Replacing the rubber mounted swing arm bushings

[pollack36]

Greetings all,
I have a 1989 FXRS-SP that I had to replace the rubber mounted bushings on the swing arm,the repair manual doesnt have alot of info on the correct installation of these,might there be anyone out there that can offer some advice on this.
Thank you.

Pollack

Your local dealer will probably install the new cleve blocks for you if you buy the parts from them and bring the swingarm assembly to them. Sometimes they'll do it for free or, at most, a small fee. You need a special tool to get the old ones out and the new ones in. You can buy the tool and do it yourself if you want. Getting the old pivot axle out can be a nasty little chore sometimes if it is too corroded and frozen in the cleve blocks or if the cleve blocks are frozen in their mounts. Then you're faced with drilling and cutting the old stuff out. If you don't feel up to it you should maybe just take the bike to a local independant guy that you trust and has done a few of them.

[pollack36]

I have the new one in just not sure on the outside retaining clips,on which way they should face,and I had taken my old swing arm and transmission to the local dealer and they failed to get it apart so I had to buy a new tranny case,they also tried to charge me 12 hours labor for removing the through bolt even thou they failed but after discussing this with the owner he dropped the charges to 2 hours labor,so trying to get some assistance here and save myself another trip there..

Hey Pollack

I'm not too sure what the retaining clip is that you're talking about. There are a couple plastic ones that kind of go in between the tranny case and the swing arm but the ends of the pivot axle are a bolt head/spacer on one end and a locknut/spacer on the other end. That's how it is on my FXR4. Of course it could be completely different on your older bike. My service manual has a nice cut away drawing of the whole setup for my bike. Sounds like you encountered one of those worst case scenarios. There is a way to get the cleve blocks out of the tranny case without going for a new case by the way. Not easy but do able. Lots of Liquid Wrench, some heat and an impact wrench. Then if that doesn't work you cut it and drill it out in pieces. Saves the cases but a lot of work. I guess if you're paying $100 an hour to have a HD tech do it then it might be cheaper in the long run to just go ahead and buy a new case.

Good Luck Bro

[pollack36]

Hey Milindh,
Thank you for the input we tried everything we could to get that through bolt out,massive amounts of liquid wrench and using a small press to keep pressure on it as we tried heat as well,no luck this was a basket case and so it wasnt that much for the tranny case compared to 12 hours labor at HD prices,might be the lock nut spacer Im thinking of ,might I ask what year your bike is or could you possibly scan and send me that picture your service book has?
Thanks for your time and trouble bro and stay safe in the wind
Pollack

My scanner isn't working so I can't help you there. I'd think an older FXR manual would have the pics. Great investment if you don't already have one.