Anyone know what the actual weight of the OEM swingarm is? I've shaved 15-20 lbs of unsprung weight by switching to Sun aluminum wheels; I plan to take another 6-8 lbs off with metalmatrix composite brake rotors from Howard at Motorcyclemetal.com; and I'm thinking of buying an aluminum swingarm made by Metmachex(English co.) available through AR Harley & Sons. Goal is to reduce total unsprung weight by about 50lbs. When I switched to the aluminum wheel rims, the difference in steering was amazing. It was as if the bike would 'fall into the turns' when I leaned into a turn. Much quicker response, a cool improvement in handling.
So, anyone know what the OEM swingarm weighs? Jay

 

I just shipped mine for powdercoating and with the box it was 23lbs.

 

Thanks, Ryd4lyf. Sounds like around 22 lbs. I thought they were heavier- may have to rethink the $ to weight savings ratio. Jay

 

Thats an interesting "road test" Jay. When my present set of tyres wear out i plan to change rims and spokes. Defiantly stainless spokes and was thinking the same with the rims, with aluminium rims as a possibility. I like the stainless for the ease of cleaning, not sure what the upkeep on the aluminium rims would be like. The handling difference you have noticed with the aluminium rims is gonna steer me ( no pun intended ) in that direction. Anything to improve the handling / steering is a big bonus for me. I suppose the wheels act like flywheels, so the less weight the less inertia. Sounds good to me. I,m not familiar with Sun aluminium rims, what is your opinion, if you don,t mind me asking?

 

Sun, Excel, and Akront are some of the best aluminum rim makers in the world. http://www.buchananspokes.net/categories/rims.asp

 

Nice link, the Sun rims sure look the business.

 

+1 on Countrypunk's opinion about Sun rims. I bought mine from buchanan in California. Responsive customer service. Great product. I've had them on my bike 2 riding seasons and they are strong, look like new and light weight. Great improvement, IMO. Jay

 

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Just put my spare 2006 on the scale for you Jay.

Actual weight is 20.79 lbs.
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So what do those aluminum spoke rims weigh versus their cost?

Are they close to the weight of the carbon fiber wheels from motorcyclemetal ?

I'v been lusting after those CF wheels, but don't have anywhere near the money.

 

That's interesting. I have my original 1990 FLHS swingarm here which weighs in at just 12 1/2 pounds and a 2007 touring which weighs 16 1/2 pounds. I only weighed them on bathroom scales, which don't do decimals! The later one is deeper section tube and much more heavily braced. I have never removed my 03 Dyna swingarm, but it looks like my Glide's, so I would expect it to be similar in weight.