Could this solve our swingarm bolt struggles?

[ATVer14]

Well, after reading many horror stories about swingarm bolts getting stuck in 400's, I think I may have come up with a solution. I've got a local business that specializes in machining parts out of bar stock, and I was going to have them make me a swingarm bolt out of chromoly or something else strong. Then, I would have them machine some pinholes in the bolt where the bearing races are in the swingarm. A grease nipple would be installed in the end of the bolt, and thus you could pump grease into the bearings without taking the bolt off. Could this work? Will is solve the problem? Any suggestions to make it better? Would you guys buy them if I got them made, I'm sure they wouldn't be too much more expensive than an aftermarket bolt. Thanks for the input.
Kenny

[Extremeracer167]

it takes a JBweld kit, drill bit, grease fitting, and about 20 min. of your time to do it. I have it done on mine. Its very easy, not even worth the money to buy one.

[ATVer14]

I know that you could do it yourself to a stock bolt, but this way I figured it would look factory, be stronger than stock, and be comperable in price to a regular aftermarket bolt.
Kenny

[Mxbubs]

I machined mine out of steel, welded a nut on one end, and drilled a small hole in the other end and the other nut and drop a cotter pin in it to keep it from coming loose. I also coat my entire bolt with NEVER SIEZE and it always comes out fine.

[B@ckBoneBelgium]

:D :D post some pics guys , pics will do !:devil :devil

[Pappy]

I also coat my entire bolt with NEVER SIEZE and it always comes out fine.

^-----amazing what that stuff can do ....

silglide is also a very good lube product that works great on and suspention or bolts

[Ralph]

i just took my rear end apart lasty night and luckily had no problems...

[QuadTrix6]

can someone clarify this problem for me im not familiar with it ? what do i need to prevent this from happening to my quad i have a 400ex 2002 ? thx

[Quadfather]

QuadTrixx:


The swingarm bolts in the EX are famous for seizing up in the swingarm. Mine is a 2001, and it came out pretty as you please. I coated it with Mobil 1 synthetic grease, hoping to nip the problem in the bud.


I would take yours out at your earliest convenience, and do the same.

[fwm416ex]

the more problamatic area is where the swingarm pivot bolt meets the engine case pivot.Water and mud get trapped in there with no way to escape and do damage very quickly.What i do is i add a zerk fitting to the swingarm where the bearing collar meets the swingarm on each side there is a small hollow area inside the bearing bore that catches and holds the grease very nicely.Use a high quality salt water proof marine grease,bel-ray,maxima,marine grease there are a lot to choose from.then i use bostick copper compound never seize where the swingarm pivot bolt passes through the motor.Apply a very liberal coat on the full length of the bolt and inside the pivot collar on the motor and on the inside of the swingarm pivot collars.Servicing the bike in the future is a breeze with these mod.There is no issue with never seize on these parts because they are medium load bearings with no high speed revolutions 1/2 turn at the most.Never use anti seize compounds on any high speed bearing.if you do big jumping do not drill into the swingarm it is marginal for big jumps,but i am a trail rider (mud and water) so this works great for me

[fwm416ex]

bump

[mcmike]

lubing rearends, man O man:D

[wht_blue_300ex]

could some one build me a pivit bolt say if I took a hacksaw to my old one cause I couldn't get it out? if you could how much? thanx:(

atver14,,yes it's a good idea..but you can just do that to a stock pivot bolt,,at least that's what I did to mine...plugged one end, zerk on the other,,small pin holes were the spacers fit over the bolt and walla,,,no more problems getting the bolt out ever again...it's a trick the quadshop has been using for many many years..:D

[Ralph]

so why did u cut out ur old one?

[UglyMotha™]

just to throw in a couple cents, hence me be the engineer you gotta remember with steel bolt if you have one machined out of a higher grade steel you swing arm bolt will actually become more brittle yes it will be stonger but yet it will be more prone to cracking when flexed so i really wouldn't mess with the material that honda uses to make the swingarm pivot bolt out of cause the engineer at honda specifically engineered that bolt to serve the purpose it does however they probably didn't plan on it siezing in the frame so drill away and put all the zerk fittings in it you want just don't mess with the material that it is made of cause that wouldn't be smart, "stronger isn't always better":o

[Houser Cannondale]

thats very true... but it also depends on the type of steel it is made out of. the harder it is it will be more wear resistant and less apt to bend. usually only very hard metals become brittle. take a file for instance.. they need to be hard to file other types of material. thats why when you drop them on the concrete floor they break in half. :)

[ineedhelp]

im trying to get my motor out of my 400ex and cant get the swingarm bolt out. it spins and wont come out. can i cut it out between the case and the frame. or do i need a puller.

[86 Quad R]

hack saw brotha......... :devil:

[CannondaleRider]

Everyone just jumps to the worst thing.

A swingarm bolt seizes, and they are instantly told to cut it out.

FIRST, get some penetrating lube down in there, put the bike on its side, and let it seep down into one side, then the other. Try to get it out. If all else fails, THEN cut it out.

As for people talking about putting in zerks and what not, why don't you just pull the pivot bolt out and grease/anti-seize it, then put it back in. Do this anytime after you ride through lots of water, and periodically if you don't.

I think if people stopped taking shortcuts to maintenance, and just got in and maintained everything the way it needs to be, stuff would last SO much longer

[ineedhelp]

it spins when you put a wrench on it. but i cant get it to walk out.

[86 Quad R]

lol do as cannon mentioned and try to get it out without damaging it.

about 85% of the ones i've worked on that have frozen up ultimately were in the end cut out.

the anti-seize method is a good one but with my riding habits ect ect i aint got the time to yank the bolt every time i ride and re-apply the stuff. the zerk method is the best preventive maintanance that i know of. its a one time deal and frankly all ya do after each ride is shoot a lil grease and walk away.

[Chino886]

Originally posted by ineedhelp
it spins when you put a wrench on it. but i cant get it to walk out.

Try and get a center punch on the end of the bolt and use a hammer and gently tap it out, if it is spinning, it is not "seized" up.

[86 Quad R]

Originally posted by Chino886
Try and get a center punch on the end and use a hammer and gently tap it out, if it is spinning, it is not "seized" up.


huh??? it could be seized on the swing bearing pins and still spin but not come out. ;)

[Chino886]

Originally posted by 86 Quad R
huh??? it could be seized on the swing bearing pins and still spin but not come out. ;)

True, I did not think of it like that.......I guess probably because I took my swinger off to check the bearings and greased them! :eek:

[md1985250r]

Originally posted by 86 Quad R
lol do as cannon mentioned and try to get it out without damaging it.

about 85% of the ones i've worked on that have frozen up ultimately were in the end cut out.

the anti-seize method is a good one but with my riding habits ect ect i aint got the time to yank the bolt every time i ride and re-apply the stuff. the zerk method is the best preventive maintanance that i know of. its a one time deal and frankly all ya do after each ride is shoot a lil grease and walk away. \


your grease zerk method is a good one in theory, however.....the grease will follow the path of least resistance, therefore only part of your bolt/bearings are getting lubrication. it takes only a few minutes at best to take out the bolt, lube it up, and re-install. I am going to stick with the anti-seize method. It works very well and I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THE ENTIRE BOLT HAS LUBE!! GREG

[86 Quad R]

ride on brotha.

as long as our swinger bolts dont seize up. 'at's all that matters at this point ehhhh :D :devil:

[F-16Guy]

Pappy -- How did the moly coating work? I remember an old thread about this problem, and the two most popular options were the grease zerk idea and moly coating. Obviously the zerk idea would work well if you do it right and keep up on the greasing, but I don't remember reading about the coated hardware.

[deathman53]

I remove tbe bolt about every 6 months and no problems. As long as you do that, it won't get seized in there.

[Pappy]

Originally posted by F-16Guy
Pappy -- How did the moly coating work? I remember an old thread about this problem, and the two most popular options were the grease zerk idea and moly coating. Obviously the zerk idea would work well if you do it right and keep up on the greasing, but I don't remember reading about the coated hardware.

its been doing fine. we had one of our gncc quads down at the summer break and it slide out and after a wipe with oil looked like the day we installed it.

i have seen new quads with little ride time have these bolts sieze. heck, my 2006 400ex had the rear brake lever seize in the frame and it wasnt a week old!

[northwest Texas]

I just finished removing mine literally a couple hours ago.

To start with I broke the nut loose and the first thing I did was take the ratchet and try to turn the bolt. Great, it turns, this is good...........or so I thought.

It was stuck solid. What finally got it out was some heat. I heated up the collar on the right side between the swingarm and the cases. It took a couple times of heating it up and letting it cool along with a few hits of the hammer to try to break the crud loose from the bolt. Finally, what got it was LEAVING THE NUT ON, taking a 3# sledge and holding it flat to the nut and taking another hammer and driving it back and forth a fraction of an inch at a time.

REMEMBER TO THREAD THE NUT ON AT LEAST 5 TURNS OR YOU WILL RUIN THE THREADS. It takes at least that or you will damage them.

When the nut got to that point there was only 5 threads left when it hit the frame, I got a roll pin punch and drove it the rest of the way out. By then it was getting loose enough that it wasn't taking as much effort to drive the bolt back and forth. Using a roll pin punch you don't have to worry about messing the threads up because it stays centered on the bolt.

I managed to catch mine barely in time I guess, it's a 2000. It appears the only casualty will be the nut. I took some emory cloth and cleaned both the bolt and the bushing's and now it's all good to go.

From now on, I plan to remove it once a year and clean, inspect, relubricate, and reinstall it. While the holes and grease sounds like a good idea, I won't do it. All you're probably going to do is push grease past the seals and introduce contaminants. I see more harm than good, not that it's a bad idea, I just see more harm than good.

Anyway's that's my experience today. I remember buying a used 86 Q'Racer years ago and I had to cut it out and that was not much fun.