Winter in the best time of the year for doing those maintenance jobs you may have put off when the temperature was warmer. One job everyone hates doing is suspension linkage maintenance. Because the manufactures do not put grease fittings on linkage parts, your only option is to disassemble your linkage and swing arm pivot, clean and re-grease and reassemble. If you do it right in the Winter you should be able to ride all season long without worry. It is a time consuming job and it is messy, but it will save you money. Before you begin do a physical inspection of your suspension components. Place the bike on a lift stand or milk crate. Grab the real wheel and life up. If you hear or feel any "clunking" or movement, then your linkage bearings are worn out and they must be replaced. If it feels and sounds tight, then just a cleaning and re-greasing is needed. If you need to replace any linkage, we carry a complete line of high quality performance suspension rebuild parts in stock and can save you allot of money over the OEM parts. While your at it, pick up a can of Bel-Ray assemble lube. This is THE BEST lubricant for hi-stress suspension components. A little goes a long way. NEVER , ever use anti-seize as a lubricant. In spite of what your buddy at the nuclear power plant says. Even if he can get you 5 gallon buckets of the stuff free. Many anti seize compounds have components that can wear out bearings. They are designed for keeping threads from rusting, not bearing lubrication. Bel-Ray assembly lube is water proof, and will not wash out or break down with heat. In all the years of rebuilding motorcycle suspension, it's the BEST stuff we have found. If you use it in the Winter when your doing your suspension maintenance, you should not have to touch it again until the next Winter....It's THAT good!
