Rear suspension linkage

I discovered a problem with the rear suspension linkage - one of the clamps on the drag link spindle was cracked right through. 

 So I decided to strip out the swinging arm, shock and linkage complete for a clean. It gunked off nicely, showing that on the whole the castings were in pretty good condition. The only problems were some pitting on the swinging arm and evidence of scraping near one of the chain adjusters, probably because of a badly fitted luggage carrier.

 The bolts came undone with a bit of a heave. Unfortunately, when the seals came off the lower forward bearing, it was clear that it had suffered badly from water ingress. Having grease nipples is one thing (there are five altogether) but they do need to be used.

 The bolts retaining the top of the drag links are a bit tricky to get at - they have 18mm heads deeply recessed into the swinging arm. However I was very pleased to see they were in fantastic condition.

I bought a second hand linkage complete with drag links from a 1996 bike. The castings were different, with the Hinckley version of the Triumph logo cast into them. The 1991 castings use the older, Meriden style logo:

Meriden style logo from 1991 castings top
Hinckley-style logo from 1996 castings bottom

 I washed out all the needle roller bearings with paraffin and a tooth brush. The rust was disgusting slurry of rust and old grease.

The replacement linkage casting was in fair condition. Unfortunately, the forward lower bearings also showed evidence of quite a bit of corrosion.  The linkage contains two HK2030 INA needle roller bearings - I shall need to replace these.

The components came up beautifully though.  HK2030s are also used in the upper drag links - larger bearings are fitted in the lower eyes, protected by rubber seals. These were all in good condition so no need for changes there.