linkage bearings EC 300/19 - oh no not again!

D

Doc Brown

New member
After the linkage bearings have been toast at 36 hours only I replaced them with OEM GasGas bearings. The dealer refused to change them under warranty.

Today I checked the play and I can lift the rear wheel about 3mm (0.12 inches) :mad::mad::mad: The bearings are only 29hrs in use.

Seems the bearings GG sent me are made of cheese. Considering that they cost $ 140.- where I live I am not amused.

What the hell can I do? I have planned to get the bearings and seals from SKF and contact a machine shop to get the bushings as they are obviously of questionable hardness.

Anyone else had this problem? I don't ride in water a lot and avoid directing the jet washer at the linkage... :(
 
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3mm is hardly anything. You can lift mine 1cm. I took it apart and all was fine. Movement was in Bush to bolts to frame etc. All amplified by the linkage ratio.

Pull them out and check.
 
Thank you. Will check probably next week. My buds bike has zero play. 1cm or 10mm is way too much. There must be something wrong. What bike do you have?
 
Oem bearing in linkage are crap. Mine was crap after 10h, the little needle tip in every bearing was gone. The funny part is that I dint. Notice before i was going tho grease them. I have replaced all berings with better stuff.
 
Doc Brown said:
After the linkage bearings have been toast at 36 hours only
Click to expand...

I'm really surprised to hear this, bad news. Shame you're dealer wouldn't support you. :mad:

Are you able to identify which part has failed?

Are the seals OK? Is the failure due to water/dirt ingress?

What about a bearings/seal kit from 'All Balls'? I've used them before on a KLX450R in the Dubai desert (pretty harsh conditions) and had no problems.

www.allballsracing.com

All the best, Dave.
 
My bike is an 07 so there will be wear in various holes and the actual bolts themselves but the needles and bushes came out like new. I had rebuilt with AllBalls kit. Perhaps the Bush holes are looser, but you dont want them seizing. Sealed with orings which lasted better than the mini seals it had before.
 
Davehuge said:
I'm really surprised to hear this, bad news. Shame you're dealer wouldn't support you. :mad:

Are you able to identify which part has failed?

Are the seals OK? Is the failure due to water/dirt ingress?

What about a bearings/seal kit from 'All Balls'? I've used them before on a KLX450R in the Dubai desert (pretty harsh conditions) and had no problems.

www.allballsracing.com

All the best, Dave.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave, appreciate your help!

The bushes are the problem, they are not hard enough. All seals were OK, the bearings looked ok too, no rust no water or dirt in them.

I searched the allballs website but they have nothing available for the GG.

Have a look, that's what I have found the first time and I expect to find in a few days when I replace the bearings again.

35077845tp.jpg


35077844vk.jpg


35077843ba.jpg
 
That's crap. They haven't been hardened properly.
Rollers are cool but the one thing they do badly is turn on a rough shaft.

I would strongly suspect the rollers have been acting like plain bearings and will be rooted. You'd expect what you can see won't be the whole story.

What a bugger!
 
That is not great and I think is made worse by the uneven wear. If they were hardened and ground properly there should be only polishing and it would be even.
 
Yes, they look terrible and agree completely, it's a manufacturing defect, not hardened properly, it's clear to see.

Your dealer should have taken this up with the factory and replaced everything free of charge. He would have been paid for his parts and labour. :mad:
 
Many thanks guys. Yes Dave, I will contact Allballs to get the information. If they have them I will look for a dealer here in Europe who can get them for me.

Cheers Doc


edit: mail to All Balls sent!
 
Try ProX for them. Got over 150 hours on my 2018 XC250 & bearings are still fine. There is play in top shock bearing of 1-2mm but some say that's normal, others not. Hasn't got any worse & no better with a genuine replacement spherical bearing through warranty. Have a ProX YZ250 bearing to try next.
 
Thank you shawbagga. Let me see if I can get Prox.

Yes, have heard about the shock mount and yes some guys said it's normal.

However, there's an update:

I disassembled everything and inspected the bushings as well as the bearings and all looked good. The single bushing of the linkage arm (we call it "bone") showed a bit of use but it only was visible. I could not feel anything with my finger nail nor could I measure a difference using a micrometer caliper.

I admit I didn't inspect the upper shock mount. However, the lower shock mount looked like new and I even turned a piece of aluminum in the lathe to see if the hole is oval, but it was in perfect condition. Needless to say that I was puzzled. A mate said the bolt that goes through the bushing of the linkage arm has a lot of free play in the bushing. Told him that this plays no role once the bolt is tightened the washers press against the bushing and its hold firmly in place. But he insisted that this might play a role. Just for testing he prepaired a bolt that fit snugly through the bushing. I was laughing but well...

I am not laughing now as once the bolt was installed the play was totally gone. Don't tell me that isn't possible. Because I do know that it is not possible. I can reproduce that a hundred times. I use the thinner bolt and there is 5mm play, then use the thicker one and it's gone. I see it but I know it cannot be.

Today a mate said it might be that the OEM bolts thread is too short and even when tightened the nut does not apply full pressure to the bushing. I admit, that this is the only thing I could imagine...

But the next few weeks I don't have time to check...
 
No it's not possible.

. . . Oh hold on, it's what I've been saying all along.

There is huge leverage on the linkage. Sideways pressure won't put up much resistance.
 
I know. But if you really know how those bearings work - then you know that the gap between the bolt and the bushing does not play a role as long as the bolt is tightened.
 
I've been saying this about the top shock bolt since new but a mate says the same thing, it should clamp together. Seems odd to me that sideways pressure could cop big flat landings, logs etc. I actually measured top shock bolt to get a slightly larger one made. Only thing I can think of. Do you know how much thicker he went on bolt shank? I'm guessing it wouldn't be very much.
 
I think it were 2/10mm. But not sure. It puzzles me as it should make no difference, but it does.
Only thing I could accept would be the thread on the bolt being too short so that even with tightened nut there isn't the full pressure/torque on the bushing :confused:
 
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