I know I am not forging any new ground here but maybe it has been a while since anybody done one and took a few pictures along the way.
After a few short rides I decided to do a swing arm stretch. I think I have fairly capable hands and a well suited shop after 20+ years of building drag cars and Jeep type stuff. Just finishing a paramotor trike project as another summer toy and it was time to cut something else up and modify it
I am in hopes of.....
#1: More wheel base giving a little better straight line tracking, less twitchy that comes from a small short wheel base bike.
#2: lower seat height, I am an old guy and not jumping over things often and lower is more important to me that travel, I can always go to the stiffer spring or add a shim to get ride height back if needed,.... I think.
#3: Hate to admit it but.... looks, there I said it, i hate the way the rear tire looks stuffed up underneath the seat.
#4: More clearance for atv tire following the next mod which will be a hub modification for a suitable atv tire install.
I ordered a used but pretty clean looking swing arm from ebay a few days ago so I could keep all of my original parts. I put it in the cleaning tank for a while and then washed it down and I think it is a good used arm.
Here is a couple pictures of it marked up with cut guides, and then cut and just mocked up for the 2" stretch. Needed to do this much to see inside to determine what my sleeve material is going to be. I ended up ordering a length of 1" x 1.750" chrome mold rectangle and I will have to split it long ways and mend it bank together to hit the mark as close as I can get on fitting the interior for a sleeve.
Nice to have a well equipped shop.... And of course the skills to use it..... I don't think you will have any trouble changing ride height if you desire.
I was thinking that the longer arm would have more leverage over the stock spring and i could expect a slight lowering of seat height ?? I really was just guessing. Be nice to get some feedback on this from someone that has done it before ??
I got the second arm cheap enough I could easily justify keeping my original parts, that's really the only reason. I would of been comfortable either way had I not had such a new bike and wanted to keep the stock arm.
Yeah it sounds like you'll want a shorter and stiffer rear shock since the swing arm will add height and leverage. It's difficult to tell how that will work out for you until you have a chance to test it.
It's nice to know you have a good stock on hand and you can always go back if you hit a complication
"I was thinking that the longer arm would have more leverage over the stock spring and i could expect a slight lowering of seat height ?? I really was just guessing. Be nice to get some feedback on this from someone that has done it before ??"
Hey Doug, you are exactly right in your thinking!
I believe that many of us with extended swingarms have ended up replacing the rear shock spring with a beefier one like the Red one from Procycle.
Brian... could you add a couple pictures into this thread of you trailer hitch mounted rear shock compressor / spring installer tool.
Here is the last project, waiting on spring to test run it on the ground before painting and putting on the safety net. Plan to haul the TW in the paramotor/camper with me when I go to flyin's.
While you have the swing arm off you might want to drill some holes to lower it a couple inches later if you decide. I'm 170 lbs and have never bottomed the rear suspension out with the 2-3" drop.
View attachment 154810
Got the chrome moly 1.75x1.0" rectangular tubing in today. Looks like i will split it longways on the 1" width with my plasma cutter and a fence setup and tig it back together for a near perfect slip fit inside.Need to find some similar wall thickness plating material on the outside for looks next.
The inside of your swingman is 1inch x 1 3/4 inch. I don't think you need to do anything to your tube to be able to use it. I have always used 1 x1.5 tubing and welded a 1/4 strap to make a 1x1 3/4 sleave. Somewhere in this forum there are pictures of the process that I have used on several extensions. Good luck.
Joemama
Yes, I just realized, had to square up the mouth to get the sleeves started and they drove in w/o having to narrow as i thought might have been necessary.
P.S. I have read here enough to know you would know !! Realizing you done a few of these, did you do a 2" and if so what is your guess on how the oem spring will react at rest and with my 270 lbs on the seat ?? Thanks...
I have done mostly 2" and a couple of 2 .5" . I still have a stock swingman on my bike so I can't be of any help with performance results. Perhaps some of the guys with a stretched swingman will chime in. One tip l will offer, use a spacer at the axle slots when you do the welding. 12 3/8" .
I used a double nutted all thread to maintain factory spread on this one. Will turn a sleeve for the next one to use in the future.
Thinking I might make these up ahead and keep one in stock for guys that want one. Buying them on ebay when priced right. Trying to stay retired but wife is working 4 more years or so, I like to find stuff to do in the shop to supplement my hobbies.
Joemama set me up with one of his 2" extended swing arm masterpieces. I weigh about 200 lbs and have kept the stock spring and have yet to bottom out the rear. Ride seems a bit plusher due to longer suspension travel available to soak up any given bump. Longer wheelbase increases stability at speed with a minor increase in turning radius. Relatively short 2 inch extension does not create conflict with stock fender and taillight assembly on full suspension compression as one might expect with the longer "Bobber" style 4"+ mods.
Well, like everything else, took longer to get to this point that I figured. Blasted it in the cabinet and got it primed. Powder coater is 20 miles away and likely $40 and two trips or 80 miles in the truck so going to paint myself. Trying to decide between a good quality matching single stage rattle can or maybe doing a base and two part clear. Curious how long of a chain I am gonna need now. Good time to go to an o-ring.
Crazy warm 60 degrees in Southern Indiana here tomorrow show going to ride my bike, will stop by paint store and have him shoot the stock swing arm for color match. Ordered a TTR head pipe while I was waiting for primer to dry today, gotta decide on back half exhaust. I listened to every version out there on youtube for what that is worth and I liked the DG O series with the an extra baffle installed best. Is there any reason the FMF stuff is a $100 higher ??
Very nice work. I have been looking at doing a swing extension for a while. I just installed a blaster rear shock today have not had a chance to test ride it yet.
Finished up this swing arm this afternoon and the next one arrived 10 minutes later, guy can't catch a break have to decide on a preferred way to stretch the brake rod and get it installed now.
I can't tell by looking at the pictures, did you remember to move the front chain guard mounting tab back the same distance as the extension? Your finished product looks great. Get ready for the requests to start rolling in. You have nice toys to play with in your shop.
Very clean work! With all the tools your have in that shop I can't believe you haven't started Powder Coating? I got an old kitchen oven off of CL for $10, a Hardly Freight PC gun on sale for $40, and used a carboard box as my spray booth. I PCed many pieces of my Jeep Commando build this way. You are half way there with having a Blast Cabinet already. Much cheaper and so much easier than paint! The thing I liked best is you don't have to wait for paint to dry. As soon as the part is cool enough to handle, you install it! If I hadn't got divorced and sold my house (with my 900 square foot shop), I would still be Powder Coating my own stuff.
I need to do 1 or 2 more first and I will come back to your question once I have a best process figured out and tested. I am considering a different strategy of how to stretch before I am ready to sell any of these but I am working toward that. This one I done for myself and it needed a thin skim of body filler to make it look like a factory original deal and I want them to be all steel if I can figure out a way. Otherwise the paint prep takes more time than the stretch. I see a lot of guys just allow the welds to show and that is fine in some cases but just not what I was looking for on this nearly new TW mod.
I think you can get by without lengthening the brake rod. Pull the brake arm off of the splinter shaft and rotated it a spline or two forward. This is the route some have taken. Also, some have used a longer brake arm, Also rotated.
Wow, Thanks and I feel really dumb for not considering it or looking into it.
I saw one modified on stretched 6" over version pictured on facebook and just assumed I would have to do a 1/3 version of that !!! This forum is great !!!
This is as far as I made it with my extension. would like to hollow the plugs out for weight savings. Yours came out great and now I realize I need to get back to work on it
I like that idea and have been considering it since the 1 3/4" x 1" is less than a perfect fit. It is shy of being tall enough to fit the interior perfect and a smidge too wide side to side. Just need to source thick wall tubing of the right size so that the exterior could be machined like you did above and still have enough wall section to provide enough support. Would just save a step and lower cost. Good looking work.. !!!
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