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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
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  #1  
Old 15 Jun 2010
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Swingarm freeplay
Hello all,

Have just been for the mot test, passed but got an advisory in that the rear swingarm/suspension has got a slight bit of freeplay.

If you put the bike on the centre stand and try lifting the back wheel it moves up around 5mm the vertical plane.
I have had a good look and cannot see any freeplay in any of the bearings or linkage also there is no side to side movement so i reckon the main pivot point at the front is ok.(bike has less than 1000 miles)

Anybody have any ideas or have a bike with the same thing?

Thanks, Andy. 2007 xt600e 4pt
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  #2  
Old 15 Jun 2010
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Originally Posted by andy5600 View Post
Hello all,

Have just been for the mot test, passed but got an advisory in that the rear swingarm/suspension has got a slight bit of freeplay.

If you put the bike on the centre stand and try lifting the back wheel it moves up around 5mm the vertical plane.
I have had a good look and cannot see any freeplay in any of the bearings or linkage also there is no side to side movement so i reckon the main pivot point at the front is ok.(bike has less than 1000 miles)

Anybody have any ideas or have a bike with the same thing?

Thanks, Andy. 2007 xt600e 4pt
Sounds like the tester doesn't know his job !! It would be REALLY REALLY rare for any wear at that mileage or even 10 or 20 times that mileage.

Is your shock got any preload on it ?? Maybe he mistook shock freeplay for bushes.

Without looking at it in person, I cant be totally sure, but I think he's talking poop...
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Old 15 Jun 2010
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Ted is right, IMO.
Your MOT guys is full of it. Ride and be happy, your bike is fine!

Always good to periodically check torque on linkage & shock bolts and main swingarm and Axle bolts but I'm quite sure everything is A - OK!
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Old 15 Jun 2010
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5 mm vertical freeplay is a lot and you should probably hear it when riding on rough roads.
Vertical freeplay is normally bearings in the linkage or in the shock-mounts. Usually the lower shock-mount bearing fails before the upper.
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Old 15 Jun 2010
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Originally Posted by AliBaba View Post
5 mm vertical freeplay is a lot and you should probably hear it when riding on rough roads.
Vertical freeplay is normally bearings in the linkage or in the shock-mounts. Usually the lower shock-mount bearing fails before the upper.
It is a lot if it is actually freeplay (which I doubt). If it were freeplay in the bushes or bearings the back would feel pretty lose as you say.

My XT600E did exactly the same thing with 1500 miles on it and all the bearings and bushes were tight and smooth. It was just the movement in the shock before it took the load. Once I cranked up the pre-load, it dissapeared.
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Old 15 Jun 2010
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As said previously - This is normal for an XT600.
I have had 2 and my brother has another and they were all identical.

I have had advisories before on my MOT, the guy just did it to let me know about it.
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Old 16 Jun 2010
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Thanks for the replies,

Did think myself that wear in the bushes must be quite impossible at such a low mileage especially as the bike has been on road use only, also the shock is still at factory setting and not been fiddled with.

As i fitted a motech centre stand couple of years back i even removed this and the long centre bolt it came with just in case the bolt was made of cheap stuff and had worn down inside the bushing, refitted the original bolt and tried it, same result, so changed it back again. finally tried moving the linkage points with a lever but could still not find any freeplay.

Another thing was that my main speedo reading is in mph (with smaller kph beneath) but the odometer(and trip meter) records in km`s, told the mot guy this his reply was that as it says mph on the clock thats what he would put on the mot cert for the odometer reading?.
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Old 16 Jun 2010
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Originally Posted by andy5600 View Post

Another thing was that my main speedo reading is in mph (with smaller kph beneath) but the odometer(and trip meter) records in km`s, told the mot guy this his reply was that as it says mph on the clock thats what he would put on the mot cert for the odometer reading?.
The odometre should be the same as the main speedo reading. Is yours the same as mine was ???

If it is, the odometer is in MPH !!

You could always test it by comparing the distance with a friends bike/car etc

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Old 16 Jun 2010
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Originally Posted by andy5600 View Post
Thanks for the replies,

Did think myself that wear in the bushes must be quite impossible at such a low mileage especially as the bike has been on road use only, also the shock is still at factory setting and not been fiddled with.

As i fitted a motech centre stand couple of years back i even removed this and the long centre bolt it came with just in case the bolt was made of cheap stuff and had worn down inside the bushing, refitted the original bolt and tried it, same result, so changed it back again. finally tried moving the linkage points with a lever but could still not find any freeplay.

Another thing was that my main speedo reading is in mph (with smaller kph beneath) but the odometer(and trip meter) records in km`s, told the mot guy this his reply was that as it says mph on the clock thats what he would put on the mot cert for the odometer reading?.
I've got a 2007 model as well, imported (or diverted) from Greece. When I go for an mot in November I won't even bother mentioning it. After all, it's just a reading and has no real relevance to anything that worries us. They don't even check that the speedo works. Don't worry about it.

Geoff
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Old 17 Jun 2010
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Every moto x bike ive ever had has a little free play in the vertical when on its pit stand I'm sure my TTR would be the same if I jacked that up, Ive never given it a second thought.
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Old 21 Jun 2010
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Thanks for the replies chaps,

It would seem that there is nothing to worry about as quite a few of you have experienced this, a bit of free play in the vertical should`nt cause any problems, the beaings etc must be ok as there is no freeplay side to side on the swingarm.
My bike was also a Greece divert/import so roads speeds there must be in mph but distances measured in kilometres. Just a bit of a pain when working out your mpg etc.
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