Oem vs Aftermarket Swingarm

[Deuce426]

Quick question. For a 88/89 stock length/linkage swingarm is an aluminum oem arm that much weaker than an aftermarket arm such as laegers? And besides possible strength, are there any advantages of one over the other?

[cdrookie]

for the average rider an oem will be fine.

[86 Quad R]

Originally posted by cdrookie
for the average rider an oem will be fine.

agree's but if you do any racing such as MX'ing the OEM is not the way to go.

[Honda 250r 001]

Originally posted by 86 Quad R
agree'd but if you do any racing such as MX'ing the OEM is not the way to go.

I raced my oem for 2 years and never had a problem! Although it was a 86 style steel swinarm, not the 88 style aluminum...

[atvmxr]

i raced an OEM 88-89 style rear for years on MX. but I had shock work. that more important, get your shocks set up right and it will be easier on the other components.. :chinese:

it your bouncing around and bottoming out all the time, the aluminum will crack but so will the aftermarket ones, just take longer

[zedicus00]

the 88-89 aluminum arm is stronger then the 86-87 steel arm.

pulled the stock arm off my 86 and it looked like swiss cheese. the 88 i rode still has its stock arm on it to this day.

same rider, same amount of riding on both quads.


frames and swingarms were out, stock or aftermarket. also rider skill has a lot to do with it. a stock arm will last an A class rider a lot longer then that wild C class rider that tries way to hard to catch up to third but just never can.

[Deuce426]

I am already using a Laegers swingarm, I was just curious if the Oem is actually worse in comparison

[MossboysRacing]

I raced XC for 8 years on my 89 alum. swingarm. Then, after unloading from a race in 2007, i looked down and the entire left spar was cracked 90% through, and the piviot bolt area was cracked all the way around. I figured the only thing holding it together was my PRM skid plate. I cant complain for as many years i beat on it, and for being 20 years old !!

[deathman53]

in 06 I bought a new 88/89 stock swingarm, I thought about a laeger, roll or other aftermarket swingarm. However the cost just didn't make sense. I could buy 2-3 stock ones to 1 aftermarket. Also many 250r are using stock swingarms. If I was racing pro and traveling cross country, I probably wouldn't be on a stock frame either. The average rider doesn't beat up on it enough and won't ride it anywhere near as hard as a pro. I also agree that the pro would have the shocks setups better, making it last somewhat longer for them. Bill Balance is using a stock swingarm on his yfz, but he is also getting a new swingarm(or complete bike) nearly every race. Its hard to compare what the pro's use and how long they last to what the average joes run.