Multisurface Motorcycling

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This is a hobby website and the instructions contained on this page merely document how the authors work and setup their own motorcycles. Improper motorcycle maintenance, repair and modifications can lead to serious injury and death, as problems can arise causing unpredictable and unavoidable accidents. Any work you choose to do on your motorcycle is done so at your own risk using your own judgment. If you doubt your abilities to perform any of the work discussed here; you are strongly advised to consult a professional mechanic to carry out the work for you. Any use of the information contained in this document is done solely at your own risk. No responsibility or liability is accepted by the authors or Multisurface Motorcycling.com for incorrect part numbers, torque values, riding tips, recommended accessories or any other information provided. It is advised that any information presented should be verified with the manufactures manuals, parts diagram or reputable shop.
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Updated January 2004

Introduction

Disassembly, cleaning and lubrication of the swing arm should be one of the first things an owner should do or have done on his or her KLR. Once properly done, this procedure should be repeated at the intervals dictated by the periodic maintenance schedule. (See page 1-6 in the service manual supplement) Unfortunately, Elden has seen a few bikes that were found to have very little original lubrication from the factory and with a little water, could spell disaster in a short time for the rear suspension. Excessive wear and/or seizing may cause poor handling and if it gets bad enough possible loss of control of the motorcycle. Servicing the rear suspension is not all that complicated, but it is time consuming especially if parts are found to be badly corroded making disassembly very difficult. We have written a short procedure on what we feel is the best way to approach this job. Basically this differs from the factory manual, which requires you to remove the entire subframe. So far we can see no reason to do this, other than allowing easier access to the upper shock bolt.

Overview & Known Issues

One very big problem with the swing arm is corrosion of the large UNI-TRAK™ lever bolt and can make removal of the bolt sometimes next to impossible. The example on the right came from the Webmasters KLR that only had 6000 miles on it's wheels. This is primarily caused by water entering unsealed areas, such as holes located in the bottom of the frame and the UNI-TRAK™ lever pivot joints. Water can enter here and around the shaft from riding in the rain or due to aggressive washing. Why there is an open hole in the frame in this location is unknown to us, but we believe they are breather holes. The hole on the right side it is used as an attachment point for a vent hose guide and is not as vulnerable as the left hole. Although not as severe the swing arm bolt suffers from a similar situation from water entering unsealed joints between the swing arm bolt and frame. Any addition of water causes a galvanic reaction. The Zinc coating on the bolt acts as a sacrificial anode, till it is completely used up and the iron in the bolt itself begins to corrode.

A similar situation can occur if the suspension bearing seals are not replaced when they become defective. A defective seal will allow water/dirt to enter the bearings. The corrosion will be greatly accelerated by not properly lubing the seals regularly with the bearings.

The only thing that can be done to prevent this is early detection and immediate action on your part by removing the corrosion and coating the UNI-TRAK™ lever bolt with Bell Ray Waterproof grease. Coating the bolt with grease is very important, since by the time the average owner gets around to taking care of the problem. The zinc coating on the bolt has dissolved in some areas leaving no corrosion protection.

It also may be a good idea to temporarily cover or plug up the lower frame holes with duct tape or silicon seal if you think you may be crossing some deep streams or coming in contact with water. Then when you anticipate dry riding conditions the tape or silicon should be removed to allow any moisture to hopefully evaporate. (In severe cases the UNI-TRAK™ lever bolt may need to be removed to completely dry out)

Above: Corrosion on rear suspension bolts

Above: Corrosion inside the lever pivot shaft

Above: Hole in lower frame near kickstand

Another problem that is somewhat related to the swing arm is with the sidestand. Elden has seen a few KLRs that have the sidestand rubbing on the swing arm. This is mainly do to a lack of lubrication of the sidestand and its bracket causing excessive wear on the sidestand frame bracket. Over time the spring will continue to pull the sidestand toward its bracket causing excessive wear and eventually hitting the side stand. Once this has occurred, there is no easy fix other than maybe having this part welded up, ground down to the correct thickness and replacing the worn sidestand.

Finally, a minor problem is with abrasive dirt getting trapped between the rubber chain slipper and the swing arm. Which will remove the paint and pit the surface of the swing arm. While we are unaware of any known failure of the swing arm due to this, it eventually could cause a problem. The best way to deal with this problem is to glue the chain slipper to the swing arm using 3M weather strip adhesive. (Otherwise known as gorilla snot among the professionals) We haven't had any luck getting the adhesive to stick to the aftermarket polypropylene chain slipper, so we stay with the OEM unit.

Swing Arm & UNI-TRAK™ Linkage Lubrication Intro

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