrum tube isn't exactly in the scope of the average DIY'er.  It needs to be hardened and ground, rather elaborate and expensive.  Probably also what prompted the factory to switch to the cheaper needle bearings.

Bushes are maintenance intensive, needing a regular squirt of the grease gun, something very few Laverdas get to see.   Needles are not really up to it, but tend to work OK for a while, with or without regular maintenance.

piet

 

[Gravelroad]

The rear swing arm and the linkage of the rear monoshock on the Husky dirtbike are all running in needle bearings. Since I've switched them from cage type to a full compartment type (Nadella DL series with guided needles), their lifetime has greatly improved. Unfortunately full compartment Nadella DL series needle bearings are not available in matching dimensions for the Laverda rear swingarm.
But there is another option. Replacing the INA HK2538 2-row cage needle bearing with two INA HN2520 full compartment needle bearings on each side will improve the static load capacity (and that's what counts here) nearly twicefold. (bigthumb) Might be worth a try, but would probably require reworking the bearing seat in the swingarm to accomodate the 2 mm of additional bearing length of the two HN2520s. Not to mention that they'll need a good dab of sticky grease before assembly to keep the needle rollers in place. : That's what I actually like the Nadella DLs for, needles can't drop out.

 

[Dellortoman]

Machining a couple of bronze bushes isn't difficult, but making the fulcrum tube isn't exactly in the scope of the average DIY'er.  It needs to be hardened and ground, rather elaborate and expensive.

You can get around the hardening bit by having the pivot hard chromed. I did that to my Ducati many years ago and it's still OK.

 

[sfcpiet]

You can get around the hardening bit by having the pivot hard chromed. I did that to my Ducati many years ago and it's still OK.

Still entails a fair bit of machining/grinding.  Also means running around to get things done.  The needle bearing conversion is basically off-the-shelf and can be installed in the course of an afternoon between a couple of cold ones.

I quite like Stephans crowded roller suggestion, will see what I can find!

piet