Speed Triple Single Sided Swingarm Installation

porchev914 wrote:

With my welder fixed, I was able to weld caps on the shock mount cross tube. Not necessary from a structural standpoint. Purely asthetic-

Not exactly mind blowing progress, but thats how you eat an elephant: one little bite at a time

More structural than you might think. I know if you left them open where I live, then you would have a dirt dobber nest in there in less than a year! Then the nest absorbs water, and bango you have rust. I'll pass the salt so you can get to eating that elephant. Would you like a refill on your tea?

Fill'er up buddy! But with sweet tea if you got it. One of the things I miss from traveling in the south

porchev914 wrote:

Fill'er up buddy! But with sweet tea if you got it. One of the things I miss from traveling in the south

Sometimes we forget that there is actually anything else to drink. I had to lay off the sweet variety. I gotta get down to fighting weight.

OK, I have been playing with a new toy- a H.F. tubing roller :silly: (see results in OMR's Yosh header measurements thread), as well as chopping up a tricycle (the Mrs ran over in my truck) to salvage some of the parts and make a push bike for our 4 y.o. Then I was remaking one of the top shock mount braces to match the other one for a more symetrical look. I can't make it perfect since the frame isn't symetrical, but I had to get it as close as I could for my own peace of mind :blink: So, its much better here, good enough that I can live with it :laugh:

In the pic above it looks like the top braces are rather vertical, but the truth is they are layed down a fair amount-

I think that I may still add some small corner gussets under the cross mount at the frame....any opinions out there?

its built like a truck!!!!

haha...nice work bud

Thank you Ben, I'll take all the accolades I can get :laugh:
What was I thinking taking on a project of this magnitude for a first bike build?

porchev914 wrote:

In the pic above it looks like the top braces are rather vertical, but the truth is they are layed down a fair amount-

I think that I may still add some small corner gussets under the cross mount at the frame....any opinions out there?

Not sure its needed but if it makes u feel better , by all means. i'm thinking that most of the load will go up into the new inverted V? of course it may be deceiving in the photo?
are u going to tie the 3 top rails together with a pair of top plates?
It looks great so far Adam.

No Mark, it's not really necessary to add the bottom gussets. The top braces should be more than strong enough in compression to resist the vertical forces of the shock.

mark1122 wrote:

porchev914 wrote:

In the pic above it looks like the top braces are rather vertical, but the truth is they are layed down a fair amount-

I think that I may still add some small corner gussets under the cross mount at the frame....any opinions out there?

Not sure its needed but if it makes u feel better , by all means. i'm thinking that most of the load will go up into the new inverted V? of course it may be deceiving in the photo?
are u going to tie the 3 top rails together with a pair of top plates?
It looks great so far Adam.

I'd trust that design you have with no further mods but if your eye says do it...then do it brother! If for nothing more than a nice warm feeling you get from knowing it's there.

Find some pictures of the top shock mounts on some of the modern sport bikes. You'll have a lot more faith in your work after you look at some of those :woohoo:

Here's a ZX7 to mount. I looked at this before my mount was designed so I could see how the factory did it.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Larry. I know that with the vertical/diagonal braces there is no where for the mounting bracket to go, but I appreciate the reassurance and the pic. It looks like the shock mounts to a tab welded to a section of square tubing between the perimeter spars. I had though about going a similar route, but I wanted to make it a bit more...elegant. My props to irishwill for the majority of the inpiration

Adam, I have been studying your pictures, and thinking about how the forces will be transferred. I have a couple of observations. Personally, I don't think that you could do much better on the upper shock mount. Since there is nothing that transfers the load directly vertical, it is transferred as a twisting load on the "U" shaped crossmember that you have added. The "V" shaped braces, that you have added are in direct opposition to this. They are also heavier, and have a longer lever than the tabs that the shock mounts to. The only way to improve on what you have is to add a brace that would transfer the load vertically, straight to the frame. However, this is transferring the load to a part of the frame not designed to accept it. I say that you are fine with what you have.

Second, at the bottom end of the shock, you must realize that there is a pull from the swingarm pivot that opposes the push from the shock. Now, this is the same even on a stock KZ. However, you need to consider that your frame has been widened at the pivot, and then necked down back to the original width. What will happen when your rear suspension is in heavy compression, is that the downward pull will try to straighten the tubes above the swingarm pivot. This MAY cause these tubes to put the pinch on the top of the swingarm pivot. If these tubes do close down and pinch the swingarm, then it could bind. If you had a crossmember just above the swingarm pivot, then it would oppose this force. Now your upper, rear motor mount may work, but it will be bolted in place. The bolts have some tolerance for fit, and will allow a certain amount of "squirming" under load. I think that a welded crossmemeber may be better.

Hope this helps.