Speed Triple Single Sided Swingarm Installation

With everything I learned on the first successful pivot bushing, I was able to knock out #2 MUCH faster. With the exception of some of my tools starting to get a little dull, it went perfectly. I started with 2 1/16 solid 4130 like so:

I then hacked off a 1.5" long slug with my trusty Dewalt 14" chop saw. I DO NOT recommend cutting stock this large with a chop saw. It took a half hour and I was pretty sure the blade was going to shatter at any moment :blink: I chucked this up in my trusty Harbor Frieght All Purpose Machine lathe

With a wave of the magic turning bits, the o.d. is turned down to 1.95" and the ends faced

After a few pilot holes, the slug goes back into the lathe and the boring bar cuts the 25mm i.d. hole

Then we cut the counter bore for the swing arm pivot head, finish the overall length and cut the flange the swingarm bearing sleeve will ride against and VIOLA! We have a pair of swingarm pivot bushings! :ohmy:

mark1122 wrote:

Congrats poch. Well done. Learning is the best part, isnt it.

Learning or improving skills is indeed one of the things that makes the hard work all worth while Mark!

And this is how the new parts look on the swingarm

Pretty sweet eh? The usable finished products were made possible by the contributions of testarossa

I'm soo proud! You made some good looking bushings there, and it looks like some blue chips even. A couple of more pointers to help your tools last longer.
1) Don't go crazy with the blue chips. What I mean is that you want blue. If they start turning indigo and purple, then you need to slow down your spindle speed. Too much surface footage (rpm) will dull tools prematurely.
2) Also that 4130 has chromium (hardness) and molybendium (toughness) and it will wear tools faster that typical structural steel (1018, A36 etc.)
3) A little cutting oil never hurt. You can use kerosene or WD-40 if you can still buy those in California.:laugh: Put some in a small can and daub it on with a small paintbrush.
4)Next time that you are buying lathe tools get a partoff tool and an inserted, right hand turning tool. The partoff tool would cut through that bar in about 2 minutes, but you would have to support the long end of the bar somehow. The insert tool would allow you to have inserts that can be easily replaced when broken or dull and still maintain the same size. Also, some inserts can be had with a "chipbreaker" this will break the shavings into small chips instead of the long continuous strings that turn into razor-sharp bird nests.

Looks like you will need a wheel fairly soon.

Thank you again Josh, those are all excellent points. And yes, while you can still get WD40 and Kerosene in Cali, the state has put the kibosh on all the GOOD chemicals. Good call on the blue chips from the pics- I also have a small mountain of blue and silver razor wire. That was BY FAR the most work I have ever asked that lathe to do. I may have to make a few more small odds and ends for the project, but now I know how! kinda....

Yeah, I'm about to need a wheel. I'll be out of town this weekend at the inlaws in San Diego so little to no progress will be made on the build. I picked up a 2" hole saw and need to get my arbor back (loaned to a friend) so that I can cut the new pivot holes. I will put the cases back in the frame first and see just how close I can get the swingarm to the cases. That will determine the new pivot location. A few more checks on the frame alignment then I'll mark and drill for the pivot bushings. :woohoo: Damn it, why do I have to go out of town for the weekend??? I'm running out of time!

Man I feel terrible for you. You have to spend the weekend in San Diego. What a shame! Just kidding bro. Maybe, you could find a wrecking yard in SD while your there. Just tell the in-laws that your running to get ice. Good excuse to get out of the house for a while.

You planning on riding that thing this summer? You might need to find another $400 beater. See how much chain the warden gives you when you tell her that you really need another bike. Have you already got a line on that Yamaha front end?

Yes Josh, I AM going to ride this thing this summer! Gotta have a goal, don't I? I should draw up a construction schedule, lol. I need another $2500 or so for parts and labor to finish the engine and most of the chassis parts. I'm sure I'll need a bit more for all the little stuff, but thats the goal. As long as I don't have any major screw ups, it's a good possibility I'll meet my schedule. I need gaskets, headwork, cams and carbs for the engine, and a front clip. I have a set of '05 R1 forks, but the seller said the forks MIGHT be bent. I though I had a chance of getting a good deal, but they were DEFINATELY bent! So yeah, I need a front end.

OK guys, so got a little done on the bike, and a little more figured out. The frame getting all twisted up when I spread it out kept bothering me, so I knocked out my temp spreading spacer and TWANG, the frame sprung back to its nice and straight former position. All this means is that I now plan to partially cut the frame in strategic places and bend it out to fit the SSSA, then weld reinforcement cuffs over the cuts in the frame tubes. This revised process should eliminate the distortion I experienced and give me more control over the widening. In preparation for coring 2" holes in the frame where the original pivot bushings are, I made special "hole saw pilot drill washers" and tacked them in place over the pivot bushings. I don't know how many of you have ever tried to use a hole saw without the pilot bit to keep it centered, but it is impossible! At least in an application like this, so....