[SparkyMJ]

Hey folks,

My rear suspension has begun to feel.... bad. I suspect it is the swingarm bearings and linkages for the shock. They have never been lubed in their life, so I think it is time (or maybe past time unfortunately).

I think I just need a way to maybe chock the front wheel, and then jack up the oil pan with a wood 2x4 under it, yeah? In order to unload the rear suspension and get that all out right?

Just never taken a swingarm off a bike before, and figured if someone has some advice off the bat, I'd ask. I plan on following the shop manual procedure for lubricating the swingarm and shock linkages, as well as thorough cleaning of all the parts.

Hoping this will resolve the weird feeling before the track day this coming Sunday. The bike is feeling like it was vibrating more at certain RPM's and loads, but ran great still. I have been noticing my rear tire losing traction at odd times as well, and when I forcibly jump on the foot pegs to bounce the suspension, the rear seems to not move as readily as it once did. My front engine mounts I believe are rubber, and I do think they are worn, but I don't think that would cause the rear end feeling off, but maybe the vibrations. I did check the wheel bearings, cleaned and repacked. They are in great shape, no issues whatsoever. Chain tension is perfect as well, and in good enough shape. I thought the vibrations may be mostly originating from the engine, but I think it is actually the ground undulations coming through in the seat of the pants more, due to binding in the rear suspension.

Any thoughts or inputs would be awesome before I dive face first into this. Hoping to at least make it rideable this coming weekend, and then I will pour in whatever parts it needs to truly be in tip top shape asap.
Thanks in advance!

-Mike

 

[Topaz]

Hi Mike. I did it about a year ago. Mine felt always right, but I was working on the dog bones, and I had already the rear end taken apart, so I just pulled it out and lube it. I didn't find any trouble. Did exactly what the manual said, and I was done in less than an hour.

I didn't need to take the swingarm completely out. The wheel was off, of course. Once I got weight off the swingarm, the passing through bolt came out easily, I pulled the swingarm a bit backwards, just enough to have space to clean everything, regreased the bolt and the bearings and remounted.
If you want to completely remove the swingarm, you need to remove the brake line, and ABS line if ABS.

I already had my rear end hanging from a ladder. Then I used the car jack to accommodate the swingarm until there was no pressure, and the bolt came out.

I found some specks of rust on the shaft sleeve. Maybe next time I open it I'll put a new one. My bike is a 2013 at 18k miles now. It was the first time I lube the swingarm.

 

[SparkyMJ]

Good to know! I may do the job the way you described, leaving the swingarm in. Did you just spray a degreaser in there to clean it out? Like brake cleaner? Or did you get in there with a toothbrush or anything else?

Not really sure what I will find in there, but this is helpful. Thanks!

-Mike

 

[Topaz]

There is a bolt/shaft, which is the one you torque, And there is a sleeve where the shaft goes through You can pull that out too. You can have both pieces in your hand to clean and lube.
The bearings stay in the swingarm, but you can access them without pulling them out.
As for the swingarm, I cleaned as much as I could with a thin brush that is part of my bicycle maintenance kit.

Check parts 33032 and 42036 in the diagram.

2013 Kawasaki NINJA 300 (EX300ADF) Swingarm | Babbitts Kawasaki Partshouse

 

[SparkyMJ]

Perfect, that is super helpful. I'll get those out tonight and clean them up with degreaser, and maybe pickup a small brush to get in the rollers and clean them out. Fingers crossed I don't have any damage in there, but I think it'll be fine. And if the shock is shot, then I'll just have to find a GSX-R shock, lol.

Thanks! I'll update on my findings tonight hopefully if I find the time.

-Mike

 

[SparkyMJ]

So I stayed up until 4am last night. and got this done. I actually got so deep into it that I just dropped the entire swingarm, the linkage pivot pieces, and the shock. Multiple bolts/sleeves/bushings were super corroded/rusted. They must have had no grease on them, because some bolts and parts looked nearly perfect, and they had grease. My previous owner had a lowering link installed, and I bet my mechanic greased the bolts for the links when he replaced it with stock links.

Pics to follow soon, I am at work and my eyes absolutely are so crusty dry because I slept for only a few hours lol. The joys of being young and crazy, haha.

Rode the bike to work, not really enough variation in riding to really tell much of a difference though yet. No odd handling, handles hard braking and WOT acceleration with no issues, and bumps in the city were tolerable. I think I will have to hit some twisties to see if my rear end is more stable and has more grip now. I believe my rear suspension was literally lightly seizing, causing my rear tire to bounce and chatter along the road, making me occasionally lose traction when cornering mildly hard just on the streets.

The swingarm was the only major system on this bike I've never really dug into, and up until 55k miles it wasn't an issue. There didn't appear to be any damaged parts in the whole ordeal, but a ton of caked up parts and some pitting on bolts/sleeve, but a wire wheel and scotch brite cleaned up 95% of all the surfaces really nicely. All O-rings and seals were in great shape as well.

I don't think there is really a serviceable nature to this, but do I need to grease the rear shock shaft? Could I be getting any sticksion from that?

Even just pushing down the rear end of the bike when I am not on it feels much better and more smooth. I compared it before to my buddy's matching N300 and his was like mine is now. Very noticeable in the garage, and I am hoping very noticeable in the twisties.

Thanks for the tips Topaz!

-Mike

 

[Topaz]

LOL You went all the way! Good job!

I don't know about greasing the shock. It sure won't hurt. But I guess the N300 shock is not serviceable, so when it's done, you get another one.

Did you keep the lowering links? Do you like it low? I did the opposite. I raised the rear about 10mm and lower the front about 10mm as well. I liked it better at the track after that mod. On the street, I feel I'm all the time sliding forward on the seat.

 

[SparkyMJ]

I hated it lowered. Handled worse, turned in slower, and I feel like I didn't slide forward on the seat any less before I changed it back to stock. I like the idea of your setup. Did you get different links, and then just slide the forks up in the triple tree clamps? Might actually be a good idea... Lol.

I do feel like I need more tank grips though. I've got custom stomp grip ones I put on, but I think I need more coverage, to compensate for sliding in the saddle.

-Mike

 

[Topaz]

Yes, on the front I slid the triples down the forks. There is no much space to play with before the front fairing touches the front fender, but about 10mm is ok.

For the rear, I got a second hand adjustable links. They allow to lower or raise the bike. They are HEAVY though! Getting something lighter is in my TODO list.