Extended Swingarm.... Think twice

[blowncash]

1st Im putting this on here because I was unable to find any real negative reports on extending the stock swingarm on the Blaster.So instead of purchasing a quality aftermarket swinger,I went with the cheaper route of having my stock one extended.The quad that this arm is for, belongs to my 95 lb., 11 year old son. The bike was not crashed or abused in any way.Normal trail riding and a couple trips to a local track and it has failed.It broke in two places were it was extended and rewelded.My son was not hurt,only upset that his day of riding was cut short. Im not here to slam anybody,Im only giving prople a look at what can happen,with this type of modification to a stock swingarm.This swingarm was built by a highly recomended individual and not by myself. Theres about a $200 difference in what it cost for my stock one to be modified and a qualty aftermarket.Look at the pictures and make your decision.

 

[sporty982000]

Thanks 4 sharing.


I would like to ask, was the pictures taken right when this happened ?

The reason I ask, is from the pictures. it looks like rust on the breaks or near it.


And one of the things I have recently seen, on some stock swingers. is a lack of a drain whole for water to drain out of.

It appears by the picture, that the cracks, happened due to rust on the inside, creating a weakening of the steel. Which led to the failure.

Sporty

 

[YZ Otis]

That sure is scary ugly and I'm glad your son is OK .. obviously a very poor mod ...I just hope this is a "Buyer Beware" thread and doesn't turn into a flaming thread ... swingarms can be modded well enough that they will break in un-modded areas before they will break in the extended areas .. just butt welding the thin Blaster tubes will never last ... especially if you grind away the weld to look pretty ... most mods use some kind of reinforcement ... even then it depends on the welding ... welding reinforcement all the way around the stock tube can make it even weaker... they aren't that strong to begin with ... this brings up a touchy situation ... who's qualified? ... anyone with a welder and a internet connection ? ... certainly not this particular "highly recommended individual" but there are folks that can do it right. I wouldn't weld on anyone else's suspension, period ... whatever they're willing to pay isn't worth it. Although I wouldn't do it myself I think Blowncash is right, if you're not absolutely certain what you are getting you should buy commercial aftermarket suspension parts ... there's a big difference in finding a crack and a complete failure like this one.

 

[OConnor Racing]

I’m glad the boy walked away from this mess unscathed. He could have been seriously injured or even killed. I must get 5 calls a month from riders asking us to do this type of mod. The answer is always the same, “Sorry, I can’t help you”. Tarmo and I have spent a considerable amount of time looking at options for extending the stock swinger and we don’t believe it can be done safely. I’m sure many riders have this type of mod and haven’t had a problem but the clock is ticking and the jury is still out. Even a slight chance that this could happen is too much risk.

 

[Awk08]

as you all know, i've been a stern opponent of these extended stock swingers since seeing the first one, and
this looks just like the failed YB200 swingarms.
I have always thought..."I WILL BREAK THAT"
hence why i went with the professionally built, bomb proof, KOR swingarm.


I bit my tongue when i saw these "extended behind the shock mount" versions come out, as i saw zero ways to reinforce them, no place to insert any internal tubing for any type of strength what so ever, just birdshit un-penetrating weld on top of weld and hope it holds ???
(see the bottom pic for the pile of birdshit welds)
and figured it was switched to this method to save, material, time, and effort, as the builder did not have to add any tubing or rework the shock mount.
cutting corners to reduce $ invested, time spent and maximize profits. = dangerous.

glad your boy didn't get hurt by this, but.....who's next ???
it's not if it breaks, it's when !

i've said it before and i'll say it again and again......
good luck and be sure your hospitalization is paid up to date if you decided to save a few bucks and run this type of hack work.

 

[JonS]

Ouch! Glad he came away from that too.

 

[little3mil]

ive been running a stock extended swinger (+4") for almost 3 years now and im 6'2" and 175lbs. i got it on ebay for $135 shipped and its fabbed so clean you would never know it was even touched. sorry for your bad luck but this goes to show its how it was built and not the fact of what your starting out with..

heres the ebay stock extended swingarm:

 

[CPARSO]

First Im not defending extended stockers..

I extended my stocker as well..I extended it about middle ways..I added tubing inside the stock tubing and added 1/4" plate on all four sides boxing over the extension. No butt welds .I hope that makes sense. Its probably over done,its really heavy.. I only trail ride, so I feel like I can trust it..Money was my biggest issue,a pro built one was not an option at the time..

If I had ANY plans of jumping the bike or really hard racing,I would buy a pro built one..

 

[Awk08]

this goes to show its how it was built

/\ exactly !

someone should update the reveiw threads on these things, before i do, so everyone isn't falsely strokin the builder off anymore... "ooooo-aaaaahh that looks sweet "
now that the truth is out......

these don't even hold up to a 95lb. kid when actually ridden on hard.

and no..... your once a month rips around your yard,
2 rides each year at the groomed sand trails, or it looked sweet but i sold the bike before ever giving it a full workout,
does not count as full "ridden on hard" long term reveiw, as this case shows the long term results = FAIL.

I say we ban the sale of all extended stock swingarms, made by anyone on blaster forum from now on, before blaster forum is included in the law suit when someone gets seriously hurt or killed. which is only a matter of time for any of these "home built" suspension/frame integrity parts, built by non professionally trained welders/fabricators.

or is another, way more serious safety issue, going to require a month long poll again ?

 

[frankin blaster]

/\ exactly !

someone should update the reveiw threads on these things, before i do, so everyone isn't falsely strokin the builder off anymore... "ooooo-aaaaahh that looks sweet "
now that the truth is out......

these don't even hold up to a 95lb. kid when actually ridden on hard.

and no..... your once a month rips around your yard,
2 rides each year at the groomed sand trails, or it looked sweet but i sold the bike before ever giving it a full workout,
does not count as full "ridden on hard" long term reveiw, as this case shows the long term results = FAIL.

I say we ban the sale of all extended stock swingarms, made by anyone on blaster forum from now on, before blaster forum is included in the law suit when someone gets seriously hurt or killed. which is only a matter of time for any of these "home built" suspension/frame integrity parts, built by non professionally trained welders/fabricators.

or is another, way more serious safety issue, going to require a month long poll again ?

i would venture to say the sale's of these stock extended swingers being banned would be a retorical question these are not safe in any way shape or form ban them that simple im glad i saw this cause i was thinking about getting one made for me also now ill go back to a shee +3 or none at all

 

[DUALSTROKE]

Damn that sucks big time.Glad the boy is ok and didnt get hurt.Could have been alot worse.Lesson learned if nothing else.What does the seller say about this happening?Any warranty offer at all?Any money refunded?Is the seller communicating with you on this matter?Although in my eyes a refund is the only way to go.Who would risk that junk a second time?I hope this is an eye opener for others and hope this works out for you.

 

[wompmonster]

Good to know about not getting someone to make one. Good thing the kids ok.

 

[Blaaster]

A word of warning for would be welders, there is such a thing as too much weld material.

Multiple passes of weld create numerous zones of thermal disturbance (a crystallisation of the parent metal) which can cause failure.

The more times welds are laid down, the weaker the parent metal becomes. Sometimes a few well placed tack welds are stronger that a full length weld.

The swingarm was doomed for failure as I can see at least one weld (and there well may be more ) that has no penetration at all.

Quite obviously the work was performed by someone with little or no fabrication skills.

Fortunately your Son was not hurt, but if it had been an extended A arm that broke the situation may have been less than perfect.

I am an accomplished welder and I do many mods to my own machinery and I am comfortable with my results, but in saying this, there is no way I would be extending a stock swimger other than for my own use.

 

[scotj77]

I would trust one if it was gusseted and reinforced properly. but not the one that kid was ridin

but we all see what i have on my quad.

I have cracked 2 stock swingers not extended

 

[Awk08]

Can you honestly expect ANYONE on here to believe that if you, one day, broke that "T-rock" swingarm that you would come on here and "add the truth" to your review? I cannot even begin to think that would be the case. It would be quietly repaired and "improved" as "product testing" for your builder of choice. I do know that you are not a fan of the swingarm shop swingarms even before Ken got involved in swingarms. Kudo's for pointing that out long before there was anything to be partial about.

While you *MAY* be right about the strength of extended stock swingarms, your "goggles" are too "Ken-ified" to be impartially believed.

BTW, I have made exactly $0 modifying stock swingarms, even for forum members.... so you can't go blame "$ goggles" on it.

if i could break my t-rock swinger, you bet your ass i'd be on here proclaiming my victory !!!! I:I
as a matter of fact, after 2 full seasons, i finally slightly bent the bottom of the ear that sticks down for the skidplate, and ripped the bolt out stripping the threads, while i was at kens, tarmo tried to straighten it without success, but did re-tap the whole one size larger so i could bolt the skid back on, i didn't feel that slight burp was worth mentioning ? but let me update my reveiw thread.

and btw......"$ goggles" work both ways, making $, and being too cheap to spend $.

 

[blasterdemon7]

if i could break my t-rock swinger, you bet your ass i'd be on here proclaiming my victory !!!! I:I
as a matter of fact, after 2 full seasons, i finally slightly bent the bottom of the ear that sticks down for the skidplate, and ripped the bolt out stripping the threads, while i was at kens, tarmo tried to straighten it without success, but did re-tap the whole one size larger so i could bolt the skid back on, i didn't feel that slight burp was worth mentioning ? but let me update my reveiw thread.

and btw......"$ googles" work both ways, making $, and being too cheap to spend $.

It's amazing that is all that happen to that swinger with the way you ride and where you ride !

 

[sporty982000]

I dont know enough about the modded stock or buying a extended one, Specs, ect,

In regards to how the factory upper stock mount location, compares in how the extended swingers work.

I wonder how the angle and function of a upper stock mount shock, performs on a longer swing arm. Regardless of who built it.

To me, you are increasing stress on the upper shock mount and changing the overall characteristics of load design and stress points.

Does anyone have a angle compensator ? to measure the angle on, extended swing arms ?

Since, I do not know. Thats why I am asking.

Just how much more stress is one placing in the upper shock mount bracket ? If the angle of a stock shock, is shanged for a extended swing arm ?

Or do good extended swingers, maintain the stock shock angle ?

Sporty

 

[blasterdemon7]

I'll be back. Need to make some popcorn for this one.

 

[OConnor Racing]

Awk is not the only rider running a TROCK swingarm. We've shipped them to Australia, Canada, Europe and sold a bunch in the states. Believe me, if they broke, you would have heard about it by now. No issues with the design and I'm not expecting any.........EVER!!! Beat and jump them as hard as you can and the only thing that's going to break is your frame. We didn't make that.

 

[DUALSTROKE]

So you had a problem, took it back to the builder without saying a word and tried to have it fixed? hmmmmm

Like you have not had any issues.Why didnt you enter the race Saturday?? Do you need another year to get it ready?Want to enlighten us on any other problems?