chancho196 Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 Hey folks, I'm calling on the expertise and common sense we all rely on in this forum. I very much value you the replies to my questions on here, and any help is appreciated. As you may remember I'm messing around with an '83 GSX750ES and now I want to know about bracing the swingarm. Here's a few questions I'm hoping the racing/building/welding/chassis experts can help with: 1) If I brace it, will the rest of the swingarm's strength be severely compromised? 2) Will it need heat treatment? 3) Were they heat treated when new? 4) Anyone know the grade of aluminium used in those days? In fairness, the welds from Suzuki are pretty bad but, in saying that, have lasted thirty years so far.. Looking at the pics of the Yoshimura GS700ES that Schwantz started on, the swingarm looks to be very similar to a standard unit so I was hoping to achieve a similar look. Here's the little beaut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspensionsmith Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 What do you have in mind with the configuration of the bracing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chancho196 Posted January 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 That's a good point actually. The Yoshimura GS700ES was on top of the swingarm. I had wondered if it was possible to go from the bottom to join up with the shock mounting brackets. But would this weaken it? I'm open to ideas on the best plan of attack. Here's a pic I found on Google of the Schwantz bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspensionsmith Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 I would try to incorporate those two bottom brackets into the design. The two brackets are designed to be stressed only in tension,so you would need to box them in with sheet in front and back...this will give them increased strength/stiffness in all directions....then triangulate off them with tube to each end of the swingarm...you could run a single length of tube,bent into a U shape from each end of the swingarm and welded into the rear of the boxed in brackets....minimum welding required. Just be sure to check the swinger for cracks first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chancho196 Posted January 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Thanks Suspensionsmith! Sounds good, and you think it'll be ok without having it heat treated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspensionsmith Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Well if you use 5083 that will be fine.....and I doubt if the original swinger was heat treated....should be ok. Also.....dont be afraid to add weight...make everything thick and beefy....just to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chancho196 Posted January 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Out of interest, is 5083 usually readily available in box and rectangular sections? I can find plenty of places selling 5083 plate, but not in anything else. 6060 and 6063 seem to be the common ones, but they're all heat treatable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaighn80 Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 Yeah 5083 comes in all sorts of forms, I've just bought some bar stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspensionsmith Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 We dont have much choice here in Australia....try Capral...they sell 6061/T6 in round tube form...but you usually have to buy it in 6 meter lengths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chancho196 Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 The guys at Onesteel told me to try Capral in Yatala too. I'll give them a whirl. Why the lack of choice out here? And are you in QLD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Also.....dont be afraid to add weight...make everything thick and beefy....just to be on the safe side. Just thinking, the original arm is sufficiently strong (if not great), so why the need to make it especially beefy, surely any additional strength is going to help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter187 Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Capral at Zilmere on the north side of Brisbane might be worth a call. I've bought a fair bit of aluminium off them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspensionsmith Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 The guys at Onesteel told me to try Capral in Yatala too. I'll give them a whirl. Why the lack of choice out here? And are you in QLD? I am in Canberra I think because we lack any real form of industry that uses stuff like that in quantity (apart from mining) and local manufacturers find it hard to compete with imports,,,so its imported, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspensionsmith Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Just thinking, the original arm is sufficiently strong (if not great), so why the need to make it especially beefy, surely any additional strength is going to help? If its had a history then metal fatigue/corrosion could be an issue with the original arm... If it can be properly engineered/fabricated and welded then light weight construction is ok...if not give it a lot. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chancho196 Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Just thinking, the original arm is sufficiently strong (if not great), so why the need to make it especially beefy, surely any additional strength is going to help? I'm guessing it's just better to be on the safe side regarding cracks etc. in the future. Being so light, I'll use as much as I can (if I can find some!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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