Thats a disturbing amount of play in a shock link!

I think the play is normal
Opened up today and took apart
I think it was too dry, no grease
So greased it up and replaced
Seems there is a bit of damage on the one shaft

The length of the shaft determines where nut and bolt stops when fastened
So, according to me, there will be play, if not, I must look for another option

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5329/3...bc381a6e_b.jpg

https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5684/3...32df350c_b.jpg

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5811/3...f35c7020_b.jpg

https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5718/3...bd13895f_b.jpg

Note to self: Time to open all bearings and grease

That could well be the cause of rattling? - dry worn out bearings, or will the bearings be OK? greased them well

Are the bearings bone dry?...they look it. When you spin them by hand are they rattling away?..

For the relative cheapness of them id be inclined to replace as they may have been running dry for unknown miles and have flat spots etc.

Or you could just pack them full of a quality grease and see...

Any other links etc in a similar condition?

Chain Monkey, takes the guess work out of chain tensioning

Only use this

https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5334/3...b1547da0_b.jpg

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...psobullcw1.jpg Hi Dual, the bearings on my (then) 18 months old Tenere were really dry and beginning to squeak. ..there is a great thread on this forum that talks you through it. I repacked mine with some marine grease 'donated' by Jo75 of this forum! . Well worth doing...especially considering the terrain you ride on. Steve

Thanks for info, but mine seems to bee too long as there is play?
Or am I doing something wrong?

Note: There is a notable difference between the two spaces between the links, let's call them front and back, but the shafts are the same length

These two shafts are equal in length

https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5350/3...dcd1ea90_b.jpg

I'm not with my bike so can't tell you. ...try and find that thread on the forum. ..it even listed how many needles in the bearings. ..just in case!. Hopefully Pleiades will answer later....Steve

There will be some side-to-side movement of the linkage plates because the collar to which they are clamped are longer than the width of the relay arm/swing arm mounting. It is designed like this to allow a certain amount of self-centring. However, it should not move as freely as yours does. It should be quite difficult to move by hand (but still possible) if the bearings are in good condition and the journals on the collars are not worn.

Straight from the factory all the bearings are very ‘dry’ and need almost immediate attention. The biggest problems are the MPL full complement bearings (two in the swingarm pivots and two in the end of the relay arm). The MPL is a solid lubricant designed to gradually bleed oil onto the needles, but the catch is it very quickly bleeds out all its oil and becomes next to useless. Once the oil has been given up, the bearing runs dry and it is impossible to repack as the remaining redundant MPL takes up all the available space within the bearing. There is no alternative but to remove the MPL and replace with proper grease, or replace with a new part (which is expensive and will only last five minutes and you’ll be back to square one).

I stripped all my bearings down in when the bike was 2 years old at about 10K miles and they were already desperately dry and corrosion was evident. The MPL was removed from the full complement bearings and waterproof grease packed in, and all the other caged needle rollers were treated to the same. Back end was pulled apart in 2013 and everything was perfect, just as I had left it 2 years before and were the same earlier this year when I had another look.

I honestly wouldn’t bother just doing the relay/linkage bearings. If they are that bad, then I can guarantee the swingarm pivots will be worse! Strip the whole lot down, remove the dreaded MPL and re-pack the whole lot with waterproof grease. Caught early, everything can be salvaged. Leave it too late then you’ll be buying bearings, and collars (which aren’t cheap). Also the swingarm pivot bolt has a habit of seizing in place if not removed early on in the bike’s life, and that is a problem you don’t want to have; it’s a proper PITA to deal with.

Ohlins wrote an excellent ‘walk-through’ with photos on the whole process a few years back. It is in four parts and the links to them are here.