rear axle not right

I have a 1981 750 seca which I've owned about a year and half. 9,000 original miles. I put new rear brakes on it last fall and noticed the axle does not slide through like it should. When it gets to the thick part on the right side it hits the bottom of the hole. You have to put alot of upward muscle into it to slide it on through. I put about a 1000 miles on it and rides fine. This week I wanted to check it out more and cann't find nothing wrong. It has not been wrecked. I just want to make it right. any help would be appreciated.

 

Are you on the center stand?

 

the way its pictured above you put 1000 miles on it?@! surely I misunderstand?

 

It's not a problem. The weight of the tire,rim, brakes,etc..... Are making it sag.temporarily. Yes, you DO have to muscle it up a bit to get the lip of the axle to slide through the swingarm. But, as you tighten it with the castle but on the other side, everything will be lined up just the way it should. Don't forget your cotter pin, and DO NOT forget the pinch bolt!!!

I keep a mallet handy....heft it up and quickly get it going in the rest of the way with the mallet (gently, of course....)

Dave f

 

^^ what he said. And lightly grease the axel so you can take it back out later. Things like to rust.

 

Yeah, I should have mentioned that. I always wipe the old grease off and put a smear of fresh grease on it whenever I pull the axle out.

Dave

 

To clear things up a bit, I have rode xj bikes from the 80's. this bike is the first one that I have to put a block of wood under the end of the axle, pry it up with a flat screw driver and tap it in with a mallet. My other xj bikes I could do with a screw driver through the axle hole, a quick lift and push, done. It just seemed like way to much pressure on the axle for this seca. I guess my 60 year old body is wimping out! Yes I do the axle greasing and pins, Thanks, for the replies, I'll put it back together and go for a ride.

 

I guess it's possible that the swingarm is slightly tweaked..... You could also check your shocks and make sure they are both on the same pre-load setting----

 

I checked the shocks, they are the same. I also thought it might be a factory goof that slipped on through. You know... it's not perfect, it will work, send it on down the line!

 

This now makes me wonder what the condition is of the output bearing on the final drive, or if the bolt holes for the final drive mount aren't wallered out a bit.
Of course it could just be that some PO decided to do some "sweet jumps" to "impress" the ladies, and tweaked the swingarm a bit.

 

K-moe, you might be right about impressing the ladies! The PO was a professional motorcycle racer of the 70's. He raced in Daytona and many other places. Who knows what the seca went up against! I put it back together today and will keep riding it.