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Rear Shock Link Bearings Failed

A

amb67

Had a few issues in late summer in as much as the ride on my bike became very hard and it appeared to crash over the bumps in the road.

Well, as summer is well and truly over I decided to strip down the rear suspension and see what was occurring.

I had anticipated I would find that my rear swing arm bearings or perhaps the lower shock mount had failed but these turned out to be OK.

This is what I found:

P1010042.jpg

P1010043.jpg

P1010044.jpg


As you can see the previous owners spared no expense in its maintenance.

My plea to you guys and gals is has anyone got a good one hanging around in the garage that you want to sell?

I have tried to remove the bearings from the link but unfortunately the bearing outer casings have become part of the aluminium link arm.
 
Boiling water- just pour straight from the kettle.

Best way to get mains out of crankcases etc as well. No risk of heat damage to seals etc but heats the aluminium enough to loosen the grip.

Use a socket to tap the shells out with and rubber gloves to protect your hands from the heat.
Or chuck it my way and i'll get me big hammer out.

Ps replace the pin as well as it wears badly when the bearing siezes.
 
Apply some heat and they will come out. Start with a hot air paint gun, if that fails use a blow torch.
If that fails pop it in the post to me and I'll remove them on a hydraulic press for you.
 
No point in removing the bearings as the casings have corroded and have eaten away in to the aluminium link.

I need a new link at the very least and from looking at the parts prices it's gonna cost me around £90 to get one from Aprilia.

Seen one on Ebay that I'm watching, was just wondering if one of you kind guys has one laying around.

When I started pushing out the remains of the bearing casings shards of aluminium started to peel and fall out. If I did manage to get them out I reckon the ID will be so big now that the new bearings would be a very poor fit.

Are the links all the same from 98 - 03 models?

PS. Thanks for the advice and offers.
 
Last edited:
AREESSMILL said:
How do I check mine guys

and is it an easy Job to do?
Click to expand...

Firstly you have to get rid of the Timmy Mallet avatar, it's doin my head in just looking at it for 5 mins.

Get the bike on a stand that takes the weight off the rear wheel and swing arm, next release the lower shock mount to the link making sure the rear tyre is supported as it will drop once you undo and remove the lower shock bolt.

Once the bolts removed you can lift and drop the rear wheel/swing arm by hand.

If it moves freely it's OK if it sticks or grinds then your in the same boat as me.
 
AMB67 Funny that ! Well not really, I am just in the process of giving mine its real clean for the Winter and I have removed the bottom links, the rear one felt just a little gritty so I have sluiced it out with paraffin and dried it, then repacked it with some grease and its fine now. The front was AOK. so a good clean up and its looking fine.

I do have an issue mind, I cant get the top fixing off the Shocker.

What size Hex / Allen tool do I need cos the bloody thing is spinning when I turn the 15mm Nut. Its tight in there for a socket as well..

Hope you get fixed up matey
 
Last edited:
the linkages & dogbone Are different between models
98-00 or 01-03

This seems to be causing a few members of different sites issues at the moment including myself with regards to the needle bearings

Mine had, had it that are in the swinger mount
 
I don't necessarily think that it's a maintenance issue -

My Old Mille had been religiously serviced etc. by its previous owner, and by myself had full Aprilia servicing.

When I came to swap the rear shock out for an Ohlins, I had to swap the linkage also and when I took it all off, the top mount on the original shock had cracked, and perished almost all the way through :eek: it would have collapsed completely within a short time. The problem being that you can't see the mount because of where it sits between the 2 top mounts on subframe.

Worthwhile checking what happens in the bits you can't see!

I've just sold a linkage 01-03 btw :eek:h
 
Do those pictures look potentially dangerous to anyone else. Surely without checking this would have led to a major failure?
 
Also I have just bought a full set of bearings and seals because my are goosed as well. Another one added to the winter list!
 
Update.

I managed to get the remains of the bearings out of the dogbone and I reckon that It will live to fight another day, just needs a little dressing up before reassembly. I need a new pin, two new bearings and a couple of seals.

Was going to get these from my local Aprilia dealer but they didn't have them in stock.

Any ideas on whose best to get them from mail order?

Part No's.

1 x Double connecting rod pin AP8135924
2 x Needle bearings AP8110065
2 x Seal AP8110068
 
I got a ful set of bearings and seals from ultimate parts, delivered in 4 days.
 
danf1234 said:
I got a ful set of bearings and seals from ultimate parts, delivered in 4 days.
Click to expand...

Cheers guys, ordered my seals from Timmy Mallets link and bearings from Ultimate Parts.

Should be here by the weekend so should be up and running by Saturday afternoon.

Will update the thread once I'm up and running again.
 
amb67 said:
Cheers guys, ordered my seals from Timmy Mallets link and bearings from Ultimate Parts.

Should be here by the weekend so should be up and running by Saturday afternoon.

Will update the thread once I'm up and running again.
Click to expand...

Update:

Bearings still not arrived but the seals have and they are great at that price. Ultimateparts have still not sent any communication in regards to my order - recommend you guys don't use them if your in a hurry.

Been cleaning up the swingarm today and noticed that the bearings in the arm have no seals fitted, this job is starting to snowball.

Gotta get myself another pastime, this bike larks killing my wallet. LOL
 
OK, all rebuilt and had a little spin on it this afternoon and it handles like a dream.

Used the HK1812 bearings from Bearing King and they appear to be man enough for the job. Will let you know if I have any issues.

Fitted seals to all the bearings and greased up every bearing in sight.

Set up the rear suspension as best as I could in the garage/shed, appears to be OK at the moment.

All in all not a bad job to do, worst bit was waiting for the parts to arrive.

(Bloody Ultimateparts still haven't sent those HK1812V bearings yet - over a month now)

All ready for a big ride out at the weekend now.

:doug:doug:doug
 
Just got a mille, and she's been used as a commuter bike all yr round, loads of corrosion so at somepoint I will check out the suspension linkages. What stand did you use to remove the weight off the swingarm/rear wheel??
 
TinMan said:
Just got a mille, and she's been used as a commuter bike all yr round, loads of corrosion so at somepoint I will check out the suspension linkages. What stand did you use to remove the weight off the swingarm/rear wheel??
Click to expand...

You can use an Abba type stand or use two axle stands and a bar that will fit through the frame, as I do.

Have a look in this piccie and you can see the set up:

P1010052.jpg
 

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