swingarms.com

oops here is the starting pic of the bike

79MKII wrote:

Wow - now here's a beauty for sale on eBay - who'll be the first to bid?? :laugh: :laugh:

ah i feel better now!:laugh:

Lorcan wrote:

I've had a couple of JMC arms. They aren't as strong as they look. Fine for a 100hp road bike, not so good for a 200hp+ road/drag bike. They are a bit bendy, I've bent two JMC wheel spindles, and the roll pins that locate the adjuster bolts fall out. On my dad's bike the chain jumped off at over 190mph due to this. Take whatever delivery time you are given and double it.

TRAC and MacIntosh arms are popular with the UK drag racers. Spondon arms are too, but with the same delivery caveat as JMC and don't bother ordering any accessories such as chainguard or caliper hanger - they won't fit.

If you need a strong box section arm for a Z or KZ you could do a lot worse than a GSXR600/750/1000/Busa arm. I run an extended 600 arm and it's run over 200mph several times and low 9 second passes with no drama. You can weld in or bolt in extensions, and weld on shock mounts. They polish up ok too, once you get past the weird outer coating. They are narrow enough at the front to fit most KZs, unlike modern Kawasaki arms which are generally too wide.

Information to "live" by; thanks for that post, especially the info about the arms that fit. I've run into the 'fit' problem with later model Kawasakis, with your post I don't have to "buy and learn". Thanks again!
-KR

79MKII wrote:

Wow - now here's a beauty for sale on eBay - who'll be the first to bid?? :laugh: :laugh:

Ya know, I don't even know what to say about that:dry:

Bad Kaw wrote:

Lorcan wrote:

I've had a couple of JMC arms. They aren't as strong as they look. Fine for a 100hp road bike, not so good for a 200hp+ road/drag bike. They are a bit bendy, I've bent two JMC wheel spindles, and the roll pins that locate the adjuster bolts fall out. On my dad's bike the chain jumped off at over 190mph due to this. Take whatever delivery time you are given and double it.

TRAC and MacIntosh arms are popular with the UK drag racers. Spondon arms are too, but with the same delivery caveat as JMC and don't bother ordering any accessories such as chainguard or caliper hanger - they won't fit.

If you need a strong box section arm for a Z or KZ you could do a lot worse than a GSXR600/750/1000/Busa arm. I run an extended 600 arm and it's run over 200mph several times and low 9 second passes with no drama. You can weld in or bolt in extensions, and weld on shock mounts. They polish up ok too, once you get past the weird outer coating. They are narrow enough at the front to fit most KZs, unlike modern Kawasaki arms which are generally too wide.

Information to "live" by; thanks for that post, especially the info about the arms that fit. I've run into the 'fit' problem with later model Kawasakis, with your post I don't have to "buy and learn". Thanks again!
-KR

I agree with that and looking on ebay there are lots of them and reasonably priced.
Thankz

eddiem wrote:

Bad Kaw wrote:

Lorcan wrote:

I've had a couple of JMC arms. They aren't as strong as they look. Fine for a 100hp road bike, not so good for a 200hp+ road/drag bike. They are a bit bendy, I've bent two JMC wheel spindles, and the roll pins that locate the adjuster bolts fall out. On my dad's bike the chain jumped off at over 190mph due to this. Take whatever delivery time you are given and double it.

TRAC and MacIntosh arms are popular with the UK drag racers. Spondon arms are too, but with the same delivery caveat as JMC and don't bother ordering any accessories such as chainguard or caliper hanger - they won't fit.

If you need a strong box section arm for a Z or KZ you could do a lot worse than a GSXR600/750/1000/Busa arm. I run an extended 600 arm and it's run over 200mph several times and low 9 second passes with no drama. You can weld in or bolt in extensions, and weld on shock mounts. They polish up ok too, once you get past the weird outer coating. They are narrow enough at the front to fit most KZs, unlike modern Kawasaki arms which are generally too wide.

Information to "live" by; thanks for that post, especially the info about the arms that fit. I've run into the 'fit' problem with later model Kawasakis, with your post I don't have to "buy and learn". Thanks again!
-KR

I agree with that and looking on ebay there are lots of them and reasonably priced.
Thankz

And that's why I'm thinkin' that I'm going to get a late-model arm and have it braced (if it isn't already) by my machinist/welder, then poweder-coat it, and be confident in what I have. I'll know there is no threat from that section of the bike as far as 'reliability' and 'dependability'; sort of like riding with leathers on instead of jeans and a t-shirt...nothing wrong with my jeans and t-shirt, but if I'm wearing the right gear, I can focus on my riding and not be concerned about my gear. With the stuff that 'for sure' works on the suspension I don't have to be distracted by that thought while I'm riding.

...but that's just me, and my 2 cents. :blush:

Bad Kaw wrote:

Lorcan wrote:

I've had a couple of JMC arms. They aren't as strong as they look. Fine for a 100hp road bike, not so good for a 200hp+ road/drag bike. They are a bit bendy, I've bent two JMC wheel spindles, and the roll pins that locate the adjuster bolts fall out. On my dad's bike the chain jumped off at over 190mph due to this. Take whatever delivery time you are given and double it.

TRAC and MacIntosh arms are popular with the UK drag racers. Spondon arms are too, but with the same delivery caveat as JMC and don't bother ordering any accessories such as chainguard or caliper hanger - they won't fit.

If you need a strong box section arm for a Z or KZ you could do a lot worse than a GSXR600/750/1000/Busa arm. I run an extended 600 arm and it's run over 200mph several times and low 9 second passes with no drama. You can weld in or bolt in extensions, and weld on shock mounts. They polish up ok too, once you get past the weird outer coating. They are narrow enough at the front to fit most KZs, unlike modern Kawasaki arms which are generally too wide.

Information to "live" by; thanks for that post, especially the info about the arms that fit. I've run into the 'fit' problem with later model Kawasakis, with your post I don't have to "buy and learn". Thanks again!
-KR

Ok, I want to make sure i'm on the same page. The gsxr600/750/1000 and busa arms fit our Kz'z? What about mine? What kind of mods do I need to do other than welding shock mounts to the arms? I'd like to use ZRX1200R rear shocks.
Oh, what year arms are we talking about here?
Thanks

Obviously I haven't tried every GSXR arm in every KZ, but I have run my bike with both 600 and 750 arms, and checked that a 1000 arm would fit, and there are various other Suzuki arms including a Busa arm mounted in 750 turbos on my site.

I also know that ZX6, ZX9 and ZX11 arms are all approx 1" too wide. They can still be fitted with some surgery, but the Suzuki arms generally go in easier.

What else will you need? You will need an offset front sprocket (assuming you are using a wider donor wheel), usually you will have to machine the sprocket carrier on the donor wheel, conversion to 530 chain makes clearance a lot easier, the swingarm spindle will need a sleeve (on the turbo the standard sleeve fits inside the Suzuki arm conveniently), and you will need to space out or replace the footrest hangers to clear the wider arm. The more donor bits you have from the bike the swingarm came from the better. Don't forget the chainguard, spindles etc, a complete rear end is ideal. If you are mix-n-matching bear in mind there is quite a lot of work involved in aligning everything, caliper hangers, spacers etc.

Oh yeah the year doesn't matter much. The bracing arrangement varies, and the caliper mounts, but not much else. Bear in mind if you are going for twin shocks that the arms are wider on the left than they are on the right, to allow for the chain run...

Lorcan wrote:

...Bear in mind if you are going for twin shocks that the arms are wider on the left than they are on the right, to allow for the chain run...

Wow, that's something I never knew! I guess that wouldn't matter on a single shock set up, but sure could be complicated on a twin shock system. I guess centering the wheel within the swingarm would be a no no too. That would offset the wheel to the left. Why does everything have to be so hard? :laugh:

Bad Kaw wrote:

79MKII wrote:

Wow - now here's a beauty for sale on eBay - who'll be the first to bid?? :laugh: :laugh:

Ya know, I don't even know what to say about that:dry:

how much beer and drugs makeS that a good idea!:woohoo:

edit
can't link auction url