Rear suspension lower shock mount greasing.

[Ossian]

I thought it was time to discover the world of pain that is involved in removing the rear shock to check the lubrication of the lower mount. So I have managed to take it apart without removing the exhaust system which the manual states needs to be done as part of the procedure. Well the pin and needle rollers are in decent condition, and there was some grease in there.
I'm thinking that with everything apart - I took the swing arm off to remove the pin on the bench, it might be a sensible idea to put a grease nipple in the end of the shock. Has anybody on here done this, and are there any particular dos and donts to consider ?

[Timbox2]

How is the grease going to get into the bearing? Think about it.

[Ossian]

Remove needles. Drill right through shock eye and bearing sleeve. Tap thread for nipple. Remove swarf. Screw in nipple. Replace needles and reassemble. Apply grease gun. Should cover it.

[Ossian]

Well. I've just discovered the first 'don't'
Drilling the eye of the shock is easy through the outer alloy part. Just needs the whole thing to be mounted securely in the drill press. However don't attempt to drill using ordinary HSS bits. They won't even dent the needle roller sleeve.
Now to find a suitable bit...........

[Ossian]

Well, got it done, but not the straightforward job I was expecting.
I had to take it to a friend who has a very good precision engineering business. He drilled it using a very fine ~1mm diamond tipped (I believe) drill and then tapped the thread in the alloy with a blind end tap. For a belt and braces seal the nipple is also bonded in place with some kind of exotic epoxy.

[Ossian]

Refitting the shock unit is a helluva faff. The top mounting is almost totally inaccessable and it really isn't a one man job.
However I used my garage crane to lift it into place which made it possible - just.

[Ossian]

The way I approached the re-assembly - shock in first, and then insert the swing arm, makes all the bolts etc accessable around the in-situ exhaust, but making sure the swing arm shims were in place was very difficult. Took a lot of trial and error to work out a way of avoiding those "Oh F**K" moments as the shim washer hit the deck yet again.

[Chris Canning]

I'm a little lost here because when I first saw this thread thought it was a mag wheeled Tiger and maybe that was the hassle but on closer inspection I see it's a wire wheel version like mine i've Had the shock in and out of mine must 5/6 times at least and never needed to remove the swing arm just a straight out and in job.

Re your mod with the grease nipple nice job but the actual stock shock was an absolute heap of junk when new never mind after all these years.

[Ossian]

The exhaust system obscures the lower shock bolt, thats why I tried this method. I'd also heard that the hollow pin that located the shock can be siezed in the arm (it turned out that mine wasn't)
I'd certainly consider a different shock, but the prices seem to start at around £400 and that is just not going to happen for me.

[Timbox2]

Also had to remove the swingarm on my last 955 to get the lower pin out, mine was seized solid and needed heat and my biggest Manchester Spanner (Club Hammer). Afterwards though with a newly greased pin was a doddle. Yep I rememeber having fun with the swingarm shims

[Chris Canning]

Rubber bung out the swing arm and use a 3/8 extension with a knuckle joint and socket,go in the other side with a torque undo the bolt and tap the pin out.

[Timbox2]

Rubber bung out the swing arm and use a 3/8 extension with a knuckle joint and socket,go in the other side with a torque undo the bolt and tap the pin out.

Yours has been loved from day 1 though Chris.

[Ossian]

Yep. I wondered whether a universal on a 3/8" would work around the exhaust. Of course I didn't have one !

[Ossian]

I'm nevertheless amazed how awkward the Triumph designers have made access to the upper bolt. Probably on the new build the rear guard is not in place, which would make access from below a lot easier. Trying to hold a spanner on one side, while operating a ratchet on the other from above or the side is a painful and frustrating experience. They've also put the diagonal frame braces in lwhere they very effectively block any use of socket extensions.
At one point I seriously considered cutting an access hole in the frame cross bridge just to make access possible.

[Chris Canning]

Yours has been loved from day 1 though Chris.

That's true enough although the dust and black tape look otherwise 





Need a bit of tape on the knuckle to stop it flopping about  14mm socket

There must be some old photos on here from years back but no doubt photo bucket did for those.

Forgot!!! turn the 3/8 bar around and use the other end to drift the pin out.