Custom Swing Arms?

[Gridlocked]

Hey all,

I've seen some bikes with cool custom swing arms. I found some on a website that I can't remember and noticed crazy prices. A GOOD friend of mine works at a local steel yard and has access to every kind of metal fab machine that you can imagine.

Does anyone have any solid works or CAD drawings of a swing arm to fabricate?If not, where should I shop for a custom swing arm? links?

Thanks,

Ted.

[Gridlocked]

this is the link I found: http://www.monkeybike.co.uk/acatalog/Swing_Arms.html

Which other arms on this page would fit a 70??

something like this:

[BuellCT70]

I could design a solid works model swing arm for you if you tell me what your looking for

[TrailRyd3r]

I should have my dad make me one of those, hes a welder, and a good one

[MSZ]

Originally Posted by Gridlocked

Hey all,

I've seen some bikes with cool custom swing arms. I found some on a website that I can't remember and noticed crazy prices. A GOOD friend of mine works at a local steel yard and has access to every kind of metal fab machine that you can imagine.

Does anyone have any solid works or CAD drawings of a swing arm to fabricate?If not, where should I shop for a custom swing arm? links?

Thanks,

Ted.

Use the stock swingarm for dimensions, and merely go crazy with the design.

[racerx]

PE makes good sense regarding the starting point. Most aftermarket swingarms are longer than stock and imo look awful. The rear wheel appears disconnected from the bike and the fender can't be relocated without looking equally bad.

The most I'd deviate from stock is about 2cm longer and only to accomodate a tall rear tire. There are a few nice touches that you could incorporate. The chain adjusters could be integrated into their own rectangular pockets, or you could incorporate eccentric axle mounts (complicated) and you'd never have to look at the inevitable scuff marks that the stockers get after a while. By relocating the shock mounts rearward, you could use longer shocks from another bike. I've seen these bikes fitted with Ohlins shocks from fullsize Kawasakis; they're top quality and some individuals are willing to pay blood even for a good used pair. Or by relocating them forward you could increase suspension travel slightly and take advantage of the greater selection of shocks available for Z50s. You would also want to incorporate a rub strip on the upper LH side to prevent chain scuffs. If you're doing the design work, it'd be easy enough incorporating a small strip of nylon, teflon or delrin. Many aftermarket swingarms have this feature. The only other parameter is internal width. A fat tire/wider-than-stock wheel combo and/or a rear disc brake setup might benefit from an extra 1/2". However, there's no point in going beyond this since the sprockets can be offset 1/4" max.

The main advantage you'll get on a CT70 is aesthetic. The OE Honda arm is a solid piece and the stock wheelbase is long enough that the bike is reasonably stable in stock form. I've considered having a custom billet swingarm made. The machine shop I deal with suggested having one cut out on a flojet. If you can have the machining done for free (or for less than $200), then you might be able to snag a bargain, providing you know what you're doing.

An aftermarket swingarm will run $300-700, plus shipping. G-Craft makes the nicest looking units out there, but they are also the most expensive. You can see the basic G-Craft unit on my purple bike in the recent photo thread. MBUK is a good site to see much of what's available, but I wouldn't recommend buying from them; they were the most expensive vendor going, even before the dollar did it's impression of David Caruso's career

[ghunt]

This is what I'm talking about(LOL) Adding 2cm at both ends would be cool.

[HymieP]

Racerx is on the money. I was about to buy a longer swingarm until he explained the differences. In some cases, the tire is way out beyond the fender and not centered under the bike, looks bizarre! Stock IMO looks best with a nice chrome piece for bling.

[mikev]

Why not just get the stock swinger chromed? Maybe weld on a brace or something for some bling first?

[ghunt]

What is the best fork angle or rake on these bike see drawling