What do I need to grease on my new bike?

[parker72001]

I was reading a lot about greasing the swingarm bearing because they don't really grease them at the factory, I was going to do that soon and was wondering if anything else needs it while I'm doing it. Is it difficult to do, any tips would help. My service manuals just came in today so I'll probably get a new piston soon. One more thing, how tough is it to change the springs in the front suspension, is it as hard as it sounds, thanks.

[Indawoods]

Grease the Steering stem bearings well.... The springs are super, super easy to change out. Where did you read that said they were hard?

Change you springs when you grease the steering stem bearings.....

[parker72001]

what springs do i use, can you possibly give me a part # for rocky mountain, also what kind of grease do you put in there, other than the swingarm bearing there is nothing else to grease?

[Colorado Mike]

I highly recommend you grease all the bearings in the rear suspension linkage. You disassemble the whole thing, which isn't that hard, take the black dust caps off the sides of the joints to gain access to the bearings inside. get the upper shock mount too. Do this every season in our dry climate and you'll be fine. Others in the wet need to do it more. I use Mobil 1 synthetic grease I got at a car parts store. It's red and sticky.

As for the fork springs, like Vince said, it's easy. You really should change the bizarre substance they put in the forks with good fork oil, even if you don't swap the springs. To do that, it helps a lot to make a tool to grab the damper rod. just get a couple feet of 5/16" steel rod and weld a 10mm nut on the end of it. I think the thread pitch is 1.0 mm, but verify that with somebody, or try it before you weld it on.

*edit- Don't waste your money on a fork oil level guage, you can make your own by getting a big Syringe from a feed store or tack shop ($1.00), a 1/8" brass tube from a model plane store ($0.75), some vinyl tubing,and a block of wood to act as a depth stop.

[Indawoods]

What do you weigh Parker?

[KDXGarage]

You need to clean off the old grease and regrease the following:

swingarm bearings
all rear suspension linkage bearings
steering stem

I just use an old toothbrush and some kerosene to clean the bearings, then let them dry and repack with Bel-Ray grease.

Good job on getting the manual!

How hard was tying your shoe the first time? How hard is it now? Yes, it will take some time to fogure out the fork springs, but it is not very difficult. You should be able to figure it out. If you get stuck on a part, just ask a question on this site. Most people have the service manual and can see exactly what you are looking at in the manual, or maybe you can post a photo to show where you are at in the process.

[KDXGarage]

The spring rate (stiffness) of the fork springs would depend on your weight. As far as brands, there are several brands varying in price and quality.

[KDXer]

As already said its 'dead easy'. I was scared to do my forks the first time but now I could do it with my eyes shut. Again as already said if you get stuck ask away.

Look here for a step by step installation guide.

http://www.dishers.com/hobbies/Repairs/ ... nd_oil.htm

[KDXGarage]

If you look at that article, I suggest two changes.

1. Put fork oil in your forks, not Automatic Transmission Fluid.

2. Go by oil level instead of quantity. Check the oil height level instead of just pouring in a certain quantity.

When you change your springs, dump all the old oil out and pour in fresh oil. Who knows when, if ever, the original fork oil was changed. As you will be able to tell, the old oil looks a lot worse than the new oil. Fresh oil is the life blood of keeping suspension maintained properly!!

[KDXer]

Great observation and tip Jason.

[KDXGarage]

Thanks! I would like to suggest a bit of information to add to that.

When reinstalling the fork tubes into the triple clamps, set them at the proper height, then snug the lower bolt(s) (depending on model). Make sure the upper triple clamps bolts are loose, then torque the fork cap according to the specification in the manual. After it is torqued to the proper amount, THEN worry about tightening the upper triple clamp bolts. You may want to snug the top, then torque the bottom, and finally torque the top.

Without special vice jaws, I don't know of another way to do it properly, as the upper tube always used to spin in my hand if I tried to torque down the fork cap.

I hope this helps.

[89kdx200rdr]

you can get mechanical fingers at sears cheap they work good for grabbing the damping rod