After the second time I serviced the relay arm on my 2005, I convinced myself that there must be a better way. Suspending the bike and removing the centerstand to grease one bearing seemed ridiculous.
The primary reason for my mod is to allow greasing of the front(pivot) bearing without having to remove the Relay Arm from the bike. This means finding a way to get the grease into the bearing (and out) without access to the needle bearings. So I came up with a way to create an internal passage way into the needle bearings. And added a spout to direct the displaced grease at service time out of the bearing.
The tough part is cutting the slots into the bearing outer race so that the line up with the small passageways added to the relay arm itself. This is done AFTER removing the needles from the bearing. You have to pick out that waxy oily crud around the needles. After slotting the bearing and removing any burrs from the slot, use your best sticky grease to pack the needle bearings back in place. Be careful not to loose them; they're slippery little buggers.
The grease path is created though the relay arm with a 3/32" diameter hole through the center of the pivot end of the arm. This connects to the tapped hole (1/4-28 UNF)added for the grease fitting. That fitting is installed into the thin web (low stress area) of the relay arm.
Hear are some photos showing various steps.
The grease vent (Fred calls it the 'Turkish tea spout) is made from a short piece of brass tubing and a slightly larger 1/8" diameter piece of stainless steel. That whole thing is held in place with JB Weld.
The zerk fitting for the dog bone bearings isn't really that necessary. it's more of a convenience. it allows you to grease each of the DB bearings individually by sliding the inner sleeve to one side then the other and pumping fresh grease from inside to out.
The shock mount bearing is done the way you always do it. Remove the sleeve, clean the needle bearings and seal. Regrease, reassemble.
All of this can be done with the bike on the centerstand. Remove the two bolts holding the dogbones in and remove the shock mount bolt. Let the relay arm swing down to give access to the zerk(s). Pretty easy..
Here's my 2014ES getting fresh grease in the pivot (front) bearing.
Installation note: The pressure caused by flushing the bearing tends to push out the seals. To resist that I install a Teflon washer to each side of the relay arm up against the seals and inside the bikes frame mount. You can see a little bit of one in photo above.
I think another benefit of this mod is that now that bearing is packed solid with grease thereby allowing no space for air or water. Don't know for sure but seems reasonable to me.
