Mark Johnson's FJR Site (C) 1995-Present

Servicing the Swingarm

The Yamaha factory service manual (page 3-2) says to check the swingarm pivot bearing every 8,000 miles (or 12 month) and to repack it every 16,000 miles (or 24 months). That's every 12,000 Km for the check and every 25,000 Km for the repack if you're into metrics.

The process is not technically difficult, but can take a little time. Because of the other subsystems you need to remove to do the swingarm service, I would recommend that you also do your periodic maintenance on your rear wheel, drive shaft, and u-joint. If you're up for it, now's also a good time to service your rear brake caliper and lube the various pivot points (side stand, center stand, shock, shifter linkages, etc.). A 2003 non-ABS was used for the example and photos.

Let's get started.

1. Remove the mufflers (easier access for the rest of the project)
2. Remove the rear wheel

A) Tip: Suspend the brake caliper from a coat hanger to avoid stress on the brake line

3. Remove the drive shaft assembly as you do when servicing the splines
4. Remove the right

and left rider footrest brackets

A) Note the T-50 torx head bolt on the left footrest bracket (arrow)

5. Remove the u-joint (now's a good time to service it)
6. Remove the rear shock (now's a good time to service the pivot points)

7. Remove the swingarm

A) Remove the right pivot shaft end cap (#2) and the left, triangular, end cap (#3)
B) Remove the right pivot shaft nut (#4: 27mm) and the left lock nut (#5: 36mm)
C) Remove the pivot shaft from the left side of the bike
(CAUTION: Keep track of all spacers, washers, and bushings so they go back in the proper order during reassembly.)
D) Clean the the swingarm and associated parts (internally and externally)

E) Grease all bearing surfaces and pack the area around the swingarm pivot bearing with an approved grease (I use Mobile 1 full synth bearing grease)
F ) Clean the rear undercarriage of the bike

G ) Reassemble in reverse order

Item

Noteworthy Sizes

Torque

Swingarm Pivot Shaft (#6) 7 Nm; 5.1 ft-lbs

Pivot Shaft Nut (#4) 27 mm 125 Nm; 90 ft-lbs

Locknut (#5) 36 mm (VW Axle Nut) 115 Nm; 85 ft-lbs

L Cover (#3) Retaining Bolt 10 Nm; 7.2 ft-lbs

R Footrest Retaining Bolts (#8) 28 Nm; 20 ft-lbs

L Footrest Retaining Bolts (3 ea) 28 Nm; 20 ft-lbs

L Footrest/Sidestand Bolt
(lower - 1 ea) 63 Nm; 45 ft-lbs

L Footrest Torx Bolt T-50 49 Nm; 35 ft-lbs

Upper Shock Bolt 64 Nm; 46 ft-lbs

Lower Shock Bolt 40 Nm; 29 ft-lbs

Muffler Clamp 20 Nm; 14 ft-lbs

Muffler Hanger Bolt 17 Nm; 12 ft-lbs

A quick Google search will net 36mm sockets from several sources.

The 27 mm socket was already in my tool kit and useful elsewhere on the FJR.

I bought the T-50 torx socket from Pep Boys as part of a kit that had it as the middle size in a kit of 6.

The other tools were standard things already in my tool kit from other projects.