grease for roller-bearings: not coperslip surely ? (semi off-topic perhaps)

Isn't that copper slip stuff slightly abrasive ....I don't know My last bike was a Z650, had it from new. 1981............these are known for buggering up swing arm bearings I knew this, so every time I cleaned the bike..almost every week, I also pumped castrol LM grease into the nipple on the swing arm with a grease gun 'till new clean grease emerged. ..it didn't take much for that to happen. This practise led on to me doing 28,000 with no trouble with the swing arm bearings. I also use-to oil the chain at the same time .after first degreasing the chain with paraffin and washing it off with a hose .then starting it up, put it in gear to fling it dry for 2 Min's (top gear at tick over and a blip now and then)..........then I would put a spot of engine oil on each link. The original chain was still fitted when I sold the bike at 28,000..and only half way up its adjusters.

all the best..mark

Definitely the wrong stuff for bearings. Jolly good for the back of brake pads and for preventing bolt and stud threads rusting but it ain't a true grease. Castrol LM should do you fine.

In article , Dave Baker writes

It is amazing how some people seem to think Copaslip is the stuff for all seasons.

I was chatting to a mate recently as he was working on his (second-hand) bike, changing front disks. It's quite important that the bolts securing the disks don't come undone (it gets noisy if they do), so it's normal practice to give them a dab of Loctite, which usually makes removing them a slight pain.

These ones came undone very easily, and his face was a picture as he showed me the Copaslip on the bolts...

Nigel

You've noticed that too. I get particularly worried when I see people using it on bolts into aluminium where water may get - such as wheel studs (or just about anywhere on a motorbike). Copper and aluminium live streets apart in the galvanic series, what you are setting up is a battery designed to corrode the aluminium.

Which reminds me of the guy who was having trouble getting his brake drum on after fitting new brake shoes. He asked a mate for help, who was staggered to find that this guy had got desparate and had tried greasing the shoes to help the drum slip on. He realised it wasn't ideal, but he thought it would burn off in the first few miles. He didn't know about the brake adjusters.

Steve

In article , Steve writes

Oh yes. There *is* stuff made (its name escapes me at present) for aluminium cases. I seem to remember it being pretty expensive, too.

Duralac?

How about Copralite ? Which is why they don't let me loose on trade names.

I once ordered some of the official stuff for building Rover V8 engines, supposedly to stop steel bolts seizing in aluminium holes. I would swear it is the same stuff you use to stick patches on inner tubes. Not at all what I expected, still have it somewhere.

Steve

Seam to remember putting a water pump on a rover v8 ...sure the intention of that stuff was to seal the bolts because the threaded holes are not blind , they go into the water jacket or the crankcase or something....it's a long time ago.

all trhe best...mark

Swinging arm is not a good application for roller bearings. I'd be inclined to put in a high moly grease rather than LM.

what bike is being worked on, and are they taper rollers? do you have a solid swinging arm spindle or 2 "pins" that screw in from either side?

Sounds like I should clean it all out and put proper grease in.

I think they are tapered rollers, and if I understand Bolmas's question correctly, it is two pins not a solid arm.

Bike is an 850 Moto-Guzzi T3; complete with a filing cabinet to keep it in for the time being !

Sounds like coperslip is the wrong thing for screws into Ali then, quite apart from also not being bearing grease.

I've put it on my bicycle pedals, so perhaps shouldn't have. I did wonder at the time, half-remembering my electrochemistry. That said, the same principle should make it wrong for steel too, but obviously it isn't

Thanks guys

Hywel

In article , hyweldavies writes

Hywel, I'm X-posting this to uk.rec.motorcycles, there are a few very knowledgeable Guzzi fans amongst the denizens.

Bikers? Play nicely now. These gentlemen have the ability to be very, very helpful with regard to making stuff. It was one of them that made the rather lovely replacement sump for a racing Gixxer outfit that I posted about a while back, the same chap that provided some nicely ground SS stock for me to make some caliper pistons for Lozzo's ZZR. Take a bow John!

Hywel was asking about the correct grease for the swing arm bearings on his Guzzi. Sweller, any comments?

Thank you, John and Nigel. They were spot on.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Nigel Eaton saying something like:

I am not Sweller, nor do I play him on TV, but I can tell you one thing.

The GS850 uses the exact same setup and all that's needed there is Castrol LM according to Suzuki San.

In message , Nigel Eaton writes

Amazingly I can find no specific reference in Mr Richardson's Guzzi bible. The Guzzi manual says AGIP F1 Grease 30 = Castrol LM methinks.

I'd suggest good quality... oh, f*ck, I'm pissed and I've forgotten. The black grease, anyway. Definitely not copper grease.

Molybdenum disulphide grease? That'll work nicely. Now back to the Shiraz/Ebay combo....

Dangerous that is young padawan

JB

I've only ever used regular castrol LM on swing arm bushes, and it's always been fine.

I use CV grease (the black Molybdenum disulphide stuff).

The factory book states AGIP F1 Grease 30; which according to Agip is general purpose lithium based grease. I'd still use the CV grease though.