Good Afternoon All!

I'm wondering if you could help me ref my rear linkage. I recently had the suspension bush on the linkage come up as an issue on my MOT. When I took the bolt out for the rear shock where it mounts to the linkage I was greeted with a load of needle bearings and basically dust. I ordered the bearing, sleeve and new oil seals but really struggled to get the new bearing in and have mullered it in the process. (I don't have a press) So I've just bitten the bullet and ordered a very good condition second hand linkage off eBay. What I'm wondering is my bike is a 2011 GTR model and the bike the linkage has come off is a 2008 and I didn't really think that they could be different but after checking the part numbers online it seems it might be the case. Can anyone confirm this? Will a 2008 linkage fit my bike?  Any help would be great!

Regards

Chris.

Well, if it's two different part numbers then chances of it working may be less than stellar, unfortunately but hopefully someone will assist with that.

While I haven't 'swapped' the linkage I have swapped a later rear shocky for my 2008 leaking one without issue.

Hi Chris,
From what I can see they seem to be the same part but I don't know of anybody who has swapped these parts before.
In fact yours is the first I've come across with this kind of issue.
It may be that the greasing of those needle bearings got neglected.
Good luck. 

Hi Chris,
From what I can see they seem to be the same part but I don't know of anybody who has swapped these parts before.
In fact yours is the first I've come across with this kind of issue.
It may be that the greasing of those needle bearings got neglected.
Good luck.  :thumbs:

Hi there. Thanks everyone for your replies. Most definitely they were bone dry and like I said as soon as I took the bolt out everything just fell out in a pile of dust. The MOT tester let the play in the shock mounting go but said he could easily of failed it. Thanks for the info, the parts do look the same and I guess I will find out when it arrives. Fingers crossed.

Can you get me a P/N for the '08 part? I can check when I slide into work on the dealer side with Kawasaki and see if the '08 supercedes to the '11 P/N. I won't know until Wednesday for sure but I can at least look into that.

There can't be too much different. All the bearings in it are the same between 08 and 11 years.

They may have changed the hole locations slightly {doubtful} or done some small change to the Rocker in later years.
I suspect something very slight. Should work ok. Just do a comparison before install.

That was a pretty deep inspection for them to see that.
I know that in Germany the inspection/allowable's is pretty intense. Same in the UK?

Ride safe, Ted

Yes the UK MOT (Ministry Of Transport) test is fairly strict, in fact similar to the German one but without their Type Approval checks.
This is the government web page detailing what gets tested.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-motorcycles
The test is carried out every year on all vehicles over 3 years old.

Yes the UK MOT (Ministry Of Transport) test is fairly strict, in fact similar to the German one but without their Type Approval checks.
This is the government web page detailing what gets tested.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-motorcycles
The test is carried out every year on all vehicles over 3 years old.

Hi All,

Part arrived yesterday and fitted up all fine. So now we know. Linkage is the same between the years. Even same part number on the unit itself. Bike feels more solid and I'm happy with the result, even if I'm honest I hadn't noticed an issue. Bolted up easy enough and had a nice 45 minute ride through the peak district to try it out. On the way to the shops of course!

Result! 
Nice pic. My better half is from Ashbourne.
Nice riding up there if you can avoid the damned caravans and Rossi wannabes.

"Success"...
   Must be nice to ride in an area like that.

Type inspections?
In Germany, bernd's bike was only allowed to use a tire only from an approved list.
Is that part of the Type inspection?

Ride safe, Ted

"Success"...
   Must be nice to ride in an area like that.

Type inspections?
In Germany, bernd's bike was only allowed to use a tire only from an approved list.
Is that part of the Type inspection?

Ride safe, Ted

Yeah, Germany has Type Approval laws (TuV) that limits what you can use on your road vehicle.
Only TuV approved parts for your specific vehicle are allowed. That includes engine parts, tyres, brake pads, exhausts, etc.
I believe you can fit any screen, saddle, grips, levers that you want but the list of restricted items is pretty long.
I have a friend who has a ratted GSXR1000 (he crashed it) and every time he rides it to Germany for a rally, everyone there asks him how he gets away with riding it. When he tells them it's UK road legal, they look shocked. 

Ok, thanx.

Ride safe, Ted