Rear suspension problems

[46robbie46]

Hi, I'm having some troubles with my rear suspension and was hoping that you guys might be able to help.

The back of the bike has always been quite stiff during the time i have owned it, and whilst changing my chain and sprockets last week i took all of the suspension and swingarm bushes out and greased them. There was a lot of damage to the left side swingarm bush and not a lot of grease in there! I re greased it and turned the bush round so that the surface now touching the needle roller bearing is fresh and not damaged...

Anyway, the rear of the bike is still stiff after all of that work, so im starting to think that it is the rear shock that needs replacing. The bike is a 2003 model with only 15k miles on the clock. Is this a common problem? Also, when i hold the bike from the rear and bounce it up and down, a side to side movement appears on the rebound stroke.

Any help or advice is appreciated!

Rob

[JayBell]

sounds to me that you wanna replace both the bearings and bushings on both swingarm sides first.

check the swingarm for any damage and for straightness.

has the bike been down, wrecked or rebuilt?

check that the shock cushion lever/knuckle are tight and using the proper bolts, same with the suspension links, andsame with the upper shock mount.

do the above to verify all parts are good and ok first...the side to side deflection you describe is concerning.

also, the shock is easily replaceable with another unit if its damaged(ebay, between $50-100)... but, have you reset the spring preload stiffness via adjusting the preset collar (on a 600) or the threaded adjuster (on a 750)?

the

[hardlydangerous]

PO may have cranked up the spring preload or stiffened the compression.
look in the owners manual and set it back to the stock settings and go from there

[46robbie46]

Thanks a lot for the replies! I will be replacing the swing arm bearings as soon as possible, I will try and rule this out as being the problem before I go out and spend money on another shock!

I'm pretty sure the bike hasn't been wrecked, there is no damage and no out of line components.

The side to side deflection seems to have gone now, it's all very strange... I have checked pretty much everything so will be changing the bearings.

The suspension settings are as standard and it returns very slowly.

Thanks again