gear link rod ends

[butthead]

hi guys , anyone help with this.
 i get very stodgy action from the gear changes following wet riding. figured out that the nylon ball socket on the ends of the gear change ink rod have ceased to self lbe and have become dry. i can temprarily lube with GT85 , cures it fine until next wet ride.
ideally i need to change these , i dont know if thats possible or if you have to change the whole gear change assy , these are £239 new or you can pick up second hand ones £25 ebay but these are likely similar age to mine and likely suffer the same issue.


im guessing its a nylon socket on the ends of the link rod that are a press fit at manufacture and are not something that can be changed without the whole assy?
any confirmation on this ?

[Fazerider]

GT85 and other water-displacement sprays are pretty useless as lubricants.
Use it to wash out the crap by all means, but after that force some heavy grease in from the back until the socket is packed and it should be fine.

[butthead]

thanks fazerider , havent attempted that idea, i thought the ball and socket would fit so tight that you couldnt get anything to pack into a void ,there shouldnt be one, maybe liquid style lubes may creep in,  but ill give it a go but cant see how you can pack it with grease, maybe if you could pull it apart then you could , but i dont think you can ? that was what i was pondering, i think its a press fit by machine, there fore no tolerance for grease?


ill have an attempt next time im in the garage.


thanks
 

[fazersharp]

Eh--- mine is just a black rubber boot covering a metal ball and socket - peel  it back and add a blob of grease 

[bandit]

As fazersharp says the ball is metal so clean joints & apply plenty of multipurpose/lithium grease,also apply grease to the joint of the gear change lever above the right hand ball joint.   

[butthead]

ah ok , i see! 
 i presumed it would be nylon into a ball, havent had a closer look or tried peeling back the boot.
right, ill do that.


thanks both
 

[darrsi]

Is it definitely that?
Could it be that the clutch cable needs adjusting properly at both ends, or the bearings in the clutch housing cover need a good lubing, 'cos i know from experience that they can dry out?

[Jules-C]

Also check the gear lever pivot on the footrest it can start to seize if the grease has been washed out

[butthead]

hey thanks for all that input and suggestions, really helpful.
i think it is just linkage ball joints as when it goes stiff its always after wet weather, then up to now ive just been spraying gt85 around those link rod ends and its immediately different afterwards, slick and easy.  seems to bear out that the problem is confined to lack of lube on the rod ball ends, ill definitely peel back both boots now and properly grease them with LM grease.
 good to know that other things could be attributing to this to also run through, winter coming , so more salt and muck to prevent these issues.
thanks a bunch guys.
 

[butthead]

as an asside is this a maintenance thing, is it needing to be lubed occasionally anyway ? or is it a sign of needing replacement and shouldnt bind ?

[bandit]

It's a maintenance task, grease these parts when you do the foot rests (rider/passenger) brake pedal pivots,centre stand,side stand etc.


   

[His Dudeness]

If you want you can separate the ball and socket. Take it off the bike, apply some pressure to the two sides and rotate and they will come apart. The actuator behind the front sprocket cover might need a clean and grease too

[darrsi]

I ride all year round and had the bike 10 years, never had any issue with that balljoint before.

[darrsi]

Meaning i've never lubed it before.

[His Dudeness]

Meaning i've never lubed it before.

greased pivots = +10hp

[darrsi]

Meaning i've never lubed it before.

greased pivots = +10hp

That'll be handy, took me 50mins to go all 5.5 miles to work this morning, in gridlocked traffic.
And no, i couldn't go round parts of it, i was literally boxed in.