swingarm woes

[MIKE550/4]

how did i miss this,  

these are the sort of things that make me want to hang this up

got round to fitting swingarm,  arm is powdercoated to match rest of bike

if i am right they have powdercoated grease nipple ?

went to fit this tonight to find dent in side

also these bushes dont look great

give me some advice guys on the following

grease nipple (  simply unblock or renew?)
dent ok to use still swingarm? safety wise
bushes replace?  is it easy job

pics

[Bryanj]

Unscrew nipple and replace with new, pennies to fix, would like tp see pics of steel sleevr before commenting on bushes

[MIKE550/4]

not sure what you mean bryan pic wise

do you want  more detailed pic of the inside of the round tube inside  where the main bolt goes for swing arm ? ie knock the sleeve out

this dent strangely seems to have appeared once i undone the grease nipple

is this swingarm still ok to use ( ie safety wise )

[Bryanj]

Dent i wouldnt worry about those arms are way over engineered on the 500/550.
The steel sleeve that goes through the bushes and has the hole the long bolt goes through should slide out easily---if it needs to be "knocked" out you have a problem and its the outside of that tube in the area of the bushes i want to see

[MIKE550/4]

hmmm not sure what to do

will not slide out easily, does not seem to be any play , do you think i would be doing more harm than good if start using a drift to get this sleeve out

[Bryanj]

Nope because it HAS to pivot on that sleeve as the ends are trapped by the frame when the long bolt is tightened so it NEEDS to come out and be inspected/grease holes cleaned or you will be removing the swing arm again.

[MIKE550/4]

think that answers me, get it out, replace bushes new nipple re grease , dont want to be doing this twice  on same bike

cheers as usual bryan

[Bryanj]

Still need to see the sleeve as , tho' you wont believe it, the steel sleeve frequently wears more than the plastic bushes!!!

[MIKE550/4]

will report back when i get sleeve out with some pics

hopefully will get this out relatively easy
cant be any worse than that m/c clip ,haynes and clymer never mention, rust, dirt,grease and general crud

[MIKE550/4]

does not look too bad slight score on one, ( think this will be fine... bryan ? )

bushes were very brittle , did not take much to get them off

glad i changed them  now for all they cost...

hope the pics help others that am i putting up as this site has been a real help to actually share and gain knowledge

[Bryanj]

Yep, i agree, specialy considering the replacement cost. Make sure the grease holes are clear, plaster it in HMP grease and refit it then when fitted pump even more grease in through the nipple which, due to its location, is a right pain BUT needs doing every 1500 miles when oil is changed.