Removed, cleaned and greased.

[bigheavy150]

all the rear linkage. on my italika DM150(same as some others i cant think of at the moment).Originaly it had real nice needle bearing and good quality grease seals. grease zerks,(but totally inacsessable). there was one link that had a hole drilled but no grease fitting in it. it packed with mud. i cleaned and glued it shut because i dont have thread tappers.

i packed it with some HIGH dollar marine grease i had left over from work . (i am at 1150km 2.5 months), mostly highway and small town roads/trails the needle bearings were rusted pretty bad already. but just barely saveable.

I was impressed by the build quality of everything i seen. it was all top notch design and materials. just crappy assembly. the swing arm was surprisingly light, i guess 5 lb max. but the tire/wheel was about 12lb. they had a oring piched betweeen a spacer, lock washers in the wrong order. using washers in the wrong places and not having them it the right ones. all major bolts were metric grade 8.8!! but some of the holes in the linkage were 1mm too big and i have about 1" of free vertical play with the bike on blocks is that a problem", or just a nuisance?

also i turned my rear drum brake caliper (the one on the drum between the drum and the conetor bar thing) I turned it UP so it is out of harms way more.just needed a little bending to clear the swingarm. it also reduced my leverage at the petal and thats a good thing because the brakes are plenty BIG.


smoothe at butter now.



i will report back after i give the front the same treatment.
do they use 5wt fork oil in these bikes? if someone wanted to replace the front fork oil with a heavier one, like 10 or 15 could i just measure how much oil comes out and put the same amount back in and still have proper level? Can i use 10w-** motor oil? ATF? or should i just leave it alone?

[bigheavy150]

Here , have some pictures.






THIS is the order that things go back on. i had to take it back appart because i reslised after loading the pics to the computer



CAN ANYONE ID THESE FORKS?I can take measurements soon.

[

[SpudRider]

Thank you for taking the time, and trouble, to document your work with photographs during such a messy job, BH! Indeed, your Italica bike appears to be built with very good components.

Spud

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by bigheavy150

…some of the holes in the linkage were 1mm too big and i have about 1" of free vertical play with the bike on blocks[/b] is that a problem", or just a nuisance?…

I’m inclined to believe 1-inch of free vertical play in the swingarm is less than desirable. :( Perhaps Weldangrind can help you find bushings that fit the swingarm better.

Originally Posted by bigheavy150

…also i turned my rear drum brake caliper (the one on the drum between the drum and the conetor bar thing) I turned it UP so it is out of harms way more.just needed a little bending to clear the swingarm…

I did the same thing with the brake drum lever on my Zong. Besides a desire to increase ground clearance, I moved the lever so I could more easily employ my swingarm stand to raise the rear wheel of my bike.

Originally Posted by bigheavy150

…do they use 5wt fork oil in these bikes? if someone wanted to replace the front fork oil with a heavier one, like 10 or 15 could i just measure how much oil comes out and put the same amount back in and still have proper level? Can i use 10w-** motor oil? ATF? or should i just leave it alone?

I’m afraid I can’t tell you the weight of your fork oil. :( However, I can tell you two methods to measure the current volume of oil in your forks.

The best method is make a T-shaped piece of paper, and insert it into your forks after you remove the fork caps, and the springs, and before you drain any of the old fork oil. Remove the paper, and measure the distance from the the bottom of the T to the oil mark. After you drain your old oil, and before you reinsert the springs and the fork caps, refill the forks to the same distance from the top of the fork tube.

The second method is to measure the amount of old oil you remove, and refill the forks with the same amount. The first method ensures you get the correct height of oil, which is the desired result. However, it doesn’t hurt to employ both methods, just to be safe.

You shouldn’t use motor oil in your forks. However, many motorcycle owners replace their fork oil with ATF. In fact, the QLink service manual recommends using ATF to replace the oil in the forks. When I replace the fork oil in my Zong, I am going to use either Golden Spectro Cartridge Fork Fluid (125/150), with a cSt of 26.1, or Mobil1 Synthetic ATF, with a cSt of 34.0. The higher the cSt, the heavier the fork oil.

Fork oil degrades with use, and I have ridden my Zong almost 40,000 miles. Therefore, I think it is time for me to change my fork oil. However, if you don’t have many miles on your bike, you might want to delay this job for a while. When I replace my fork oil, I am also going to replace my fork seals, and dust wipers.

Spud

[david3921]

Great method on measuring the fork oil, Spud. The only thing I would add is to make sure that the front tire is off the ground before the caps are loosened and removed. I know, it seems like common sense, but I've heard stories....

Of course, you can check each fork individually so you don't have to raise the front. My Honda requires that I raise it for measurement, however.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by david3921

Great method on measuring the fork oil, Spud. The only thing I would add is to make sure that the front tire is off the ground before the caps are loosened and removed. I know, it seems like common sense, but I've heard stories....

Of course, you can check each fork individually so you don't have to raise the front. My Honda requires that I raise it for measurement, however.

Thank you for mentioning that important point, David. Indeed, raising the front wheel off the ground removes the weight from the coils inside the fork tubes, and allows you to loosen the fork caps. If one is going to replace the fork seals and dust wipers, he will need to remove the forks from the triple tree. However, even in this instance, you should raise the front wheel off the ground, and loosen the fork cap before you remove the fork from the triple tree; this procedure will make the fork cap much easier to remove after the fork is off the bike.

Whether the fork remains in the triple tree, or the fork is removed from the motorcycle, you should measure the height of the fork oil after the fork cap and coil spring have been removed, and the fork has been fully compressed.

If the forks remain in the triple tree, you should remove both fork caps, and both coil springs; then lower the front wheel, fully compressing the forks. When the forks are fully compressed, flush all the old oil from the fork cartridge by pressing down on the cartridge rod. Now you can accurately measure the oil height from the top of the fork tube.

If you are removing the forks to replace the forks seals and dust wipers, you can remove the forks singly from the triple tree. After removing the loosened fork cap, remove the coil spring. Then you can fully compress the cartridge rod, and flush all the old oil from the cartridge. Now, with the fork fully compressed, you can measure the oil height from the top of the fork tube.

Spud

[bigheavy150]

thanks for the info on the forks. I thought that i read somewhere that most JAP bikes are 5 wt and that ATF is bout equivalent to 15w.


I put ATF in a KX80 that i had and it made a tiny difference so I dont know... Maybe just save the old stuff and try different weights.maybe i will fu-bar it. i like to experiment


Anyway FYI the bike is a 2011 4 months since bought and has 1400km (like ~850 miles) of VERY rough roads,trails and highrpm highway. lots of salt on the roads so things rust fast.

The free play comes from the 2 silver link/plates that go between the shock,swingarm and frame.it is hanging from the shick in picture # 3. the holes are just a tad too big. but the bolts fit perfect in the bushings/bearings.and one is just a 1/2mm too long. I think i my have a new link made and make it to where my suspension is softer because im 130lb naked, maybe 145 with all gear.

Does anybody have autocad or the knowlege to tell me what to make? i have a micrometer somewhere....

[Weldangrind]

So the holes in the mounting plates that support the link are too large?