Mono Shock, Fatter tire- Suzuki Swingarm?

I have been looking at rear end swaps for our bikes. I want a mono shock and a bigger rear tire and rim selection. Well, I think I may have found a viable option. I think? I have been eyeballing two different rear ends. One from a suzuki M50. It is a mono shaft drive rear, Built like a cage sort of. The shock is vertical which i like because I want to mod my Seca turbo and the surge box is where a gusset would need to be welded for a horizontal shock. The other is a GSX 1100g shaft drive bike. Both bikes have nice rims and suspension and is a definite upgrade for our bikes, I have found the M50 rear on ebay for cheap and have found a complete GSX1100g in the area that I could swap the front and rear onto the XJ. any thoughts?

 

I doubt it would work,or be worth the hassle. The limiting factor on these bikes is the distance off-centre of the shaft,because the shaft has to run in a straight line front-to-back. A quick measure from a 650 I have sat here would suggest that a 150 is the absolute maximum that can be fitted while keeping the wheel central and in line with the front. Not to mention the differences in driveshafts and splines between the marques.....
However,if you're a daft b#gger like me and have access to a full machine shop with welding facilities,then the sky is the limit. I have begun making plans to fit out my '89 900 with a 240/16 rear........

 

I wanted to do the same but with the S50 spoke rims and front end. I don't know about the M50 swingarm, but if it's simular to the S50, it won't work. The frame is different at the swingarm pivot. The shaft runs on the outside of the frame. It's spaced out which allows for the fatter rear tire.
Pingu: A 240 rear will require some serious spacing to get the shaft to work. You'll have to space the motor out to the left, or space the rear wheel to the right, or do a little of both. If you can figure out how to do it, I'm interested.

 

Nope,neither my friend. My last big build was a 300 section tyre on a Vmax! The trick is to use a second UJ so you can run the shaft at an angle. Lots of one-off parts though,hence why I mention the machine shop. :wink:

 

Second u-joint, that will work. Are you making the swingarm or using one from another bike? Pics?

 

I'll be modifyng a stock arm,have my eye on one on Ebay at the moment. This is the max,with some build pics. The bearing which supports the UJ is in the billet block.....

 

That version used a stub shaft between the UJ's and a shortened version of the stock shaft. For the XJ I think I'll be running the UJ directly off the final drive wth a single drive shaft,simpler setup.

 

That is bad ass. Great mod work. 8)

 

Thank you,I was pretty happy with it. Hellsh learning curve though!!

 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Experience is the best teacher, as long as you don't f**k up a second time.

 

:lol: :lol: very true.......to err once is to learn,but to continually repeat the same mistake time after time is the mark of true stupidity........ :lol:

 

HOLY HI-JACK BATMAN!!!!!

Anyway here are some pics of the swingarms from a XJ650, SUzuki M50. I got a better pic of the GSX 1100 swinger and it is very similar to our swingarms and not what I would waste time on.

 

I couldn't get the xjswingarm pic to load.

The shaft housing is smaller on the m50 swingarm allowing for more room for larger tire. i don't have one yet, but as soon as i do I'll take some measurements of each

 

Doesn't matter how small the tunnel is,the shaft still has to go in a straight line.....

 

cough sorry to add to the hi-jack, but holy sick Vmax and cnc work!! :O

op- good luck on your swap, post some pics of the process if you decide to further embark on the idea!

 

sweet work on the vmax, i think that would be the way to go for a fatter rear on an xj shaftie also.. but that suzuki swinger looks moddable too have i seen you on CF mate?

 

Sorry for the hi-jack, but it could help you with your project.

 

I couldn't resist to throw the Holy Hi Jack out there. I like what you've done with the Vmax swingarm. I was also thinking of the double UJ driveshaft. The first time i saw a double UJ was on a MotoGuzzi way back in the day (early 90s) Are you considering doing a run of the mod you made for the VMAX? Maybe giving us XJ'ers some help with a similar setup?

The reason I was looking at the Suzuki swingarm was the small sleeve for the driveshaft, the vertical shock mount and there is a a kit/mod that I saw on my buddy Wayne's bike here in Southport that he had done to his M50 swingarm where the shaft cover is cut out and the cage is braced up for strength and dust sleeves like you find on CV joints placed over the open ends where the sleeve is cut out. Makes room for a big tire. Just the stock M50 swingarm would open up provisions for a bigger tire if I can get it to fit.

 

I'd be glad to help out if I can,mate,if there's enough interest in such a thing. I probably wouldn't do it quite the same as I think I've figured a way to make it a bit simpler with less bits involved! As I was saying at the beginning,the driveshaft is your big limit. Even an uncovered one will only realistically let you run a 150 centralised as the shaft is only around 80-85mm from the centreline. I'm aiming for a 240 but a 200 would be just as doable with the setup,and a monoshock should be workable. There may end up being a slight stretch on the wheelbase but not sure yet til I get my arm.
Venlis,I'm also known as Reaver..... :wink:

 

high five to you sir

 

The more I look at and think about it the Suzuki swing and double UJ would/should work. The shaft cover removal kit has provisions to shore up the rear wheel and differential in the swingarm cage and if the drive shaft is off the double UJ would make up the offset. Of course I will never know until I get the swingarm and measure the width of the M50 and Xj arms at the pivot and see where the driveshaft hole lines up. May need spacers, may need some machining? If you build a Double UJ set up for our swingarms I would definitely be interested.. On another note, it could be possible to cut the cage from the M50 swingarm and weld it to our swingarm with the doulble UJ set up to offset for a larger rear rim/tire combo.

 

I would expect the Suzuki swinger to be a fair amount wider as Google tells me you can fit a 200 section in one without modifying anything,ergo the shaft must be at least 110mm off the centreline of the bike.
To be perfectly honest I would spend the cash on getting a stock XJ arm worked over,the only way to get the drive out wide enough is going to mean angling the outer drivetube side to around 12-15 degrees from the imaginary centreline so whatever you use is going to require cutting up. May as well start with something that we at least know fits straight into the frame. The second UJ will be a machined peice to fit the final drive spline,thus doing away with the need for extra bearings and two shafts.
I have just ordered a complete swingarm with driveshaft and final drive for an incredibly good price from eBay,so once it turns up I can jig it up and begin the surgery....... :twisted:
The drive itself won't be too bad to sort out,not after the Vmax. I just need to work out a way of using a monoshock in there without losing the airbox. Underslung maybe. :?
Good job I like a challenge eh?! :lol:

 

I was worried about the m50 swinger being too wide as well. That's why I was thinking of cutting the cage off the M50 and welding it up to the XJ swing and using the shaft cover delete kit and double UJ to fit a larger tire and using the M50 cage for the vertical shock mount. I think doable. Then again anything is possible with enough time, duct tape and big enough hammer! LOL

 

This is true,I myself mantain a healthy selection of 'persuasion sticks' at the workshop...... :lol:
Well,if you decide to go that route then make sure to sling up some progress reports as you go. All the bobbers et al are nice but it would be great to see something new done with these old monsters....I'll begin a new thread once my arm has arrived.