Yamaha linkage slop

[bikedude127]

Grrr.. New shock bushings, upper and lower with NEW OEM pivot bolts all around and relatively new linkage bearings and swingarm bearings.. STILL have a ton of slop.. What Im finding by looking closely is that the slop is in the upper shock mount.. I figure either the shouldered collars that fit into the pivot ball on top are a not fitting tight, leaving slop.. OR, the upper shock body is worn enough that the whole damn bushing is moving.... For the life of me I cant figure out why the hell I cant remedy this.. Its happened on ALL my YZ's since my first new bike purchase in 01.. Thats four bikes that have gained un fixable slop within the first 6 months...

Any recommendations besides buying a brand new, non updated YZ two stroke or do I need to buy a KTM ?

[rodgini]

i feel your pain. all brand new bearings and still slop! here is a trick that worked for me. it was acutally a dirt rider tip for a ktm but worked like a charm on my yz. leave all the linkage/ shock bolts loose. grab your torque wrench and a friend. put the bike on a stand and have your buddy compress the rear end slightly by pulling up on the linkage until all slop is gone and the shock begins to compress slightly. while he is holding pressure on the everything torque all bolts to factory spec. make sure you take you time and laugh at your buddy holding your bike. got rid of all the slop in the rear end of my 08.

[GCannon]

When you have the shock on the work bench is the upper ball loose in the bushing or are the shoulder collars loose in the ball?

Are the O-rings on the shoulder collars shot? How well does the upper bolt fit in the Collars?

[bikedude127]

Rod, that is a good trick that I use every couple of rides and it does help.. But not a cure all unfortunately..

When you have the shock on the work bench is the upper ball loose in the bushing or are the shoulder collars loose in the ball?

Are the O-rings on the shoulder collars shot? How well does the upper bolt fit in the Collars?

GC, from what I can tell, even on brand new bushings, the collars seem loose.. The bushing itself sits in the shock body fine, although it did press in pretty easy.. Just frustrating to go from 3/4 inch slop at the rear axle to 1/2 inch with almost ALL new parts, including pivot bolts... Im thinkin I may order OEM top bushing kit, perhaps they are a better fit?? ?

The 06 YZ125 I just bought feel like brand new in the back, not a hint of slack, so I wonder what Im doing wrong.. ?

[BDubb106]

That was the fix for my 00' Yz 125... went aftermarket and there was always slop in the rear end before or after the first ride. Decided to suck it up and pay the little extra for OEM stuff and everything tightened back up, but even they only lasted one season before I had to replace again. Check the torque on the upper bolt every once in a while. I noticed with the second set of OEM stuff that mine would loosen every once in a while (maybe causing enough play for premature wear to occur?) and torque it back to factory specs. which I suspect was the reason my first OEM replacement only lasted me one season. May not fix your problem but its worth a try...

I also helped a buddy fix his shock which was over torqued at the upper mount to the point that it put too much pressure on the upper fittings and Im assuming caused the entire mechanism to twist up and warped the shock body so that may be a cause worth looking into as well. He ended up getting a used shock off ebay at a decent price, which ended up being cheaper than replacing the parts that were damaged.

[BRM]

It might have something to do with those massive jumps you do

[bikedude127]

You mean like this??

[john484]

on on my 2nd yz125 and there is always play in my rear suspension. It gets better with new bearings/bushings, but it never goes away completely. Me being 190lbs naked and casing half the jumps on the track probably don't help.

[RCannon]

That slop is pretty normal for all bikes unless EVERYTHING is brand new, including bolts. The "Team Yamaha" way to deal with it was to run a strap from each axle end instead of having the buddy push the seat down.

Its not as bad as it appears, really. Figure the shock has 3 inches of travel and the linkage turns it into 12 at the wheel. This also means 1mm of slop in the combined linkage bearings turns into 4mm at the wheel. I also imagine that 1 mm of play in all of the bearings combined is being way conservative.

[BRM]

You mean like this??

Like you really must notice that 6mm of play when landing:lol:??

HTFU

[bikedude127]

Like you really must notice that 6mm of play when landing:lol:?

HTFU

To be honest, the only time I notice is under hard braking when the back end gets light... *clunk clunk clunk* through the braking bumps ?

[BRM]

To be honest, the only time I notice is under hard braking when the back end gets light... *clunk clunk clunk* through the braking bumps ?

Sure it's not your chain making all the noise?

[CelticDude]

Dude, go down to your local Yamaha shop and order the upper rear shock bearing! I had to do the same thing last year. I actually made a shim from a pop can until the parts came in. ?

[bikedude127]

Sure it's not your chain making all the noise?

More of a feel than a sound..

Dude, go down to your local Yamaha shop and order the upper rear shock bearing! I had to do the same thing last year. I actually made a shim from a pop can until the parts came in.

Dude.. Brand NEW upper and lower AND pivot bolts ? Just need a new bike I guess

[BDubb106]

Any progress on finding the route of the problem?

[bikedude127]

Any progress on finding the route of the problem?

? After looking close, there is slop on the top shock bushing and the lowest linkage connection.. However, those parts are relatively new.. With only ONE ride on the shock bushings and maybe three rides on all new linkage parts, Im at a complete loss..

Im just gonna ride it for a while and save some coins up for a new scooter I think.. Ill probably keep this one around forever though.. WR285 ??? Gotta keep that, right??

[BDubb106]

Def gotta keep that lol... doesnt make much sense though. You could always just price a cheap shock on fleabay. Itll get you by as your back up bike:ride:?