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I have a 2003 that I bought used, and as I get into different tasks, I have come to realize that the previous owner(s) were not quite as persnickety about maintenance as I am. Does anyone here have some pointers about lubing the swingarm bearing? I did a search and came up with nothing. Thanks.

Tim - hello and welcome.

I don't recall there being a trend of issues with the swingarm bearings, but many pull the rear drive shaft half of the swing arm to lube the drive shaft splines as they were typically not lubed sufficiently from the factory. If you're pulling the swing arm, then you would want to also invest the time in servicing the pivot arm bearings and related suspension pivot points.

Ray or someone with more experience will likely chime in here as well.

Not a big problem for the most part. The one time I had a look at the swingarm on my 2007 (at over 100,000 miles), there were no issues. However, if you want to check it out, have a look at:
https://www.fjr-tips.org/maint/sa/sa.html

Just so we're not confused, there are two items of service, the swingarm bearings themselves and the swingarm pivot (properly called relay arm). The relay arm should be greased up early in life to prevent issues with rusty bearings and maybe every two years after.

As for the swingarm proper, in all the years of FJR forums, I can't recall anyone who has had a swingarm bearing issue, mostly folks were wanting to follow the "service every two years" per the maintenance schedule. My project FJR (90k miles over 12 years) got an inspection because I had the swingarm off anyway. Bearings are sealed, looked like adequate grease in there to me, I don't know how water would get in there. I'd take it off the maintenance list.

raYzerman wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:56 am Just so we're not confused, there are two items of service, the swingarm bearings themselves and the swingarm pivot (properly called relay arm). The relay arm should be greased up early in life to prevent issues with rusty bearings and maybe every two years after.

Yes!! That relay arm (with three bearings) is far more problematic than the swingarm. Two of the bearings are (fairly) easily checked and serviced. The third (front one) is a major pain - especially the first time. If you are doing that, check back and someone will link a procedure.

I did the swing arm and relay arm at the same time a few years back. I used a moly marine based waterproof grease on both. I checked the relay arm a year after, and it looked like I just did it. Haven't checked in a few years, but I'm sure it still looks the same.

I use the same grease on my dirt bikes which see a lot more abuse, dirt and water. They always look the same as they did when I put the grease in them. I do clean them up and regrease as some dirt gets stuck on the outside of the dust seals. Key is to use a good quality marine grade moly grease. Won't wash out and keeps the water and moisture out while providing good lubrication.

Most likely this will be the last time you need to visit these for several years, unless you like checking them more often.

No FJR shaft drive splines have failed for lack of grease.

N4HHE wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:57 am No FJR shaft drive splines have failed for lack of grease.

Obviously not the same kind of horsepower and the first year it came out, I had my 1975 Honda Goldwing strip the drive splines coming into St. Louis across the river in East St. Louis back in 1977. About 25000 miles on the bike. Honda had no specific recommendation for lubricating the drive splines, but they did issue a service recall and had a grease zert fitting put into the drive shaft housing over the splines (it was back near the pumpkin). I never got the recall bulletin, so I basically rode the bike until the splines stripped. I spent a day in St. Louis getting the bike repaired. Ugh. Had to take apart a wrecked Goldwing in the shop to get me going, since the new parts were on the east and west coast.

griff wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 1:50 pm

N4HHE wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:57 am No FJR shaft drive splines have failed for lack of grease.

...I had my 1975 Honda Goldwing strip the drive splines coming into St. Louis across the river in East St. Louis back in 1977...

The Yamaha Venture Royale was also susceptible to drive spline failure. A friend had to crate up his failed Royale in Detroit and have it shipped back to Salem Ma. He got the last open seat on a bus for the return trip home. The seat was next to the bathroom. He had tales to tell about that ride.

ionbeam wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 2:22 pm

griff wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 1:50 pm

N4HHE wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 11:57 am No FJR shaft drive splines have failed for lack of grease.

...I had my 1975 Honda Goldwing strip the drive splines coming into St. Louis across the river in East St. Louis back in 1977...

The Yamaha Venture Royale was also susceptible to drive spline failure. A friend had to crate up his failed Royale in Detroit and have it shipped back to Salem Ma. He got the last open seat on a bus for the return trip home. The seat was next to the bathroom. He had tales to tell about that ride.

I had a Gen II "Royal Star" Venture (2002 model) and there were no issues with drive splines - just the Gen I Royale versions AFIK. The Gen II Venture, the Vmax and the FJR have very similar drive arrangements. (Don't know if the Vmax drive was the same for all years but I was more familiar with the later ones.)

Many thanks for all the replies. It is a great help to get input from experienced riders of the specific bike. I think the swingarm will hold for the present, and I will have a look at that relay arm when I do the driveshaft splines. I have another Japanese shaft drive bike and recently did the driveshaft splines on that since there was (again) no maintenance history. They did not have one molecule of grease on them! That can't be good, so now they do. For now, it its replacing black antifreeze (really - it looks bad in the pan), black K&N air filter, brake and clutch fluid, CCT/oil, spark plugs, etc. before riding. What is your (y'all's) experience with plug wires - how often do you replace them?

FJRoss wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 2:47 pm I had a Gen II "Royal Star" Venture (2002 model) and there were no issues with drive splines - just the Gen I Royale versions AFIK. The Gen II Venture, the Vmax and the FJR have very similar drive arrangements. (Don't know if the Vmax drive was the same for all years but I was more familiar with the later ones.)

I know that until 1999 the Venture had a 3.3/1 rear end ratio and the V-Max had a 3.66/1 rear end ratio. Some Royale owners swapped the V-Max rear end into their bikes for better acceleration at the cost of highway cruising and gas mileage. My mildly hopped-up V-Max managed about 75 miles per fill. And, you put the gas where? My Corbin brick seat made filling the tiny tank almost impossible.

tim ferrell wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 2:59 pm ...What is your (y'all's) experience with plug wires - how often do you replace them?

Since the wires are molded into the coils they don't get changed very often However, the spark plug cap screws into the wire with a little cork screw thingie. You can cut a small amount off the end of the wire and screw the cap back on. The cap is a resistor cap, 10k Ω IIRC, but due to corrosion may be much higher. If you are already there it doesn't hurt to check it.

tim ferrell wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 2:59 pm Many thanks for all the replies. It is a great help to get input from experienced riders of the specific bike. I think the swingarm will hold for the present, and I will have a look at that relay arm when I do the driveshaft splines. I have another Japanese shaft drive bike and recently did the driveshaft splines on that since there was (again) no maintenance history. They did not have one molecule of grease on them! That can't be good, so now they do. For now, it its replacing black antifreeze (really - it looks bad in the pan), black K&N air filter, brake and clutch fluid, CCT/oil, spark plugs, etc. before riding. What is your (y'all's) experience with plug wires - how often do you replace them?

Never replaced plug wires in 185,000 miles on my 2007 although I did trim back the ends a quarter inch or so. Surprised at the antifreeze. Some discoloration is expected but I hope black doesn't mean a problem. Any evidence of oil in it (or white smoke out the exhaust)?

When was the valve clearance check done last? If it is due, it is probably easier to do the CCT change at the same time. Coolant too since it has to be drained for the valve check. Plugs come out as well.

The plug wires are copper, so after some high miles, just trim off a bit and refresh.
Honda's moly paste recommendation was because their splines are softer than the FJR's. You can use regular grease on the FJR if you want.
Driveshaft/u-joint splines are in constant spring-loaded full engagement, but you want to prevent rust there. Grease them once and likely last a long time.
Since the CCT has come up, verify it is the newer one with a blue or green paint dot on it.. if not, I'd be changing it like yesterday.
I don't think I've ever seen black antifreeze, maybe just looks that way, but yep, change it since you don't likely know when it was if it ever was.

The antifreeze was actually very dark brown, when in a small stream.. I had to flush a gallon of distilled water through the system to get the water to run clear. I did not notice any oil in the antifreeze, fortunately. This weekend the CCT gets done, and oil. Plugs, brake/clutch fluid, air cleaner done. Brake fluid was almost opaque and light rust colored. Plugs looked very good but also had been there a while, so that was good. Air cleaner black (K&N) - will replace with stock for now.. No maintenance history (maintenance, what maintenance?). After I get the CCT changed, I will start her up and let things settle in before moving to valve checks or throttle synchronizing. I need to do more home work on both of those, and want to ride some first. Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate them, and they are a big help.

I’m looking for someone local to lube/service the knuckle. About the only thing beside a valve check that I have no interest in doing. Good info guys.

I wonder if the antifreeze was the "orange stuff" to begin with. Usually the so-called OAT (organic acid (additive) technology) antifreeze is colored orange. Supposed to be better and longer lived but after there were problems in the early days with compatibility, I stick with the conventional stuff (for aluminum systems).

Note: Colors are just dyes, not the color of the additives. Don't attribute any color (orange, yellow, green, red, blue etc.) to any specific formulation - OAT is usually orange or red and conventional is usually green or yellow but don't bank on it.

If the brake fluid was that bad, I expect the clutch fluid was worse.

Blue Honda Type 2 is a silicate-free HOAT. Readily available and reasonably priced. This is what I use in motorcycles.

Totally agree the coolant color is almost meaningless. If you know it is Honda and blue then you know what it is. Vs Honda green. But when things start getting into red and pink Toyota Ford GM it is much harder to guess.

Well, now it is blue Yamaha coolant. And yes, the clutch fluid was the worst of the three. All clear now...