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7 Posts
Hello all,
Was hoping to gather advice/opinions on my situation. Tried search and nothing came up with my particular situation.
Bike is 2010 Streetfighter S with 9500 miles. I'm 3rd owner and I acquired it at 6k miles.
My rear end suspension seems locked up. The shock barely compresses (or not at all) and the ride is harsh and bumpy in the rear. I tried compressing the shock by jumping on the seat and it maybe compressed a MM or 2 (I recorded--it's hilarious). I leaned the bike on it's sidestand to have the wheel off the ground and the shock didn't extend and didn't compress when I set the bike back down.
I did research and it seems it might be either 3 things--swingarm bearings seized, rocker arm suspension bearings, or the actual shock absorber itself needs servicing.
I set the bike on floor jacks under the rearsets to have the weight off the rear. I removed the pivot bolt to the suspension rocker arm and the swingarm/wheel dropped and moved freely up and down. I tried moving the swingarm/wheel side to side and there wasn't significant amount of play. From the research I did (mainly results from dirtbikes and other street bikes), I feel relieved because I hear if the swingarm pivot bearings were bad, the swingarm would not drop when I removed the linkage bolt and there would be significant amount of play moving the swingarm left and right.
So my question(s):
Am I right about the swingarm pivot bearings not being the issue? Does it seem like it's the linkage bearings on the rocker arm? From researching, I feel there's a low chance it's the shock absorber but I'm not going to leave that possibility out--there's no obstructions in the spring.
I can't believe I overlooked cleaning and greasing these bearings in all bikes I've owned. I just never paid attention because it wasn't in the maintenance schedule. I hope people learn how important it is after reading about my issue.
Was hoping to gather advice/opinions on my situation. Tried search and nothing came up with my particular situation.
Bike is 2010 Streetfighter S with 9500 miles. I'm 3rd owner and I acquired it at 6k miles.
My rear end suspension seems locked up. The shock barely compresses (or not at all) and the ride is harsh and bumpy in the rear. I tried compressing the shock by jumping on the seat and it maybe compressed a MM or 2 (I recorded--it's hilarious). I leaned the bike on it's sidestand to have the wheel off the ground and the shock didn't extend and didn't compress when I set the bike back down.
I did research and it seems it might be either 3 things--swingarm bearings seized, rocker arm suspension bearings, or the actual shock absorber itself needs servicing.
I set the bike on floor jacks under the rearsets to have the weight off the rear. I removed the pivot bolt to the suspension rocker arm and the swingarm/wheel dropped and moved freely up and down. I tried moving the swingarm/wheel side to side and there wasn't significant amount of play. From the research I did (mainly results from dirtbikes and other street bikes), I feel relieved because I hear if the swingarm pivot bearings were bad, the swingarm would not drop when I removed the linkage bolt and there would be significant amount of play moving the swingarm left and right.
So my question(s):
Am I right about the swingarm pivot bearings not being the issue? Does it seem like it's the linkage bearings on the rocker arm? From researching, I feel there's a low chance it's the shock absorber but I'm not going to leave that possibility out--there's no obstructions in the spring.
I can't believe I overlooked cleaning and greasing these bearings in all bikes I've owned. I just never paid attention because it wasn't in the maintenance schedule. I hope people learn how important it is after reading about my issue.