Bearings...

Well in order to remove the knackered bearings from the suspension linkages you have to move the exhaust downpipes and I was kinda dreading it because they are typically well rusted up. I sprayed them up with penetrating oil a couple of times and left them overnight. In order to get at them you need to remove the water radiator which means I will end up changing the coolant as well - turning out to be a real service! The exhaust bolts all loosened really easily - great! I removed the final sleeve and removed the drag link completely. I managed to push out the two bearings in the drag link with the help of a g clamp and a suitabley sized socket, but the one in the drop link was completely solid, and hitting it with a drift and sledge hammer just ended up destroying it, so with all the needles out and bits of bearing all over the place the only way forward was with my dremel.

First off I used the grinder head and a mixture of grinding and cutting managed to liberate what was left of the bearing shell, so I now have all 3 bearings out and just need the postman to arrive with the bits.

I also took this opportunity to clean up my silencer and repaint the bracket that holds it to the pillion footrest. I will also clean up the rad a bit before reassembley.