I was just curious if it was a good idea to drill and install grease fittings on the A-arms and swingarm pivot points. I plan to put one the axle bearings, but didn't know if it would do any good on the other parts. Any ideas? Thanx alot.....

 

That sounds like a great idea, I have a quadracer 250 and just changed my front bearings, they were dry and ruined before, grease zerks would have prevented that failure, and all the aftermarket A-Arm builders put them on. As far as rear axle bearings go, they are sealed bearings and should not be greased, if they get to the point where the seal is broken so grease could even get to them, they are already bad.

 

I added zerks to every bearing on my LT250. The rear axel bearing is not sealed on the inside, zerks would help. On the a-arms, you have to be careful where you put them. You need to mark the spot BEFORE you remove the arms.
If you put them too far up, they will hit the frame when the arms move. You have to put them right up to the dust seals or the bearing will cover the zerk, no grease will get in. Try to stay futhest from the welds as possible.
I also put zerks on my 2 swing arm bearings.
I had to spend over a hundred dollars and replace every bearing on the bike, It was a good idea to put in zerks, I wont ever have to replace them again. I grease them before each weekend!! If you need more help, Im right here.

 

If I did put a zerk on the rear carrier, I wouldn't grease it very much as this could do more harm than good. The rear bearings are sealed as donpeter said and if you packed the rearend full of grease you would put outward pressure on the bearings and seals. Also, when you ride your bearings and grease warm and expand, some extra room is needed inside the carrier to accomodate this.

As for the a-arms, I'm going to try these brass bushings and see what kind of service I can get from them. My old needle bearings probably looked like yours did.

 

Often the bearings were not packed well from the factory or the grease has gone hard. Main problem is water getting in and rust forming. If you completely fill the gap between the bearing and the needle roller cage this acts as a buffer tio catch the crud before it gets into the bearing. Go easy on the power washer also.

Really hard to get zerks to work in the front A-Arma as the bearing cage extends most of the length. I disassemble mine a couple times max a year and clean out the grease between the dust seal and the bearing, this gets a bit of crud in it, and repack the bearing. If looked after the LT needle roller setup will last ages. I did add extra zerks to the rear linakge of my 92.

remember if you force the seals so that grease comes out dirt can also easily find it's way back in and ruin the bearings. Better to diassemble once in a while and make sure the seals are ok and repack.


Phew.....



Kiwi