first problem with the rebuild (pics)

The swingarm isn't wide enough for the 02 gsxr wheel I have. As soon as I get the new one drawn up this one will be for sale.



Post edited by: donthekawguy, at: 2008/02/18 02:00

man thats sucks when your plan of attack is givin a sudden kick in the nads! give me a shout if your e-baying or selling the swing arm, ill be interested.

Post edited by: kzstreetfighter71, at: 2008/02/18 02:26

Bummer. I don't like surprises like that when I get em. I'm considering a JMC swingarm upgrade later on. A bit pricey but they sure make nice looking stuff, (beautiful welds). I'm always checking e-bay for a Cal-Fab and have seen the odd one now & then but their getting super rare. Actually a JMC arm just sold on e-bay, I think it was 2" over and had a lower brace. What type of suspension are you going to run? Doug

how wide and long does it need to be?

Hey Don - I hate surprises like that too, but confess my fair share. I bought a JMC swingarm a couple years back and then ran into all manner of problems. Evnetually involved cutting that mother fresh from the factory (JMC reimbursed me the costs, btw -- great firm). You might have all this covered, but a few lessons I learned. Consider modelling these other fitment issues all at once - there's a lotta stuff going on in the back end:

- Wheel fit is obviously important, but tire/chain clearance is even more important. Have you considered the sprocket alignments yet and the width of the tire. That rim looks real wide. My chain clears 180 tires (the ones I've tried) and my wheel is centered. Won't clear anything wider. My chain is barely (like 1.5 mm) clearing the inside of the frame up front. My ZX11-C rear sprocket carrier was milled down 9mm to align with my front 7/8" offset sprocket.
- Shock mounts and shock/chain/sprocket clearance -- once I got my wheel all settled, I discovered the shock body was interfering with the chain. See MY picture (dammit!).
- Chain/swingarm geometry - with the donor rear sprocket and shock lengths I am running (basically stock lengths, not lowered) my chain actually dragged a bit on my swingarm as it approached the front sprocket. Yet another painful 'mar the new swingarm' deal. Turned out no big deal, but another surprise.

Solution to the above issue was to cut the shock mount and move it outboard. Worked just great and JMC reimbursed me for the welding costs (done beautifully, btw).

Post edited by: elseed, at: 2008/02/18 11:36

I was thinking about going with a mono shock set up and that would cure a lot of problems. I do like the twin shock or struts though. My friends dad is a master welder and can fab anything up so I will probably have him build me a swingarm. I'll have to put the motor back in so I can set up the air shifter so getting the clearence issues solved won't be too bad. I have to get the front end on first so I'll be able to line up the wheels but... :ohmy: This is why I gave myself 2 years to get it done. :laugh:

if your going mono shock go with the gsxr600 swingarm

cgi.ebay.ca/01-Suzuki-GSXR-600-Swingarm_...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

here is one going for under 30 dollers, it fits right into the frame, you will have to make a sleve for the pivout bolt but the lower shock mount is in the center of the swing arm and the forward dogbone links bollt right to your center stand mounts, you will have to weld on a upper shock mount but your dads mate is a welder. you will fit that tyre and rim in there easy enouh then.