Swing Arm Bearing Conversion

S

Stephen Hill

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Oct 28, 2009
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I received an email from British Cycle with a link to a swing arm bearing conversion kit made by British Cycle Repair.
This conversion does not use needle bearings but six ball bearings.
Has anybody installed this kit, or have thoughts on it??
I'd appreciate a link if this has already been discussed.
 
Had a look at the video - seems good.
From an engineering perspective, for something that only rotates through an arc, a set of needles will give more contact area than ball bearings over the same area so will likely be more durable.
In reality both will prove to be fine.

Not sure what "ceramic grease" is? Last time I looked ceramic is a very hard, brittle form to earthenware. Put that in grease and the result would be grinding paste. No?
Probably just a marketing term though.
Cheers
 
robs ss said:
Not sure what "ceramic grease" is? Last time I looked ceramic is a very hard, brittle form to earthenware. Put that in grease and the result would be grinding paste. No?
Click to expand...
No.
Example:
www.100moto.com.au

PUTOLINE CERAMIC GREASE - 100 GR TUBE (74115) *12 - Whites

PUTOLINE CERAMIC GREASE - 100 GR TUBE (74115) *12 - Whites
www.100moto.com.au www.100moto.com.au
"Ceramic Grease is a particularly especially high-grade assembly paste and high-temperature lubricant grease without metal particles. Its unique formulation gives it the following properties:

Very high-temperature range (peak temperature approx. 1500°C)
High-pressure resistance
Reduces friction in moving parts
Effective protection against corrosion
Excellent protection against electrolytic corrosion"
Etc...
www.putoline.com

Ceramic Grease productinformatie. - Putoline

Putoline Oil is a high-quality supplier of a wide range of lubricants and maintenance products. We only supply products for motorised two-wheelers and that makes us unique! Our years of experience, combined with continuous research results in the best price/quality ratio. Manufacturing our own...
www.putoline.com www.putoline.com
 
Last edited:
Has anybody tried these advanced plastic bushes advertised on Australian Ebay ?

www.ebay.com.au

Norton Commando 850 swingarm bush upgrade set | eBay

This is a major flaw in the original system for swingarm support. The constant oil leak from the original system makes for a high maintenance system that really doesn't work. They are for comparison only.
www.ebay.com.au
 
cliffa said:
Has anybody tried these advanced plastic bushes advertised on Australian Ebay ?

www.ebay.com.au

Norton Commando 850 swingarm bush upgrade set | eBay

This is a major flaw in the original system for swingarm support. The constant oil leak from the original system makes for a high maintenance system that really doesn't work. They are for comparison only.
www.ebay.com.au
Click to expand...
Yes, been in my bike for 5 seasons now, no discernible play in swing arm. The bearing kit looks interesting, but I think best done during a complete teardown
 
robs ss said:
Had a look at the video - seems good.
From an engineering perspective, for something that only rotates through an arc, a set of needles will give more contact area than ball bearings over the same area so will likely be more durable.
In reality both will prove to be fine.

Not sure what "ceramic grease" is? Last time I looked ceramic is a very hard, brittle form to earthenware. Put that in grease and the result would be grinding paste. No?
Probably just a marketing term though.
Cheers
Click to expand...
You could and probably still can get standard imperial thrust and needle races to directly replace the sintered bushes. I thought about doing it for about five minutes then realised if you pump a little oil into the sintered bushes now and again they can last for ever.
 
cliffa said:
Has anybody tried these advanced plastic bushes advertised on Australian Ebay ?

www.ebay.com.au

Norton Commando 850 swingarm bush upgrade set | eBay

This is a major flaw in the original system for swingarm support. The constant oil leak from the original system makes for a high maintenance system that really doesn't work. They are for comparison only.
www.ebay.com.au
Click to expand...
Yamaha used Micarta in the 70's into the 80's on some street bikes.
So long as there was lube, no problem. A slight rust gobbled them up, of course
 
A ball bearing is not designed to rotate a small amount back and forth. Does this new product have any history or references that it works for thousands of miles?
 
Norton commando headstock ball races don't seem to suffer from moving only a small amount
 
As mentioned in the previous thread linked in post #3 above, one concern with this particular kit is the SA pin turned down in diameter at ends to fit the bearing race ID. Is it going to be strong enough for the expected loading?
 
L.A.B. said:
No.
Example:
www.100moto.com.au

PUTOLINE CERAMIC GREASE - 100 GR TUBE (74115) *12 - Whites

PUTOLINE CERAMIC GREASE - 100 GR TUBE (74115) *12 - Whites
www.100moto.com.au www.100moto.com.au
"Ceramic Grease is a particularly especially high-grade assembly paste and high-temperature lubricant grease without metal particles. Its unique formulation gives it the following properties:

Very high-temperature range (peak temperature approx. 1500°C)
High-pressure resistance
Reduces friction in moving parts
Effective protection against corrosion
Excellent protection against electrolytic corrosion"
Etc...
www.putoline.com

Ceramic Grease productinformatie. - Putoline

Putoline Oil is a high-quality supplier of a wide range of lubricants and maintenance products. We only supply products for motorised two-wheelers and that makes us unique! Our years of experience, combined with continuous research results in the best price/quality ratio. Manufacturing our own...
www.putoline.com www.putoline.com
Click to expand...
Thanks Les
My point was - It can't really me made of ceramic, can it?
Then again, baby oil is not made from babies (I hope 🤣)!
Cheers
 
robs ss said:
My point was - It can't really me made of ceramic, can it?
Click to expand...

I don't know as I haven't as-yet found any technical specifications for what it actually contains but then why call it ceramic grease if it doesn't contain some form of ceramic (particles?)? There are also ceramic bearings so ceramics have certain friction reducing qualities.
www.bearings-online.co.uk

Bearings Online

Browse new collection of Ceramic Bearings at Bearings Online UK. We have EEC Super Ceramics is our own & famous brand of ceramic bearings,Range of products available
www.bearings-online.co.uk


I've used Putoline ceramic for some time now (tube's nearly empty) and I can at least say it doesn't act like grinding paste.:)
 
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