can you replace needle bearings with a custom bushing?

[Seancb750]

ok so i found out the dimensions of the needle bearings fitted to xj400 seca and maxim swingarms
The inner diameter 22mm
The outer diameter 28mm
The width of the outer race 20mm
and i can find places that stock a oil filled bronze bush as well as many other types of bush.
can i use them in my swingarm or would i be better in using the needle rooler bearings in the swing arm?

 

[kshansen]

Just my personal opinion, others may disagree, but I have never been a fan of the use of needle bearings in an application with limited movement like a swing arm. True they may reduce friction a little over a solid bushing, but the back and forth movement of something like a swing arm can tend to cause the rollers to form notches in the races.

 

[Jeff0133]

Try and see...I personnaly replaced the needle bearings but if you make it work, it will be good info for all of us DOHC owners on here

 

[Devon Generous]

I am looking for new bushings for my 83 Maxim. Where did you find suppliers?

 

[drewpy]

bushings are better in that application due to the rocking motion of the swingarm pivot.
A bush will ensure a better contact area.
Oilites are brill.

 

[petei]

FYI
I have replaced the needle bearings with bronze bushings.

My main pivot bushing was fairly pitted and needed to be machined down, finding a replacement is impossible, literally cannot be done.

The ends of the pivot are hardened for use with the bearings so by machining the ends I lost that hardening. Using bronze bushings was the solution, as they do not require a hardened surface.

I had this done by a small scale machine shop near me (CAN$100 for everything). The machined the pivot, removed the old dusty bearings and pressed in bronze bushing which the machined to match the pivot. I also added a zerk grease fitting to simplify greasing the pivot. The down side to all of this is that the bushings are now custom for the pivot (but if they are properly cared for neither should need replacing any time soon).

The bike is currently being put back together so I can't report on how well it will work just yet. I can say everything looks great and appears to be ok. I will take a picture of the installed bushings when I get home tonight.

The pictures below show the casing of the original bearings in the swing arm and what was left of the actual needles on the floor (mostly dust but if you look closely you can see some pieces of needles.