Well i just got the swing arm pivot out! I used the cap nut to pull it out I started with a 2mm steel spacer (cut from a BSA spark plug spanner ) and the 450 Nm Electric Impact wrench i use to release the rear wheel. Once it moved I worked the pivot out to the left and then the right with the 2mm spacer applying plus gas and left it over night. I then cut increasingly large spacers from the spark plug spanner in 8mm steps to ensure i did not damage the thread in the tube or the cap nut. When it started to move i used every spacer over 20mm ID in the garage (plumbing fittings and large spanners) It wasnt pretty - see picture for the final set!
The Impact driver was needed to start it moving the first 15mm but I was able to use a 1/2 socket and brace for most of the extraction
The pivot tube had signs of a dark dry grease on it but was very pitted especially on the middle and chain sides
So it seems that the corrosion is probably electrolytic between the pivot and the crankcase and between the pivot and the inner race of the bearing. So help and advice please What grease would people recommend to take crankcase heat, road salt and reduce electrolytic action between steel and aluminium??
The grit and filth gets in via a hole in the casting. There's a 3D printed plug out there that covers this hole that should prevent re-occurrence. Alternatively do what VFR800 owners have been doing for years and once it's stripped down and before reassembly fill the void with builders expanding foam.
Thank you Bumkin I had seen that article regarding the MTS swinger and was expecting to see that hole. But it turns out the M1200 swinger is slightly different - I have attached some images below. The plastic cover you can see is in place so i am going to regrease the eccentric and aim to strip it again if i still have the bike at 24k miles
Greases for the swing arm pivot? Looking for technical criticism of this thinking The pitting that i found on the swing arm pivot looks like electrolytic erosion. so possibly the steel is pitting because it is less 'noble' than the aluminium. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_series ? If that is the case then the corrosion will be reducing the diameter of the steel (opposite of rusting) so the seizure is likely not caused by the corrosion but caused by the old grease drying into a glue. So unless anyone has a better idea I will not use copper antiseize as it copper is more noble than steel or aluminium and may lead to corrosion of the alloy crankcase and worsen the seizure. I will use a high temperature general purpose grease. - Any better ideas??
I have a tub of molybdenum grease that I use on my swing arm pivot, not for any particular reason other than I have it on the shelf, I remove my pivot bolt on the 748 every year, it is a five min job. Steve
+1 for Molybdenum grease here. For those in the know I now use it on my gearbox output shaft spline as well
I agree that regreasing the swing arm pivot needs to be a yearly job Anyway the bearing grease that I had on my shelf had a peak operating temperature of only 120 degrees C and considering that the old grease looked dried to gum i found a grease with a higher operating temperature: WD40 White lithium high performance grease - an operating range -18 C to +145 C. Three points which may help others 1) I have not worked out how the water and grit got inside the swing arm, but was looking to drill a drain hole, but on the monster there is a single pinch point under the middle of the swing arm that obstructs the best place to drill a drainage hole . 2) if you have the mudguard that hangs off the swing arm = the lowest mounting point goes through to the eccentric so lubricant could be injected there to free up a seized eccentric 3) The pinch torx bolt is hollow - all the way. So if yours has seized you could insert lubricant behind it or drill it out
The fact that (probably damp) crud can get anywhere near the eccentric or anywhere else in the swingarm shouts of a design flaw to me. How does it get in there? Apologies if this is noobie-speak; my new-to-me Hyper is my first single-sider and I'd be gutted if I found that much road crap inside looking like it'd make excellent grinding paste for the eccentric!! Shout if you need a re-assembly hand - I'm in Bristol...
Hi Keith Thanks for the offer, it is all back together and I will be ordering a tyre with some grooves in tomorrow. On the Monster I can only assume that they panel that closes the hole in the casting does not fit that well and muddy spray gets in there . However to get the swing arm right out to look at that would have been difficult because of the way that I had supported the bike. After 12000 miles of all-weather riding the eccentric came apart easily. I was surprised as the single siders that I have read about on various Triumph, KTM and Ducati models seem to commonly have had problems with the eccentric seizing and crud getting in. I think that the single sided swing arm itself is the design flaw. They are bulky and very heavy (even though they are hollow) to try to make them as structurally stiff as a double sided arm. So a bad solution to rear suspension - they also all seem to need a load of special tools to take off the wheel or adjust the chain, the only good thing is that they look pretty
