Just wanted to let you P650 owners out there know that I ran across a big problem with my swingarm bushings. Even though these are "new" atvs, they must have weak bushing where the swingarm connects to the frame. I finally noticed mine were gone when I could make a turn and the rear axle turned with me. Since I didn't notice until too late, its become an expensive ($400-500) job to fix because of what all got beat up after the bushings wore out and the amount of labor. The service manager said the premature wear out may be caused by aggressive tires, lots of mud, and jumping. Well, I can understand all that except the aggressive tire part - I run stock sized 589 M/T's and they are defintely not the most aggresssive tire. Check out your swingarm before it becomes expensive!

 

How can one tell if the bushing are going before its to late? Can you jack up the quad in the middle and wiggle the swing arm? I don't think my bushings would be gone yet but I would like to check them from time to time and I got the extended warranty so I would like to catch it before it runs out.

 

The P650 uses bearings not bushing where it pivots.

 

I have a tech tip on how to replace em. I also hear you should get them cross referenced at a bearing store and get the sealed kind so they will hold up better. Someone else recommended repacking them with water proof grease.

Anyone that can tel me how to tell when they are bad, I wanna know before they screw up the swing housing.

 

The way i check them is to wiggle the back of the bike back and fourth and watch the swing arm to see if there is any movement in it. there is 4 of us that have p650s and i am the only one who has not replaced mine with 2800km on them and there still good. another way you might want to check them is by lifting the bike up by the rack and moving the swing arm to see if there is play that way. the other guys took there's out by doing power donuts on hard gravel. hope this helps.

 

I noticed that mine went out when I heard the rear end popping when crawling over rocks. cost about $40.00 to fix.

 

I can hear my swingarm bearings poping every now and then, i have about 3300 miles , im looking forward to replacing them. Yeah right. Did anyone get the numbers off them or save one for measurement in millimeters.If we can get our hands on one i can tell you if its available and what to buy to replace it. I will be too busy for a while to get into mine. How about some replys, it will be cheaper to source these outside of kawi and they are probably common from local parts store.

 

hey guys my buddies 650 is starting to crunch at the swingarm pivot joint this may be the first sign before it gets reaaly bad you can here it just by oushing down on the bike. hes taking it to the dealer this weekend so he can be sure but i certanly sound like the starting of a bearing problem hope this helps withn the early detection problem.

 

roscoe69: I would of gotten a number off of my old ones but they were so destroyed that there was pretty much nothing left of them. And the new ones are already in. That is the scary thing. I changed them out 2 days after I first heard the popping sound, and by that time they were completely gone.

 

650freak
Yes it doesn't surprise me, most bearings in a slow moving situation like this will run untill there is nothing left of the bearings. i wonder if water was able to get in there? is there a pocket for grease? a bearing doing that job should last forever if it has proper lubrication. Replacing them with sealed bearings will cure the problem of lubing , and they should last forever if the shaft and housing is not damaged. Badbamprairie is right about checking them out, it is a good idea , better then replacing the swingarm housing. I have to take a run into manitoba tomorrow so i will not be able to have a good look at mine ,but when i do i will give a first hand report.This probably wont happen untill after the first of aug. If there is anyone out there that did this repair themselves speak up and give us the run down. Anyone have the bearing for measurements?