Broke swingarm in half!!

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We have a local member here that has been running his Vmax with notched swingarm since 1986 with no problems. It was a drag race bike only with slick and wheelie bar for the first 1000 miles and 2 years of it's life. Then it has been beat on for another 8,000 and three engines.

Not sure where Lankee's broke but would like to see a better picture.

Sean Morley
 
Yes it was notched to fit the 8.5 Slick since 2001..

New Swingarm on the way. 65.00 and my fabricater here is going to weld in some chrome moly tubing copied from other braced swingarms for 100.00
I will be back on the road by the weekend!!:eusa_dance:

Yupp thats where it broke at where it was notched for the slick..
The OEM was already compressed in at this area on the swingarm. I just shaved away to make room for that car slick.
 
Yes it was notched to fit the 8.5 Slick since 2001..

New Swingarm on the way. 65.00 and my fabricater here is going to weld in some chrome moly tubing copied from other braced swingarms for 100.00
I will be back on the road by the weekend!!:eusa_dance:

Yupp thats where it broke at where it was notched for the slick..
The OEM was already compressed in at this area on the swingarm. I just shaved away to make room for that car slick.
you get things done fast...i like that your a madman...hows the scooter going
 
you get things done fast...i like that your a madman...hows the scooter going


"you get things done fast" Thats what this girl told me Saturday night:ummm:
I would have had one by last Saturday but I didnt want to spend over 75.00 for an OEM swingarm. I have a guy who has a salvage yard who has 2 VMAX's and sells me stuff cheap.

I got my money returned after 10 days from the orginal place I ordered from. Evosales:bang head: ...I placed my order with Extremesales. Order went in Saturday and I was told 3-5 days to be delivered from GA to TN. Looks like Friday will be hectic with the VMAX swingarm and Scooter Delivery. I may just let the VMAX sit and ride my scooter..
 
"you get things done fast" Thats what this girl told me Saturday night:ummm:
I would have had one by last Saturday but I didnt want to spend over 75.00 for an OEM swingarm. I have a guy who has a salvage yard who has 2 VMAX's and sells me stuff cheap.

I got my money returned after 10 days from the orginal place I ordered from. Evosales:bang head: ...I placed my order with Extremesales. Order went in Saturday and I was told 3-5 days to be delivered from GA to TN. Looks like Friday will be hectic with the VMAX swingarm and Scooter Delivery. I may just let the VMAX sit and ride my scooter..
well just dont screw up and install the swingarm on the scooter
 
We have a local member here that has been running his Vmax with notched swingarm since 1986 with no problems. .

Not sure where Lankee's broke but would like to see a better picture.

Sean Morley

Notching is one thing, I think when all of us say notching it's assumed the cutaway area gets filled back in...Right??????

notching that area without filling it back in would be plain dumb, I could'a stood on mine and broke it in half when it was open before welding it back up.....

And Lankey, the factory spot that's dimpled, rippled is probably the strongest place on the swingarm...same principle as corrugated metal or folding metal to give it triangulation and make it stronger.......


I think you need to take back all your frame flexing wobbler comments know that you've been busted ,,,,,,,,
 
I should have clarifed. It was cut out and never filled back in - driveshaft is exposed.

Sean
 
Notching is one thing, I think when all of us say notching it's assumed the cutaway area gets filled back in...Right??????


notching that area without filling it back in would be plain dumb, I could'a stood on mine and broke it in half when it was open before welding it back up.....

And Lankey, the factory spot that's dimpled, rippled is probably the strongest place on the swingarm...same principle as corrugated metal or folding metal to give it triangulation and make it stronger.......


I think you need to take back all your frame flexing wobbler comments know that you've been busted ,,,,,,,,

Thank you for your opinion even though it your an idiot!
How can you notch something and fill it back in? Thats like saying I dug a hole and filled it back up.
If you can stand on your swingarm and break it you must weigh atleast 1000lbs. which means you shouldnt be on here commenting to my posts with your nonsense comments rather you should making a SlimFast shake.
I havent been busted for nothing! JA! I am done here.
 
How can you notch something and fill it back in? Thats like saying I dug a hole and filled it back up.


You take material out past where you need clearance and then box the opening, kind of like boxing a cars frame.

100_2224_op_800x6001_op_320x240_op_320x240.jpg


BRACEDSWINGARM2.jpg


Double notching involves making a v on the right hand side and boxing that also.



Neil
 
Thank you for your opinion even though it your an idiot!
How can you notch something and fill it back in? Thats like saying I dug a hole and filled it back up.
If you can stand on your swingarm and break it you must weigh atleast 1000lbs. which means you shouldnt be on here commenting to my posts with your nonsense comments rather you should making a SlimFast shake.
I havent been busted for nothing! JA! I am done here.
Lankee, you oblivously didn't understand what Rusty meant by "filling it back in" after notching. He means that you would use a plate to fill in the hole created by cutting out the metal for the notch. The plate would follow the lines of the newly cut out notch to allow for the desired tire clearance . This would "seal" the notch "hole" and add additional support for the cutout area. Might make the area look finished too.
Of course if you had to cut the notch soooo big that welding a "finishing" plate might have caused problems with the driveshaft clearancing too. But you failed to mention that aspect in your assertion.
 
Lankee, you oblivously didn't understand what Rusty meant by "filling it back in" after notching. He means that you would use a plate to fill in the hole created by cutting out the metal for the notch. The plate would follow the lines of the newly cut out notch to allow for the desired tire clearance . This would "seal" the notch "hole" and add additional support for the cutout area. Might make the area look finished too.
Of course if you had to cut the notch soooo big that welding a "finishing" plate might have caused problems with the driveshaft clearancing too. But you failed to mention that aspect in your assertion.

As stated, it was notched so much that I had about 1/16 of inch clearance between the tire and drive shaft shaft to get the 1/16 of clearance. I knew with tire speed it would narrow and grow taller, so I didnt worry about sidewall rubbing the shaft at high speed. I also had to place a washer between wheel and the differential spline to move the rim over to the right. This was a wide tire! Cross Section was almost 9 inches.
But that slick hooked no matter what with a short burnout in the box at the track. I even rode it on the street a few times with that big ass slick on,, talk about an unstable ride between the tall soft sidewalls and swingarm flex it was a handful to ride on the street!
It was crazy! It served its purpose as an expierence, and I knew if it failed I would have to pay for idea and the obvious risk that it involved.

I will update with the new swingarm on the bike and its handling difference. Hopefully I will have it Thursday afternoon. I am just going to powder coat Thursday and put it on Friday morning.
We been having some great weather here in Central TN mid 80's with real low humidity in the low 80's normally 100+ with a heat index of 110+
 
Thank you for your opinion even though it your an idiot!
How can you notch something and fill it back in? Thats like saying I dug a hole and filled it back up.
If you can stand on your swingarm and break it you must weigh atleast 1000lbs. which means you shouldnt be on here commenting to my posts with your nonsense comments rather you should making a SlimFast shake.
I havent been busted for nothing! JA! I am done here.

As a structural engineer I can only say two things here.......

1. Rusty is not an idiot.

2. Guys that just haphazzardly remove steel from loadbearing members are my own personal nightmare.
 
As stated, it was notched so much that I had about 1/16 of inch clearance between the tire and drive shaft shaft to get the 1/16 of clearance. I knew with tire speed it would narrow and grow taller, so I didnt worry about sidewall rubbing the shaft at high speed. I also had to place a washer between wheel and the differential spline to move the rim over to the right. This was a wide tire! Cross Section was almost 9 inches.
But that slick hooked no matter what with a short burnout in the box at the track. I even rode it on the street a few times with that big ass slick on,, talk about an unstable ride between the tall soft sidewalls and swingarm flex it was a handful to ride on the street!
It was crazy! It served its purpose as an expierence, and I knew if it failed I would have to pay for idea and the obvious risk that it involved.

I will update with the new swingarm on the bike and its handling difference. Hopefully I will have it Thursday afternoon. I am just going to powder coat Thursday and put it on Friday morning.
We been having some great weather here in Central TN mid 80's with real low humidity in the low 80's normally 100+ with a heat index of 110+

Lankey,

you dish out more shit than anyone on this forum, in the name of humour of course....Right???? at least that is what you say when called on it.....You need to learn to take it as well......You attack me a like a 3 year old instead.......

No one in all the years I've been messing with maxes, reading on every forum and newsgrup there is has ever broken a swingarm driveshaft tube except you, you're talented that's for sure........

So is it really a great big leap to think that cutting a hunk of metal out of the support system that keeps the pumpkin from counter-rotating in the opposite direction of the rear wheel, whithout devising any method to add strength back to it afterword, was the cause of you failure???

Of course not, it was no doubt the clear and direct cause of your failure...I merely pointed it out for you........
I'm not the one that screwed your driveshaft up, blame that guy, not me.......


You just admitted above it was a failed experiment...so why attack me for pointing out that cutting a notch without filling the hole back in was a dumbass idea......??? You probably knew it was a bad idea when you did it anyway, after all, with your racing experience you can't be that stupid I hope........

I also thinks it's disengenous to make multiple posts attacking how shitty the max handles, using yours as a baseline, when you weakend the driveshaft to the point of immenent failure...and continue making those posts.......Like I said, no wonder your bike handled poorly and no wondered it was a frame flexing wobbler.

As for your comment about filling a hole back in after digging, I also think that you knew exactly what I meant and it's disengenous (look it up if you need to) to present an argument like that, everyone on this forum except you? knows what is meant by filling the notch back in, rather than leaving it open,

The plate I put over my notch is running about .030 from the driveshaft, and the plate is 12 guage metal, it's not that much room to give up for a stronger swingarm
 
Lankey, no hard feelings I hope,

You're not the only guy on here capable of coming on too strong..........


You're gonna be amazed how much better your bike's gonna handle with a new (braced I hope) swingarm...I'm fitting a 200/55-80 on mine now with 3/8 to spare..........

Now go ahead and get some good springs front and rear, cartridge emulators up front, solid motor mounts, frame braces and lower profile radials all the way around and have fun.....it won't slow your bike down in the 1/4 so why not.......

you're a big fan of shinko I think right?

They make some of the best DOT drag radials out there, all the big Busa's and ZX14's around houston run them at the strip, so you wouldn't be giving up anything over the car tire slick setup either........just don't mess up and go with an 18" out back, I got talked into it and regret it, the tire selections ARE limited, if you want a really sticky sportbike type tire an 18's a bad idea, you can get wide tires for an 18 but there all gonna be cruiser tires...
 
Lankey, no hard feelings I hope,

You're not the only guy on here capable of coming on too strong..........


You're gonna be amazed how much better your bike's gonna handle with a new (braced I hope) swingarm...I'm fitting a 200/55-80 on mine now with 3/8 to spare..........

Now go ahead and get some good springs front and rear, cartridge emulators up front, solid motor mounts, frame braces and lower profile radials all the way around and have fun.....it won't slow your bike down in the 1/4 so why not.......

you're a big fan of shinko I think right?

They make some of the best DOT drag radials out there, all the big Busa's and ZX14's around houston run them at the strip, so you wouldn't be giving up anything over the car tire slick setup either........just don't mess up and go with an 18" out back, I got talked into it and regret it, the tire selections ARE limited, if you want a really sticky sportbike type tire an 18's a bad idea, you can get wide tires for an 18 but there all gonna be cruiser tires...


No hard feelings Rusty :cheers: I have just been in a foul mood this week :bang head: as you can tell my sense of humor dropped off a lil on junkyard thread with SS.. Hopefully I will be off the rag this weekend.. :confused2:
I know I fucked up by chopping the swingarm to accomidate the car slick which was years ago. I knew it was crazy to do but I knew it would be my ass that has to pay if it failed.
I picked up my $65.00 swingarm today. Bearings feel good but I have new ones to replace them with. Overall finish is a 6, 10 being best. Which I am powder coating tomorrow when I get home from work. The good thing about it the person had the caliper arm chromed which is in great shiney condition.
My guy is backed up 3 weeks to fabricate braces onto the swingarm (Thanks for the great pics Neil) I have missed riding the MAX :0-(.. so I am going to powdercoat it, replace the bearings. and slap it together and ride this weekend..
 
No hard feelings Rusty :cheers: I have just been in a foul mood this week :bang head: as you can tell my sense of humor dropped off a lil on junkyard thread with SS.. Hopefully I will be off the rag this weekend.. :confused2:
I know I fucked up by chopping the swingarm to accomidate the car slick which was years ago. I knew it was crazy to do but I knew it would be my ass that has to pay if it failed.
I picked up my $65.00 swingarm today. Bearings feel good but I have new ones to replace them with. Overall finish is a 6, 10 being best. Which I am powder coating tomorrow when I get home from work. The good thing about it the person had the caliper arm chromed which is in great shiney condition.
My guy is backed up 3 weeks to fabricate braces onto the swingarm (Thanks for the great pics Neil) I have missed riding the MAX :0-(.. so I am going to powdercoat it, replace the bearings. and slap it together and ride this weekend..

Hey Lankey, If you get a chance how about posting a pic after powdercoat, before install. I'd like to see that chrome/powdercoat combo. :biglaugh:

Plus, I get to find out where the caliper arm is w/out having to appear dumb, and ask. :rofl_200:

Oh shit, of course, the BRAKE caliper arm........DUH!

danny
 
Hey Lankey, If you get a chance how about posting a pic after powdercoat, before install. I'd like to see that chrome/powdercoat combo. :biglaugh:

Plus, I get to find out where the caliper arm is w/out having to appear dumb, and ask. :rofl_200:

Oh shit, of course, the BRAKE caliper arm........DUH!

danny


Hi Danny

The Caliper Arm is right next to the Muffler Fluid Resevoir which is located under the Spectre Valve for the Doohickie. So in order to get there you must follow these directions very careful ok?
1) Make a left at your first right.
2) Drive down the freeway to the first toll booth.
3) Park on the driveway
4) Than ya will want to go ahead and back up.
5) Continue to drive down the parkway until you see the exit for Yankees Swingarm fabrication shop.

I will take pictures just for you, if you give me your mailing address I will even autograph one for you, JUST you though. Shhh be our secret..
 
Hi Danny

The Caliper Arm is right next to the Muffler Fluid Resevoir which is located under the Spectre Valve for the Doohickie. So in order to get there you must follow these directions very careful ok?
1) Make a left at your first right.
2) Drive down the freeway to the first toll booth.
3) Park on the driveway
4) Than ya will want to go ahead and back up.
5) Continue to drive down the parkway until you see the exit for Yankees Swingarm fabrication shop.

I will take pictures just for you, if you give me your mailing address I will even autograph one for you, JUST you though. Shhh be our secret..

Lankee,

I have the 99 1/2 model year V Max, the one that has the Muffler Fluid Reservoir and Doohickie Spectre Valve operating conjunctively with the Inverted Dopler Gloper Flange.

Yamaha determined that, while having more visual appeal than the set-up you referenced, it actually created a high pressure vacuum loss in the Free Flow Blocker Tube, and discontinued it the following year.

Guess I'll have to wait for the pic. :rofl_200:

Thanx,

danny
 
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