What did you do to your bike today?

[Kreeeee]

Are there any negatives with a single sided swingarm other than they need to be better engineered? They look way better and seem much easier to work with.

It must make balancing a bike's left/right weight balance easier by having the exhaust on the right too. I see the Speed's 3-1-2 exhaust exists to the right, I guess that's for balance.

 

[wazza300]

Yeah when it snaps you die

 

[TallPaul_S]

I love single sided swingarms, easier chain adjusting too as they use eccentric hubs so no adjusters to line up, and no re-adjusting the chain after taking the wheel off.

You'd need a different paddock stand, but even these are better, no messing around trying to get 2 hooks lined up.

 

[Craig321]

Are there any negatives with a single sided swingarm other than they need to be better engineered? They look way better and seem much easier to work with.

It must make balancing a bike's left/right weight balance easier by having the exhaust on the right too. I see the Speed's 3-1-2 exhaust exists to the right, I guess that's for balance.

Not sure tbh. As you say, I suppose balance could be a bit off, especially with 2 underseat exhausts like I have, but then I'm sure Triumph thought about that. You can normally notice if it's unbalanced if you drift when you take your hands off the bars, but mine goes perfectly straight, so they've done something good with the balance!

I've never heard of any downsides. Single sided swingarm is one of the big things that made me buy the Speed

I love single sided swingarms, easier chain adjusting too as they use eccentric hubs so no adjusters to line up, and no re-adjusting the chain after taking the wheel off.

You'd need a different paddock stand, but even these are better, no messing around trying to get 2 hooks lined up.

Not if you have an Abba stand that'll work nicely on both single and double sided as it lifts from the swingarm bolts.

Yeah when it snaps you die

Hah, there is that!

 

[^JP^]

I think the main downside is the extra weight and it could also affect handling at the top levels.
Just look at the Ducati GP15 MotoGP bike, full carbon double sided swingarm, where in the past I am sure I remember them using a SSSA.

It is the one thing I miss not having on my 899, it means I will have to upgrade in the future but that was inevitable!
1299 looks so damn good

 

[ShakenNstirred]

I think the main downside is the extra weight and it could also affect handling at the top levels.
Just look at the Ducati GP15 MotoGP bike, full carbon double sided swingarm, where in the past I am sure I remember them using a SSSA.

It is the one thing I miss not having on my 899, it means I will have to upgrade in the future but that was inevitable!
1299 looks so damn good

Ducati have never used a single sided swing arm in MotoGP.
Its only in WSBK where they used it on the 916 up to the latest bike

 

[^JP^]

I knew I had seen them with one somewhere
Has any MotoGP bike used one or could it be in the rules that it isn't allowed?

 

[Stovepipes]

Chain tension has been done, wheel alignment however is a mess. I think I'm gonna just end up paying someone to sort it otherwise I'm likely to kick my bike to the floor and set it on fire.

 

[VoG]

Chain tension has been done, wheel alignment however is a mess. I think I'm gonna just end up paying someone to sort it otherwise I'm likely to kick my bike to the floor and set it on fire.

How on earth have you managed to screw up your wheel alignment, I don't think I could manage to do that if I tried?.

 

[Stovepipes]

How on earth have you managed to screw up your wheel alignment, I don't think I could manage to do that if I tried?.

This is why I prefer to pay people to do stuff, if you can mess it up I will.

 

[Craig321]

This is why I prefer to pay people to do stuff, if you can mess it up I will.

What's up with it? Can you not find somewhere to measure each side to make sure they're the same? Or are there no notches on there?

 

[Tefal]

Are there any negatives with a single sided swingarm other than they need to be better engineered? They look way better and seem much easier to work with.

It must make balancing a bike's left/right weight balance easier by having the exhaust on the right too. I see the Speed's 3-1-2 exhaust exists to the right, I guess that's for balance.

they're heavier

 

[Kreeeee]

they're heavier

Ah, I just assumed they'd be lighter. That's a pretty massive reason to be fair.

 

[Stovepipes]

What's up with it? Can you not find somewhere to measure each side to make sure they're the same? Or are there no notches on there?

The problem is I kinda understand the theory of it and have watched the videos even managed to do it once, unfortunately the reality is always a bit different especially for unlucky sods like me.

What happened was that I over tightened the chain and went to slacken it a bit. What should have been a very simple procedure ended up with one of the adjusters becoming wobbly, why I have no idea and the only thing I could think of to fix it was to tighten the bolts and that put everything way out of alignment. Anyway I think I've fixed it now by tapping the adjuster back into place starting again & measuring both sides

 

[Craig321]

The problem is I kinda understand the theory of it and have watched the videos even managed to do it once, unfortunately the reality is always a bit different especially for unlucky sods like me.

What happened was that I over tightened the chain and went to slacken it a bit. What should have been a very simple procedure ended up with one of the adjusters becoming wobbly, why I have no idea and the only thing I could think of to fix it was to tighten the bolts and that put everything way out of alignment. Anyway I think I've fixed it now by tapping the adjuster back into place starting again & measuring both sides

If it's lined up nicely now, next time just move each bolt a 'notch' at a time, i.e. if the pointy bit of the adjust bolt is pointing upwards, then tighten it to so the next pointy bit it up, which is what, an 8th? Do both equally and take your time and you should never over tighten.

I guess a big problem was forgetting to find the tight spot on the chain. But now you know!

Also don't loosen the axle too much otherwise you'll get movement all over the place and will have a harder time.

 

[The_Abyss]

Roads are greasy wet and salty so did nothing today other than start it up and wax the chain. I doubt I'll get out again until next year now.

 

[Participant]

Roads are greasy wet and salty so did nothing today other than start it up and wax the chain. I doubt I'll get out again until next year now.

Why's that? The roads aren't any greasier than any other time it rains. Rain isn't dangerous. And salt isn't a problem if you protect and wash the machine.

Genuinely curious as I read a lot of Brits saying similar things as soon as it gets a bit wet or cold. I commute every day on my bike, unless there's ice or snow, and it's no problem and a lot more fun.

 

[The_Abyss]

Where I am the roads are covered in slimy rotting leave mulch - I really dislike riding on it.

I rarely wash it down either - I'm not an every day rider - so would rather not get it crudded up with salt. I'll happily ride in the cold, and in the wet if I have to, but I don't like it when the roads are covered in ****.

 

[tom_e]

The problem is I kinda understand the theory of it and have watched the videos even managed to do it once, unfortunately the reality is always a bit different especially for unlucky sods like me.

What happened was that I over tightened the chain and went to slacken it a bit. What should have been a very simple procedure ended up with one of the adjusters becoming wobbly, why I have no idea and the only thing I could think of to fix it was to tighten the bolts and that put everything way out of alignment. Anyway I think I've fixed it now by tapping the adjuster back into place starting again & measuring both sides

Remember when you slacken the adjusters there's nothing actually moving the wheel so the bolts will slacken just push the wheel forward until the slack goes away. This confused me the first time I done it on my SV.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Yeah depending on the bike, some adjusters connect to the axle and push and pull it, whereas some just have the bolts that stop the axle moving back.