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Its from a GSXR600,not sure what year. It was on a list of fittable swingers that Leon posted .The gixer pivot bolt is very fat so I had a reducing sleeve made to take the original Kwak pivot bolt. Other than that, a couple of spacers to take up side play( I think 3 or 4mm +-)
I did need to grind off the rear footrest/exhaust hangers as they were in the way of the 'swing' and when I centered everything up,I also had to grind 1 or 2mm from the righthand side of the arm, also to give a bit of clearance twixt the frame downtubes and the swingarm.
At the back end,I used a Bandit 600 wheel which has the same diameter axle as the Kwak. The Gixer has a very fat axle so I needed inserts machined and pressed into the chain tensioners. I think I also used a slightly longer axle than the original but I was able to keep all the wheel bearings and the caliper mount and had a selection of wheel spacers to use (Bandit/Kwak)to get everything sitting right.
A couple of shock mounts welded on and that was it.
Hope this helps.

Yeah I guess I shouldn't be too anal about modding my frame. It isn't pristine and I have a salvage title. Do you have a fat tire on the back? I'd be interested in how it handles that way. I may not have to cut too much off if I narrow the arm 1".
We'll see.
Steve

Cant remember exactly what Im going for. Its so long since I figured out the back wheel. 150 or 160. If you look back through the thread,I explain it all somewhere.
I didnt need to make any chops to the frame itself,not for the wheel. The mods I made were just for the mono seat. I did shave about 10mm off the Bandit sprocket carrier so the chainline runs straight,clears the tyre and the frame downtube.With the 525 chain (I think), Ive got about 4mm clearance either side.No frame cutting needed!
And the wheels are running centered!

Back on the fiberglass today. Hands are all healed up and I needed to get it done and out of the way. Pretty much just trimming the seat pan,getting everything lined up nicely with the frame rails and a bit of a going over with the sander. It still may need tweeked a bit but for now Im happy enough and I was able to crack on with the seat foam.
Seat pan trimmed,sanded and ready to go. Starting the mold for the foam


It was a bit of a challenge as its an awkward shape but I think I got it ok.Next time,I would go for a spray on release agent.Smearing on vasaline worked fine for the fiberglass but wasnt the easiest here with all the nooks and crannies.

First packet mixed and poured

As I thought.Not enough to cover the rear hump and the raised bit at the back of the tank.

I picked up another packet after work yesterday. Still not enough to raise it all to the level I need to cover everything so I had to section it off for the high points

and thats it for now.It goes off pretty quickly.(they reckon half an hour) but I left it as is and will go back tomorrow to open everything up and see if its worked.

I do like that swing arm. You don't have the mounts like I have. I'm tempted to do it anyway. No one seems to want this thing and it was only $23 so why not try it?
Steve


Deleted ugly wiring. Will post once my cover is back on.

Next day










Pretty good but I could have sectioned it better.Too much foam on the high parts and not enough on the lower. So, my choices are,to pour in another packet (the expensive option)or square off where it needs it and glue in a block of shop bought foam.(cheaper option).
If Im going to glue,I need to find a glue thats compatible with this foam and wont just eat into it.
On the good side,its a very solid foam,more so than the average bike seat stuff and the underside is perfectly shaped to the seat pan and tank rear,which was what I was after.I havent even thought much about the final shape of the seat yet.Ill have to think about that and I need to invest in an electric carving knife,as a normal bread knife wont cut it (literally!)

Very nice. Would rubber contact cement work?
Steve

swest wrote: Very nice. Would rubber contact cement work?
Steve

Not sure. I have to go through the instructions and see what chemicals are involved ( if I can decipher it) and take it from there. If I have time,Ill call in at the foam shop tomorrow.Maybe they know.

In the meantime. I had an idea for the side panels and I thought I would make a start on them. A bit more practice for my welding






Came out ok for a first attempt but I think I can do better. Ill see how the other side goes and if I can do it better,Ill redo this one.
The idea is to tack weld some sort of mesh into it them and powdercoat them. Still have to figure out how to mount them but I have some ideas.

Looks good Davido. I would ask if you can pour on top of what you already have. It may bond with the existing material. It would be easy to test. Take some scrap that you cut off, mix a small batch and pour it on top of the scrap, let it cure and then try and pull the pieces apart. The bond would not have to be that strong, just good enough to keep the two parts from sliding around. The foam will be sandwiched between the seat pan and seat cover, it's not going anywhere. My .02

Pouring more onto the existing foam is not a problem.They say its ok in the instructions and this is what I did with the high parts front and back.(they bonded perfectly).The problem is thats its euro25 a packet and Im already 2 packets in. Also I dont need a lot do finish it,maybe 1/3 of a packet but once its opened the stuff wont keep. I cant put it on the shelf until I need it again and I cant think of anything else foamy that I need right now.
The other thing is,that Im pretty sure that 60% of it is going to be trimmed off and put in the garbage anyway. So, if I can recycle what I dont need and glue it on,or buy a block of cheap foam and glue that on,itll keep the cost down.
Then again,for the amount of work involved and all the faffing around I would have to do,maybe another euro25 isnt so bad.I wish I had planned it out better but it is what it is.

I must say that the result of the foam looks really good.
I am thinking of using it myself now after I have seen your results. Fortunately the foam I have for my seat is whole, so I am thinking of using plaster bandages (hope I am making any sense with that word, directly translated from Swedish. Not sure what the correct term would be in english) to make a mold of my original foam.

Question is, what do you think of the density? Do you think it's hard enough? Or could it possibly be too soft?
In the picture where you are pinching the foam, it almost looks a bit on the soft side.

noratx wrote: I must say that the result of the foam looks really good.
I am thinking of using it myself now after I have seen your results. Fortunately the foam I have for my seat is whole, so I am thinking of using plaster bandages (hope I am making any sense with that word, directly translated from Swedish. Not sure what the correct term would be in english) to make a mold of my original foam.

Question is, what do you think of the density? Do you think it's hard enough? Or could it possibly be too soft?
In the picture where you are pinching the foam, it almost looks a bit on the soft side.

Its definately not too soft.Its harder than the original foam for sure. Like I said in an earlier post,this stuff comes in different densities.They had some examples in the shop and I gave them all a squeeze (oo er missus!) to see what felt right.

This is the stuff I used.It comes with quite an extensive explanation. I just had a look at the website tonight and theres a ton of info there as well.
If youre planning on making a seat from a solid block of foam,then thats a totally differet process.You wouldnt need a mold,you just sculpt it. Its probably the cheapest and easiest option and the most common. There are loads of videos on you tube.
I just decided to do this method so I could make things more difficult for myself!!!!