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Swingarm bearings.

Kevin, You're right, I was wrench happy the first time around. I took more things apart than was needed. My buddy and me just finished my B11 and completed it in a fraction of the time we took on his. About 4 hours with a coffee break including a snack; Russian tea cookies and bannana walnut cake.

Some tips:
Start by removing the RH footpeg plate while bike is on the side stand. Disconnect the brake switch wire block connector and gas tank dump tube. Leave everything on the plate, remove the rear caliper and it all comes off as a unit. Replace center stand/bottom plate bolts.

Place bike on centerstand. Disconnect the shift linkage - no need to remove the shift lever. You'll need a thin 5mm box wrench to hold the ball joint while removing the nylok nut. As Kevin said - replace the center stand bolts after removing the footpeg plate.

It all went back together faster than it took to get apart. Also, greased the shaft splines with Wurth spline grease. I use a dead blow hammer and a piece of wood to get the shaft off. Took a little while but it came off.

Found one inner seal installed backwards. It just fell out - cleaned it, installed it the right way and it stayed put. My swingarm bearings had a little more grease than my buddy's B11. Guess Guido was generous that day or was hung over and a good thing resulted. ;)

Happy New Year.
 
Hi all,
this is my first post after reading all the great info on this site.

Well I removed the swing arm from my 12S and found the the needle rollers in the links were nicely packed but sure enough the taper bearings had only a very light smear of grease.
The right hand bearing was fine but the left showed sighs of water marks on cup at all roller contact points and you can just feel some damage..

Now the good news is I was about to cut the cups out of the frame but in the end I made a HT bush, milled the end until I had two tangs, tapped the centre to fit a slide hammer and then split it in half at right angles to tangs.
I then made a tube nut and a ring that is tapped and has a lip that fits over the outside of the split bush.

Spun ring onto slide hammer rod, placed one half bush into bearing so tang fits into recess in frame, fitted other half, screwed rod through centre of bush (which now keeps them apart) until thread protruded through some and screwed on tube nut. Finally I spun ring up to bush so that the lip fitted over the outside to stop it opening up, a few hard whacks on the slide hammer and out they came.

Why is this good new? because we are going on a tour up the North Island soon so I place an inquiry to the dealer for new bearings and was told they are $70 each ($61 USD) and ex Italy which means any time between now and Christmas!

Sent them back a thanks a with a suggestion that since most if not all CARC Guzzi's have this bearing set that maybe they should stock a few sets in the future.

Well at least I can re-fit cups and now have a puller to get them out of the 3 other Guzzi's I know if needed.
Anyone know where i can get these bearing from in a reasonable time and price?

Cheers,
Steve.
NEW ZEALAND
 
No good deed goes un-punished or so the saying goes. When i was in auto parts many times I got the call from the guy who was just leaving work & running late but just had to get his wifes car fixed so she could go to work in the morning. Did I have a xxx & what is the price and could you wait for me I'l only be about 15 minutes late.......

NO SHOW. A week later they would come in for a $1.00 qt of oil & I'd ask em how the wifes car was doing. Then I'd thank them for coming & getting the part last week when I stayed an hour waiting on them.
 
There are many clueless people out there. They don't understand that if someone goes the extra bit, they should get the business. Much like folks who work commission sales will spend time with a customer, then come back they made the purchase from someone else. I think this kind of crap has happened to all of us at some time or another.
 
Please, might anyone here offer a time estimate for a pro shop to conduct this swingarm maintenance service?
- my mechanic is a Griso fan, but hasn’t spent a lot of time wrenching these bikes. I will get him the nut driver!
- Thank you!
 
Please, might anyone here offer a time estimate for a pro shop to conduct this swingarm maintenance service?
- my mechanic is a Griso fan, but hasn’t spent a lot of time wrenching these bikes. I will get him the nut driver!
- Thank you!


On bikes that require the pork chop removal about 3 hours if you do the suspension linkage at the same time. That is the amount of time it takes me to so them. Be sure to set torque wrench to the Newton Meter spec and not confuse it with pound-feet.
 
Hey Todd, When you get my 12S shock and fork kit in I'll be going through my swingarm bearings and shock linkage and I see you are out of the swingarm castle nut tools. Will you be making any soon and if not would you care to share the ID and OD so I could make my own?

Stephan
 
What you really need for the Stelvio Swing-Arm Bearings, is a method to be able to grease them in-situ . . .

SwingArmAxle2Dia

Well worth adding Nipples to the Linkages as well, if you have them off for cleaning/greasing.
Linkage


And don't forget to add exit holes for the old grease to get out when you're pumping the fresh stuff in . . .
Linkage1
 
Ok, so after all the warnings I waited till 58,000 mile to grease my 2007 Griso swingarm bearings. Yes, they were dry and yes they were rusty! I pulled them and waited for the Moto Guzzi part replacement # GU92249224.......I now know one Guzzi part number by heart!! When the new bearings arrived by mail I noticed that the part was a Koyo bearing and that it did not have an exterior race dust cover pressed on like the original installed Guzzi bearing. This seems to be a problem, since there will now be no protection between the exterior of the bearing and dirt/moisture. Has Guzzi changed bearing suppliers? Has Anyone else run into this problem. Did I get the wrong part delivered? Below Left is the original swing arm bearing with a seal and the new Koyo bearing has no seal. Help please.
Bearing
 
Has Guzzi changed bearing suppliers?
No they haven't. Every one I've gotten from Guzzi has come in a factory printed clear bag with the part # printed on it, no box, and correct seals, etc. Whom did you get these from?
 
Thank You for the quick response.
I did order these from a Moto Guzzi Dealer.
I did receive other Moto Guzzi parts in their correct packages along with these Koyo boxed bearings.
I have contacted the dealer with this issue and awaiting a response.
Hope to get the correct info. regarding the bearings.
I will wait for them to report back before I say anything Negative.
Not making any miles here with Griso Unicylcle!
 
Thank You for the quick response.
I did order these from a Moto Guzzi Dealer.
I did receive other Moto Guzzi parts in their correct packages along with these Koyo boxed bearings.
I have contacted the dealer with this issue and awaiting a response.
Hope to get the correct info. regarding the bearings.
I will wait for them to report back before I say anything Negative.
Not making any miles here with Griso Unicylcle!


Also be aware it takes a special puller to get the old races out. It takes a slide hammer with an expanding legs attachment to grab the race. There are two slots in the frame for the legs to go into to get a purchase on the race. I did have to shape the legs to get them to go down far enough to grab the race. amazon.com/OEMTOOLS-27059-Bearing-Puller-Attachment/dp/B004FDGU20/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=internal+bearing+puller&qid=1633574655&sr=8-10 I put the new races in a freezer for a few hours then heat the frame area with an electric head gun before inserting the races.
 
John, Thank You.
I did borrow a Kukko Puller from a neighbor who has old BMW Bikes. Left side Race came out fine and the Right side near Tranny took much longer to pull. wd-40, Coco Cola, dental Hygienist Pick around the edges and WHALLA ! Finally released.
I did notice that the inner seal on the left hand frame was missing ( way to go Luigi) the right side inner seal was in place.
When I ordered my parts, there was only one inner seal for swing arm in stock at the Guzzi warehouse, so I grabbed it.

As soon as I get the proper 2007 Moto Guzzi Swing Arm Bearings, I will freeze the cup race and either pull it in or tap it in.
Seems like pulling is better because my Griso is sitting on the sump, Front wheel locked, and handelbars are strapped to lift.
 
I wish I had noted this thread so much sooner than I did. 177000km, and I had not even spared a thought, and only after a drive shaft issue did I come close. I had much drama :)
 
I believe that the factory doesn't grease bearings and asks such things as a fork rebuild early is that they have a cleanliness issue and can not guarantee that a long service will be obtained without owner intervention.
By having you, the owner pack grease in bearings, the factory knows that you will surgically clean everything well beyond what they wish to do.
And the forks similarly can contain grit and swarf, I have heard of many 45mm forks having their seals leak prematurely from original and after a rebuild they last much longer.
There has to be a reason beyond the cost of product (grease) and I believe that it's labour specifically related to cleanliness.
Chris.
 
You are right, I have never been to the factory but I don't need to in order to guess, and that's what we are all doing here.
My best guess is that the factory don't want to pack further grease into swingarm bearings (or any bearing for that matter) because it's labour intensive and messy.
The forks, heard too many stories about original seals chewing out and weeping, and upon a complete rebuild and clean magically the weeps never come back or at least the service life is so far extended that it doesn't matter.

What's your best guess Scott?
 
i'm starting this project and these are good notes to file away. i'm doing new rear shock and swingarm bearing grease check together
 

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