SQUEEKY REAR END

[Rickrides]

A day after surviving my first colonoscopy I hop on the 2000 Monster 900 and there's a loud squeek coming from the rear suspension.  Sympathy for my predicament I think or something more sinister?  I rode the bike Saturday and Sunday and did not notice any odd noises.

This bike sat for about four or five years before I bought it in February and wasn't ridden much before that. 

I had my wife sit on the bike and move it up and down but could not pinpoint the source of the noise.  It's quite noticeable.   

Thoughts on sources of the squeek?

Time to disassemble the entire rear suspension and lube everything that moves?

[Slide Panda]

Time to disassemble the entire rear suspension and lube everything that moves?

Probably.

There's that rocker that the shock connects to at one end, and the 'hoop' at the other - and of course theres the pivot between. In that rocker are bearings that it doesn't hurt to grease.
There's also the heim joints where the hoop meets the swing arm that should have some lube.

My 2000 900 had that old mattress spring squeak - in my case the srouce was those lower joints and some lube in there sroted it. But I did have the shock out for a service and made sure sure grease up that rocker

[Rickrides]

Thanks!  Very helpful.  If I am taking it apart I may just do the swingarm as well.

How do you jack up the bike to remove the rear shock or work on the rear suspension?  I have a front stand that goes under the forks that is not secure and a rear stand that goes under the swingarm that would be useless for this work so I am thinking a floor jack but where to jack it and what to use to support it? 

What did the shock service cost?  Mine has only 5000 miles or so on it but it's sat a while so who knows?  I need to find someone to service it.

[Slide Panda]

I suspended it from rafters. Some folks use iron pipe to build a frame to do the same. So I ran some soft-straps through the frame and then to a hand-op 'come along' type winch and took up the weight.



My shock ran about $150, but it was in need of some internal seals. Of course prices vary - but expect between 125 and 150. If you can't find someone local, you can send them off. Mine is and Ohlins unit, as I've got the S model, so I just sent it to Ohlins USA.

[Rickrides]

That is quite the rig. 

I don't have rafters so something like this might work but I think a jack with a 2X4 and some jack stands on either side for stability might work to hold the weight of the bike might work.

[ducpainter]

If you have an aftermarket, usually Corbin, seat check to make sure the rocker isn't rubbing on the plastic seat pan.

[SpikeC]

 When I did the rear main seal on my K100 Beemer I put two saw horses beside the bike and ran a tubafer under the subframe. Or you could use 2 step ladders and some rope!

[Rickrides]

That was what I was thinking.  2 x 4 onto jack stands on either side.

It does it with the Sargent seat off.  Definitely suspension. 

Thanks for all the help guys!

[Gimpy]

When I tore apart mine when this same thing started, I found a worn shiny spot on the spacer.  It had got dry in there and sort of fused in place.  I removed all that rotated it and put it all back together with lots of lube and that has solved it for the last 2 years




Screen shot 2011-07-27 at 9.27.47 AM by ryron01, on Flickr

[Rickrides]

Thanks for that!  I'll be disassembling it and lubing the joints in the near future and I'll look for that specifically.  You would not think that spacer would actually move.