[Jeremy]

Hi, Guys.

I bought a cheap-o grease gun and wanted to use it to grease up my swing arm. However, the little nipple on the end of the swing arm bolt is too big for the fitting on the end of my gun. Do these old bikes use a different size fitting than the ones that are standard today? Is there some sort of adapter that I need? As always, I appreciate any advice!

 

[tbpmusic]

Yes, it's different, metric.
Some guys pull it out, then tap in a regular ol' auto zirk.
Or you can get a metric grease gun attachment, though I have no source to offer for that one.

 

[MNellis]

Hi, Guys.

I bought a cheap-o grease gun and wanted to use it to grease up my swing arm. However, the little nipple on the end of the swing arm bolt is too big for the fitting on the end of my gun. Do these old bikes use a different size fitting than the ones that are standard today? Is there some sort of adapter that I need? As always, I appreciate any advice!

The nipple on the swingarms and clutch are certainly different than what we're used to seeing nowadays. I've got a cheap little Tractor Supply grease gun and I "forced the issue" and it slid over the nipple and worked fine.

Johnny14 removed the nipple on his 450 then tapped it for a standard grease fitting that's avaliable from your local auto parts store.

 

[johnnyc14]

The original fitting is just pressed into the shaft, it can be pulled out with vise grips. As Mike said, I put 1/4" NF (fine thread) threads in the shaft and installed a normal North American grease fitting available at any auto part store.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Johnnie's swingarm bolt is where I got the guts to do mine. I drilled it to the appropriate size, then tapped it, sprayed clean with carb cleaner, then installed the grease zerk. Then I forced a ton-o-grease through it to be sure of no stray metal shavings in the bolt. Then installed. It was pretty easy.

GB :mrgreen:

 

[Jeremy]

Thanks (again) for all of the great advice, guys. Just wanted to report back...

I liked the idea of installing a modern zirk in the swingarm bolt, but I don't have access to a drill press to drill it out. So I decided to try Mike's solution of "forcing the issue".

I went to the auto parts store and bought a slightly larger, universal, adjustable coupler for my grease gun. When I opened it up all the way, I could slip it onto the grease fitting pretty easily. Then I closed it up to really clamp it on there. After that, the grease pumped in pretty easy!

I did, however, discover one little thing. I had no trouble getting the grease in on the head end of the swingarm bolt. On the threaded end of the bolt, however, the grease was not going into the zirk and was just squishing out from around the lip of the coupler. I noticed that if the grease fitting is full inserted, it's actually recessed into the bolt a bit. I used the vice grips to pull it out just a bit so that the flange on the grease fitting was flush with the end of the bolt. That let the grease gun get a better fit, and I was able to pump to my heart's content!

 

[tfender]

Hi, I have a '71 CB450 K4 and am wondering about the grease nipple on the left side sprocket cover. Specifically, how much grease should be added here. For that matter, how much should be added to the swingarm nipple as well. Thanks!

 

[tbpmusic]

Hi, I have a '71 CB450 K4 and am wondering about the grease nipple on the left side sprocket cover. Specifically, how much grease should be added here. For that matter, how much should be added to the swingarm nipple as well. Thanks!

Grease the swingarm until you see the grease start coming out the other side. Do it maybe every spring.
I drilled mine out and used a regular one, too.

Personally, I never use the one on the sprocket cover (for the clutch adjuster thing).
Easy enough to pop it off and put a little grease in manually. It's too easy to make a mess, then it all ends up on your rear wheel.

 

[tfender]

Thanks Bill, very helpful. I've learned quite a bit over the last few days from reading your posts. You should write a book on these old bikes!