Shattered my rear swingarm... By wheezy (Read 1,339 times)

[wheezy]

A couple miles from home, I noticed the rear just did not feel right. Made it home and noticed that my swingarm had broken at BOTH motor mounts. The only things keeping it together were the wheel nut and shock absorber.

So, I need a replacement. Found out it's not the easiest part in the world to find. I did find 3 sites that list it. Roketapartsdept wants $231. Too much. But Roketa.com and jclusa.com have them listed for much cheaper. Given the English is poor on both sites, I am concerned about questions or returns.

Does anyone have experience with either roketa.com or jclusa.com?

Thanks.

[JR]

I've used either one of them with no problem, I'll keep searching for a cheaper place too.

JR

[ellpee]

I presume that's aluminum? If so, is there such a thing as aluminum welding? Day might well come when I have a similar problem, pays to plan ahead.

[wheezy]

It appears to be aluminum, or worse, aluminum alloy with cheaper metals. I am reluctant to have it welded. The jagged edges that remain would make a butt weld awkward. Plus, this part gets lots of the abuse from the rear wheel.

I looked at some old pics and think I see the crack beginning to form over a year ago. I should have seen it long before now.

[ellpee]

Well, wouldn't have made much difference, except you'd have been looking for a swing arm then instead of now. Good luck with your search. Almost seems like there's be a business opportunity for a Chinese scooter salvage yard. Buy 'em up cheap when they die, which they inevitably will sooner or later, and part 'em out.

You've sure given me another thing to watch on my Roketa, though. I already had to weld (or have welded, actually) a crack in the muffler bracket. Broken swing arm would be much more catastrophic, and dangerous if it happened at the wrong moment.

[JR]

Jan 6, 2015 16:17:33 GMT -6 wheezy said:

It appears to be aluminum, or worse, aluminum alloy with cheaper metals. I am reluctant to have it welded. The jagged edges that remain would make a butt weld awkward. Plus, this part gets lots of the abuse from the rear wheel.

I looked at some old pics and think I see the crack beginning to form over a year ago. I should have seen it long before now.

Call here and ask for Tom and see if they have a used one they will sell you a lot cheaper?

fxmotorsports.net/

Ask if Big Guy (Rich) is there and tell him JR sent you calling.

JR

[wheezy]

Thanks, JR. I talked to Jeff at FX. They don't have one, except for one that the seller only wants to sell the whole bike. He recommended calling Scrappy. Already have tried Scrappy, no luck there.

I will order it tomorrow morning from one of the two sites I mentioned earlier. For added security, I will be replacing the bearing as well.

[wheezy]

I had a weird experience with jclusa. I placed my order, where it sat in a 'pending' status for two days. They never asked for payment info. So, I called the number from the site, and a computer began asking questions about my age and such, like it was a survey or something. I double checked I had the right number.

So, I ordered a swingarm from powersportsbest.com, which I believe is a sister site of roketa.com. $121 including shipping.

The bearing is really stuck in the old one, and I figured I would destroy it by trying to get it out. So I ordered one from ebay for 3 bucks. From what I have read, it takes a 6303-2rs. the 2rs means it is a sealed bearing.

While I got her apart, I'm also replacing the belt with a new Gates, and upgrading to sliders.

[JR]

Very good! Yes you can also buy that bearing at Napa Auto, it's a very common size and in stock plus you can get it in a non-Chinese better quality versions so you may want to still consider that. I replaced it in both of my 250's along with the front wheel bearings also, all a stock item at Napa.

JR

[wheezy]

I got the swingarm in today from powersportsbest.com. The design of the area that cracked is better. The frame is thicker and better reinforced. I like that it came with a bearing and oil seal already pressed in, what would have cost 15-20 bucks more had I ordered them. The bearing from ebay will go into my parts bin. The major problem I have with it is there used to be a third tower (muffler mount?) that they obviously cut off and ground down with an angle grinder. It looks sloppy and they took the paint off. So now I have to repaint it myself before install. I would have recommended this supplier had they not done that.

[alleyoop]

Yes it does look beefier which is good.
Alleyoop

[wheezy]

Got everything back together and back on the road.

I took the opportunity while the plastic was off to tweak the fuel mixture, which needed to be done for awhile. It would run just a bit too rich at warmup, engaging the clutch a bit.

I put 12g Dr. Pulley sliders and a new Gates 856 belt. Everyone is so right. I gained a ton in low end torque, and may have gained a couple mph at top end. I got about 72-73 cmph.

Now it just needs a bath. Weather is improving here in central Florida. Mid 70's, sun's out. Nice.

[JR]

Good job for sure and it's a shame that they cut this off. Glad you're up and going!

JR

[scrappydogscooters]

We have those right side swingarms in steel in stock, for both short and long case.
I'm curious who at ScrappyDog said we didn't have them?
they are on our standard 150 page:
.scrappydogscooters.com/125_150_4-STROKE_PARTS.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">.scrappydogscooters.com/125_150_4-STROKE_PARTS.html

[wheezy]

Feb 4, 2015 20:41:40 GMT -6 scrappydogscooters said:

We have those right side swingarms in steel in stock, for both short and long case.
I'm curious who at ScrappyDog said we didn't have them?
they are on our standard 150 page:
.scrappydogscooters.com/125_150_4-STROKE_PARTS.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">.scrappydogscooters.com/125_150_4-STROKE_PARTS.html

I sent you a PM. Thanks.