Swingarm Refurb

Hi guys just after a little advice.
The swing arm on my 96 cat is in a sorry state to say the least. I rang up my local powder coating place and they quoted me 25 quid to have it blasted and re coated which sounds like a bargain to me.

So I'm planning to completely strip and Refurb the lower back end of the bike and I'm wondering if there's anything I need to be careful of or any known pitfalls? Also if there's anything that's worth replacing while I've got it stripped ie bearings, seals etc
Seems simple enough but I've never done one before so just thought I'd ask first.
Thanks in advance

Hi, a similar job was done not so long ago, link to part of the thread [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks stevecat, does this mean I have to remove the bearings to get the swing arm powder coated? I was hoping to avoid that

Yes, get the bearings out and replace them, and post pics too

Oh well looks like it'll be a slightly bigger job than I thought haha. I hope I can still get it all done in under a week? I'm also planning on stripping and refurbishing the rear caliper while I'm waiting for the swing arm to be done. Has anyone had any luck painting their calipers using same caliper paint as on cars? I'm thinking of doing it red just to tidy it up?

The week depends on the powder coating place (how much if you don't mind me asking?)

But yeah, getting the bearings out/in isn't hard, it just depends on accessibility. How long a drift do you own?

Powder coating place quoted me 25quid and 3 days so that isn't a problem. What do you mean by 'how long a drift' stretchie? I may be being stupid but don't know what that is lol

Not stupid at all matey.

I changed my swing arm bearings on the Black Bird 18 months ago but can't remember the details (did I knock them out or did I use a slide hammer???). But you'll need to remove any bearings for the suspension too.

But basically to remove the bearings you knock them out from the rear of the bearing, using a drift (long metal shaft) that you put in through the opening on the other side, get it on the rear edge of the bearing and using a hammer you 'drift' it out, knocking at different points around the circumference so it comes out straight. Your swing arm width and existing bearings dictate how long and wide a drift you'll need.

If you have a blind bearing remover (slide hammer) that does the same but in a different way

To give you an idea have a look here:

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To be honest I've not actually read the page but the pictures look right. this is also how I do the wheel bearings and I need to the head stock bearings too which will be the same

Ah right. Well I'll be doing this at my dads place as he builds trikes so I'm hoping he's got all the stuff necessary and if not he's of that age where he'll have some age of mystical way of doing it, like a mechanical macgyver haha thanks for the info :-)

If he's building trikes he'll have what you need

If the bearings have never been greased then they will likely be pretty rusty and would be worth changing.
Mr Yamaha will happily pull your pants down for new ones but there were definitely other sources for them.
I think past-it and others put up links somewhere.

My pants went all the way down.....what a mug.

Cheers
Rosco

Haha I found them on yamabits for 30quid or 50 for the full swing arm kit. Some people have mentioned going to dedicated local bearing suppliers but I'm always wary of using something that hasn't been designed specifically for a bike.

Anybody know about painting the calipers?

You can get hammerite in spray cans, I've not done it myself (I have a 'boy' to do that) but when me and my mate have bought and sold bikes if needed we would split, clean and strip the paint off the calipers (and same with the brake reservoirs) and he'd spray them with hammerite.

Always looks good and he's done it on his own bikes too and they still look awesome several thousand miles on

I was thinking hammerite but won't that get ruined by brake fluid? That's why I'm thinking along the line of the caliper paint used on cars as that's resistant to brake fluid (incase of spillages while bleeding etc) I don't want to have to respray it every time I mess up haha

I'm just looking at new rear brake pads, does anyone have any suggestions? Seems to be loads of different makes about these days and I'm guessing a lot are Chinese rubbish?

I use EBC organic.
Went to Mr Yamaha once hoping to buy the real deal, but ended up with some Chinese compressed cardboard which lasted me a month, so you are wise to be weary.

Thanks stevecat and yeah I've been looking on fleabay and they are all the kyoto ones which seem to have cap reviews. Another is HH ones which are a bit more expensive but these days that isn't an indicator of quality.
I have found brembo ones for 30quid so if all else fails I can get them but just thought I'd find out what other cat riders where using

HH are sintered, have bits of metal in the compound. They are better at stopping than the organic, or traditional pads.
I use the HH's on the front, but organic on the rear - you don't want too much stopping power at the rear, locking the rear brake is very easy to do - a lot more so with HH/sintered.  Some people, however do not like the idea of the harsher sintered pads and the extra wear it puts on the discs.

Another one I'd stay well clear of is Goldfren, they were on mine when I bought it, they were so awful I suspected they were counterfeit and emailed the manufacturer - nope, they were 'genuine'.

Unless your budget dictates buying the least expensive, I'd stick with a well known brand from a  reputable reseller - some of whom are on eBay. There have been cases of counterfeit pads being sold on eBay, for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would want to copy the least expensive brands, but I guess crime knows no bounds

No I haven't got to get cheap ones it's just eBay is usually my first port of call to look at what to avoid haha

Thanks for the info, I really didn't have a clue about what sintered meant. I would think I might have something similar on there at the minute because the back locks up with the slightest bit of pressure and have had many a close call locking the rear up at speed.

I've tried my local yammy dealer but they only have copy ones and too be honest I don't really trust them not to be knock off

I'll have a look to see if I can find some of the EBC ones, my Honda/suzuki dealer might carry them

If I were to buy some now, I'd go for these
EBC Organic are made in the UK .

I'd be concerned about the lock-up's. In my experience, I found I was using the rear brake a lot more than others - also with the odd, what seemed like with the slightest of pressure, lock up. I found I was compensating for poor front braking, once I had the front sorted out (callipers were sticking) I hardly^* use the rear now at speed - useful for low speed stability.

^* Except where I've been silly and get into an OMG moment and the right foot takes over , like this one at 4:29.

Haha I did something very similar earlier, I was going down a 40mph road (probably at 50 lol) and the car in front of me started braking and I noticed just that second later than I should have (wasn't expecting the car to stop for no reason on a road with no turn offs or parking!? ) and locked up my back end pretty bad, luckily I held it but I reckon the driver in front must have be dropping bricks seeing how fast I was approaching his rear view haha

I'm not sure if it's down to bad brakes or poor riding or maybe as I drove a car for so many years it's just a natural reaction to stamp on the brake in an emergency. I actually failed my first mod 1 for that very reason. But the rear has started lock a lot easier than it did back in the summer hence the strip down and rebuild I'm doing

Anyway thanks for the link and I'll look at my front brakes as I do get a very slight judder from then when I really put them on, but would assume they are ok since the pads were replaced at last mot in may.

SteveCat wrote:If I were to buy some now, I'd go for these ... EBC Organic are made in the UK...

EBC have had a good reputation among bikers for many years now. You should have nothing to worry about if you decide to fit these.

dudeofrude wrote:I was thinking hammerite but won't that get ruined by brake fluid?

Don't spill the brake fluid

Hey guys so the swing arms off for powder coating next week, and in the meantime I'm shopping about for upgraded parts and I'm just wondering if anybody knows if the brake lines off a 99 r6 would fit on a thundercat? They're going cheap and figured they might be worth a go but can't seem to get measurements?

dudeofrude wrote:...brake lines off a 99 r6 would fit on a thundercat? They're going cheap...

How cheap, and are they braided lines?

Upgrading to stainless steel braided lines would be best. You can get a set of Venhill lines (front) for £49.50 on eBay.

Other brands are available... Goodridge, Hel, Wezmoto.