It’s been a while since we’ve made progress. The rear suspension is back, so let’s install it.
The wheel bearings have rusted and are stiff, so we’ll replace them.
If we measure beforehand, it’s rare that we’d end up with “not enough length” or “play” after pressing in, but it’s good prevention.
Same on the rear. I always notice that distance collars often have awkward dimensions.
Kawasaki’s seals are soft—impressive. Is it only Suzuki where the collar wears so much that it’s stiff?
We removed the swingarm linkage area and started cleaning. It wasn’t too oily, so it was relatively easy.
And while we’re at it, I think about what I’d do if it were my own bike—I’d clean it up, right? It feels better when it’s clean—and that’s how I end up going off track every day.
I forgot to remove the right plate, but let’s clean it up anyway for the final restoration.
We’ll also lubricate both left and right pedals.
There was a lot of rust around the linkage.
It looks like it was painted over later, but it’s an odd color. It’s starting to rust a bit, so we’ll strip it and paint it black.
The link plate is also worn out, so we’ll touch it up a bit.
The rear suspension arrived back at just the right time. Now we can finally get the bike standing.
Needle bearings on both sides, plus a ball bearing on one side. That’s quite a spec for this era.
We replaced the bearings and seals.
It feels really good when places you can’t reach by hand are clean.
We’ll make a custom collar to fix the rear brake issue.
We installed the chain and… looking at the photos, it all went by in a flash.
