Times have changed, 20-30 years ago it was all about the chrome. You could go to your local dealership with your part and "exchange" it for a chrome one, SOP. It does suck spending time, money and effort to get rid of chrome that someone else spent the same time, money and effort to put on your bike. Strange addiction we all have, carry on.
Doesn't look much different but I have a proper axle now and I trued the wheel today.
So I need to consider the tire size that effects the transmission offset and the drum sprocket offset. If I run the 180 tire I need to take the sprocket off the drum and make a spacer ring to move it over, no big deal but its the only way. If I run a 170 - 16 tire then it could mean I just offset the transmission and primary with very little visual difference and the sprocket stays as it is on the drum.
I was going to send my original 21" rim out for re-chroming, looked on ebay hoping to find a nice original and ended up calling the dealer this morning with a part number and they had a new one in the warehouse. $170 CDN for a new OEM rim (ring only), add new spokes and Ill powder coat the original hub, done deal.
Tire off the 21" so I can take it apart and replace the spokes and rim.
My old 180 RKC tire back on the rim for mock-up purposes. The white wall is distracting! Not a fan. I need to move the sprocket away from the tire but leave the drum where it is. So Ill figure that out next then work my way forward to the transmission and decide how far over to move it over then sort out the primary.
That my swing arm has a slight twist to it. The axle is skewed in relation to the pivot end, the left side is slightly higher than the right #@&%! but I can correct that easily enough, just not what I wanted to see.
I also learned that I can't get the wheel on if it had brake shoes which are kind of important for rear braking but I also learned that if I take the five bolts off and leave the drum in place then I can re and re the wheel AND have rear brakes. So I don't have to modify the backing plate anchor stud or swing arm to pull the wheel if I leave the drum in place. I don't anticipate taking the wheel off on the regular basis so if thats what I have to do for the look I want then thats cool with me.
And finally the taiwan spacer that came in an axle kit is too long. I knew it lacked the double flared end like the parts book but its too long so I cobbled something together to get the wheel mounted. The threaded bearing retainer is in all the way and the tin cup fits over it . I guess its possible the axle flanges are pulled in but I have no way of knowing that without a measurement from another bike I guess.
Question if I may. If the swing arm is skewed, how are you going to get the bike to track straight? Won't tire wear be uneven and won't your drive chain not track true to the sprockets causing wear on one side more than the otehr becuase the chain is not sitting propely on top of the sprocket?
Seems like it would be worth it to get a swingarm that isn't tweaked. You have put a bunch load of effort into your build so far.
FYI, leaving the drum in place is the preferred method and per the factory manual. How I do it:
1- Loosen all five lug nuts, only one spot that you can do it so you need to be able to easily rotate the wheel. Impact gun works well if you have the right socket, if not just hold the rear brake and have a 1/2" drive. Do not remove lugs, just break them loose.
2- Remove axle
3- Remove lugs and remove wheel. Might help to again have the rear brake on to hold the drum in place.
No reason to mess with the brakes when removing the wheel. Same for the front if you go drums. Carry on, great work.
Question if I may. If the swing arm is skewed, how are you going to get the bike to track straight? Won't tire wear be uneven and won't your drive chain not track true to the sprockets causing wear on one side more than the otehr becuase the chain is not sitting propely on top of the sprocket?
Seems like it would be worth it to get a swingarm that isn't tweaked. You have put a bunch load of effort into your build so far.
Agreed I have a lot of effort into it but I could keep buying used arms only to find issues or just deal with the one I have. This one just has the left side slightly higher than the right. I could grab the swing arm in my hands tonight and actually make it flex by pushing up on the right and pulling down on the left so Ill mount it in my press and give it a tweak with a long bar which wont take much effort. If the axle centerline is in line with the pivot it'll be fine.
02-22-2018, 06:08 AM
