Taking the plunge: swingarm brace
 

Well, I decided to go go forward with adding a 900RR swingarm brace to my VTR. I just picked up a swingarm on eBay and will be cutting the brace off, having it welded on and then getting the whole thing powdercoated black. I will also be replacing the left footpeg bracket (was bent when I bought the bike) and having both brackets done in black as well.

I am looking forward to trying the reinforced swingarm to see how it feels.

cheers

if you feel anything it should be during corner exits with a bit of throttle.
ordinary riding?
i doubt it.

I hope to get out for a few track days in the future; should feel it then. Of course, it will look cool ALL the time, he he :)

are you going to have it heat treated after it has been welded?

I wasn't planning on it.

I'm planning the same thing on mine got the blade arm just need to find another storm one now and start cutting. I was thinking of maybe putting the rear caliper under the arm to make it clear the brace. Check out this pic not a blade brace but an R1 brace but the caliper is underslung looks cool.
Attachment 30029

Not sure what caliper bracket he has used will try and find out.:cool:

For doing that underslung option yuo should be able to take the stock bracket and rotate it 180 degrees... it has an excentric hole at the wheel axle... Then just fab up the link holding it...

The R1-modded arm is nice (being a member and frequent visitor of the vtr1000.org site, it's a familiar site :)).

I was wondering about getting another VTR arm and doing the work then just doing the swap but as my bike is laid up for winter anyhow, I'll just prop it up on a stand, remove the present arm and do the work directly on it (saving me the trouble of having to sell off the one that is on there now; I already have boxes full of spare parts I can't get rid of...)

we need to find somebody that welds and start buying up 900rr swingarms ... ;)

tim

haha lets do it... I know this guy...

anyways as far as heat treating when you weld the swingarm anywhere close to the weld become annealed hence the need for heat treatment to maximize the new brace you put on otherwise I would say its just for looks because the brace and the heat from welding will probably nearly cancel out each other. I guarantee that the stock swingarm was heat treated. I used to work at a aluminum bike frame building company and before we welded the tubes for the frame if you dropped one it would dent or crush easily. After heat treat to get the same dent go grab a hammer. Just my two cents I don't think it is a must for safety or anything.

Mikstr, you'll be able to feel it all the time...the bike becomes much much more stable and I really notice is on windy days passing semi-trucks on the interstate...RC

even just aesthetically i think that would improve the looks so much. I always found the swingarms to be a big crummy as far as styling goes. The rest of the bike has such great lines but the boxed aluminum swimgarm never really did it for me. I'm sure from a handling standpoint it would make a great difference too. I'll keep watching this thread to see how it all turns out

I just bought a 900RR rear caliper bracket too :)

For those who have done the mod, does the "anchor" located on the inside right of the VTR swingarm need to be altered/relocated/replaced if using the RR bracket or does using the bracket take care of eliminating the interference between the caliper and brace? (note: I have done a search on this but am still unsure exactly what has to be done)

cheers

Use the "anchor" or bracket from the inside of the 900rr swingarm, and the 900rr caliper bracket will fit into that. Using the 900rr caliper bracket will move the caliper and give you plenty of clearance from the brace. It's really nice and looks like it should have come that way in the first place.

+1 here's a link with pics that might help:
https://www.superhawkforum.com/forum...ad.php?t=15061
RC:)

thanks gents :)

P.S. A very happy New Year to all of you!

Would filling up the swingarm with high density foam improve anything?

I know this is a trick aftermarket car modders do to stiffen up the unibody.

Ok just been told that the bracket on the arm above is actually afirestorm one thats been cut down and switched 180degrees. Sounds like a plan now where did i put that grinder:eek:

what about fab'n the parts from scratch ? paying ~ $100 for a 900rr swingarm seems like a waste to just cut it up. is aluminum stock that expensive ???

tim

I actually thought of doing that but wondered about the compatibility of the different alloys (for the welding). I wondered also about the cost of doing the fabrication (something to consider if you don't do your own welding); the money saved in buying the aluminum stock could quickly be eaten up with fabrication costs. In the end, I picked up a used 900RR swingarm for $20 on eBay, making the fabrication option a non-issue.

Yeah I got one also for @ $20 off ebay. Of course the rainbow color changing glitter paint I had to grind off came free but I polished it anyway.

I've never chopped open a superhawk swingarm but I did see the inside of an rc51 swingarm and it already has yellow foam inside so good thinking.

wouldn't be too hard with the right tools, some alloys of aluminum react well to others some don't but finding the right alloy would not be too hard. I can get aluminum ubber cheap at a local steel yard as scrap since you would not need alot. It would be between $5 to $10 dollars that way. Fab is free for me :D.