How critical is the spacing?

Cool, that's what I figured but I just wanted to make sure.

The aforementioned picture of my existing piece...


When I took the swingarm apart, I found the other half of the ring that is still attached, but the entire other ring was missing. I'm not sure if that means a PO had mangled the part, or what.

someone mangled it/that didn't happen under normal circumstances.

leon

Oh I agree, there's no point of contact for normal wear&tear to have done anything like that, and when I was tapping out the bearings the steel rod was going all the way through that pipe (I wasn't hammering directly on top of the pipe). I'm just glad I had planned on replacing the bearings or I never would have seen this.

Well this should do the trick. There's just a small amount of play when I slide it into the swingarm, so it goes in place easily but shouldn't rattle around.

bam just like new! :evil:

leon

Nice job, that's what I would have done.

After I finished the repair, I grabbed one of the old bearings to see exactly how the tube sits up against it... It doesn't. The tube is smaller and actually goes inside the bearing. For a moment my heart was pounding as I considered that perhaps the bearings actually sat against the outer rings, in which case the squareness and position of those rings would be absolutely critical! Ack!

Fortunately I realized the width of the pieces was all wrong, and after grabbing the sleeves and sliding everything together on the bolt, I could see what actually happens... The pipe sets the spacing of the sleeves, which then become the contact point on the inside of the frame. The combination of sleeves and this pipe create a slight gap inside the frame for the swingarm to pivot without binding on the frame. So I double-checked that no burrs had been created on the ends of the pipe during disassembly, but it all looks clean.



The new bearings are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. I'll get the tossed in the freezer overnight, and this weekend I can bake the swingarm in the oven for a bit to help set the new paint and have it nice and toasty for dropping in the bearings. Supposedly with the temperature difference they should only need a light tap to fall in place, and I believe the bearings just go flush with the outer edge of the swingarm. Hooray! The first pieces to be reassembled!

Looking at the parts you show I suspect the purpose those rings welded onto the tube is just to keep it somewhat centered in the swingarm so the swingarm bolt can find its way though it rather than hitting the edge of the tube. If those rings weren't there I think the tube would drop inside the swingarm when the bolt was removed. You did a nice job fixing it! Ed

shdwdrgn that is how they "stack up" to keep everything running on the bearings and not bind.
ed is correct in his description of the spacers function.
one other thing to remember is you will have to install one side bearing then put the center bushing in then install the other bearing,thus capturing the center bushing between the bearing.
could be a definite "dohhh" moment right there if you forget and put both bearings in without "capturing" the center bushing.

leon

Yep, reinstall in the same order they came out, that would definitely be disappointed to screw up. And my original assumption as to the purpose of the rings was correct -- yay!

I thought I was doing good because the washers I used fit easily into the swingarm, so I cut out the centers to fit over the piece of pipe and tacked them in place. That's when I discovered there's a lip inside the swingarm, past the bearing location, and the washers wouldn't fit past that point. Ah well, back on the lathe, and a quick pass with a file to take down the outer diameter and all is good now.

And apparently I should have turned down the juice on the mig by a notch. Made a bit of a hole in the outside of the washers when I tacked them. But again, oh well, it won't hurt anything. And once the bearings are in place nobody will see it again.

You will in the back of your mind. :lol:
Steve

650ed wrote: Looking at the parts you show I suspect the purpose those rings welded onto the tube is just to keep it somewhat centered in the swingarm so the swingarm bolt can find its way though it rather than hitting the edge of the tube. If those rings weren't there I think the tube would drop inside the swingarm when the bolt was removed. You did a nice job fixing it! Ed

Yes great job... and I also equally think it is for centering the swing arm shaft bolt during installation....