Pivot Bearing / JL Bushing Replacement Article

I just replaced the pivot bearings on my 2004 R1150RS with the Jl Bushings from Rubber Chicken Racing. I wrote a complete article with lots of pictures on my web site.

I hope it helps if you are thinking about this procedure.

www.rvbprecision.com

Under "motorcycles" look for Bmw Pivot Bearing Replacement

There are also more pictures in the Photo Album also on the web site.

Let me know if it is helpful..............

Great job and picts. I think the hardest part for me was just getting the FD and shaft hooked up at the end.

THANKS!

I've heard of folks tearing their hair out trying to get these splines back together. Mine just slid right in. Go figure!

I am concerned about the phasing of the universal joints. I took great pain to mark everything so I hope I'm spot on. I'm not sure if being off one or two splines would have a detrimental effect. Comments welcome........

I just found this written By Paul Glaves on another post:

"As I wrote in the piece I did in the ON - phasing is important - but how important depends!. The acceleration/deceleration through the universal joint is real and significant if greatly out of phase. It is minuscule and minimal if a few rotary degrees off from perfect.

Like life itself - do the best you can. If the machining of the splines means you are a fraction of a tooth off from perfection so be it. It won't make much difference. But if you are perfectly out-of-phase at 90 degrees off it will make a difference - whether BMW, Clymers, Haynes, or Wally the Wrench take note of it or not. None of them wrote the book on drive line dynamics. Neither did I, but at least I read it."

I guess I'm OK because if I'm off, it's only by one tooth.........

Man! If only you'd posted this article before I tackled mine last weekend. I'm relieved to see that I did the job about the same way you did. Great article!

Great article, but a week too late for me. Some additional comments follow:

1)"I used a Laser Thermometer to be sure I'm at 140 degrees."
I took mine up to 250 degrees F. Glad to know the loctite separates at a lower temperature.

2) "Installing the JL races was the hardest part of whole evening"
I totally agree. I tried the approach Paul Glaves had used in his MOA article, but my race always canted slightly, preventing insertion. After removing a JL race 7 times I changed my approach and used a rubber mallet to get them initially set. Every time I noticed the race go off level I'd tap the high side. Got them both in about 1/2 way using the rubber mallet then used Tom's technique with the bolt and washers, aided by the bushings to seat the races totally. I suspect most people who have reported problems with getting the proper final torque on the left sided pivot bolt have that problem from not fully seating the races.

3) "I cheated and used my lathe to spin the pivot bolt and held 400 grit paper"
I'm jealous of your lathe. I took a single sheet of 400 grit sand paper and cut it into about seven 1 1/2" strips, then sat down and kept hand sanding until with great digital force could completely seat the bushings on the pins. It took me about 5 fittings before they went all the way down and I used a small gear puller to remove them after each attempt, because the fit was so tight I could not remove them with digital force alone. I ended up with 1 unused strip of sand paper.

4) "Be sure you have the driveshaft universal joints phased."
It really helps to have a flashlight that has a focusable beam as you have a very narrow angle between the drive shaft and housing to see to upper U joint.

5) "apply some loctite 270"
Loctite 270, which is green, is primarily marketed in Europe. The American version, which is red, is Loctite 271 and is available at Home Depot for about $5.00.

6) I had removed both the front and rear plastic cable ties from the rear rubber gator. I later discovered that much like the crush washers for the various drain plugs, BMW has picked a width of cable tie (0.24") that is only available to them. The simplest solution is to give your dealer $1.90 each for 2 new cable ties. I finally ordered some from EMI Supply that are 28" long and 0.28" wide (total cost including priority mail was about $18 for 50). A tad wide but work ok. Now I've just got to find a use for 48 more of them!

Thanks, great tips!

I actually called Jess Lindley, who manufactures the "JL" Bushings to ask about seating the race to the bottom. He wasn't home, but called me back within the hour...at night! (Now that's customer service)

He said they must be seated all the way down. He said to use the bushings to push them in, but I was concerned about putting that much stress on the bronze bushing. The socket I had worked perfectly.

I've seen pictures of other installations where this wasn't done. I wonder what the ramifications are if you don't seat them all the way?

Darn...I have Loctite 271 right here in the cabinet!

Thanks!

Roy, I called him on Friday with the very same question about seating them all the way down. I had seen some postings about folks having problems with the bushings loosening up on them, and I suspect that maybe they didn't seat them all the way down. Over time, they'd sorta migrate that way with the constant pressure on them, and I figure that's why it kept getting loose.

Over time, they'd sorta migrate that way with the constant pressure on them, and I figure that's why it kept getting loose.

Click to expand...

I think you are 100% correct!


Are you going to the MOA Rally?

If so, be sure to look me up at the beer garden on Thursday night. My club and I are running it Thursday night.........

Nice write-up Roy, i like your use of the threaded rod and socket to seat the races, i just used a socket and banged on it with a piece of wood, took forever. Really is the hardest part of the whole deal.


With regards to phasing the u-joints. I feel it's worth it to take the time and do it right, then paint a line between the shaft and rear u-joint, no more staring up into the front of the drive shaft with the pen light.

Thanks!

If you look at my pictures you'll see a couple of "hash" marks on the FD unit. These were to line up the universal joints. But when I went to assemble, I found at lease one spline of slack in the drive shaft, and I'm not sure what spline I'm on. So I'm either dead on, or one spline off............

If I do this again, I'll turn some fixtures on the lathe that will capture the bushing from the inside and guide them right into the recesses in perfect alignment with the threaded rod. This would be the cats a-- !

Hope to see you at the national!

BubbaZanetti said:

With regards to phasing the u-joints. I feel it's worth it to take the time and do it right, then paint a line between the shaft and rear u-joint, no more staring up into the front of the drive shaft with the pen light.

Click to expand...

+1 that's what I did too!

Great writeup! Well done.
One question......What happens when/if one has to dissasemble? The bushing od looks larger than the thread and is loctited to the pin.

Heat will break the bond and it will pull apart.................